Abiodun Oyewole on Poetry, Hip Hop and Nina Simone | Fashion Neurosis

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Abiodun Oyewole is an American poet, painter and author, and one of the founding members of the music and spoken-word group The Last Poets. Born in Ohio, Oyewole was raised in New York by his aunt, whose love of jazz and gospel music greatly influenced him. He was given the name Abiodun Oyewole aged fifteen, by a Yoruba priest at a temple in Harlem. The Last Poets were formed by Abiodun Oyewole, David Nelson & Gylan Kain in 1968, releasing their first album in 1970. The group is credited, along with Gil Scott-Heron, as having had a profound effect on the development of the hip-hop genre. Abiodun missed the launch of The Last Poets first album after being sentenced to four years in a North Carolina prison for robbing the offices of the local Ku Klux Klan. During his time in prison he attended a nearby college where he earned his B.A. degree. He went on to earn a Ph.D. from Columbia University, where he has served as a faculty member. Oyewole rejoined The Last Poets during its 1990s resurgence, with their latest albums released in 2018 & 2024, and he has also released several solo albums. Oyewole has published two volumes of poetry, Naked, 2020, and Branches of the Tree of Life, 2020, and an essay collection titled Black Lives Have Always Mattered. Oyewole hosts Sundays @ 110 each week at his home in Harlem, opening his doors to fellow artists, encouraging performance and a shared creative experience. Oyewole is one of several poets credited for liberating American poetry by creating vocal, spontaneous, energetic and uncensored vernacular verse that paved the way for spoken word and hip-hop. He continues to write poetry every day. In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Abiodun Oyewole and Bella Freud discuss how they first met, being treated as the Pope of Poetry, and spending time backstage with Nina Simone. Paid Substack subscribers get our weekly liner notes. This week: behind the scenes with Bella and Abiodun. Join us there if you’d like to explore the conversation further. https://fashionneurosis.substack.com/ Painting by Malù dalla Piccola. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Chapters: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:25 What are you wearing today 00:01:55 The Last Poets formation and lyricism 00:06:20 Childhood 00:16:43 How Bella and Dun met 00:21:00 The Last Poets legacy 00:28:03 Dun’s Name 00:36:11 Performing Prayer 00:41:39 The Last Poets Early Years 00:53:43 Dun’s Time in Prison 01:06:09 Langston Hughes 01:09:39 Nina Simone 01:21:08 If you fancy someone… 01:23:25 New Generation of Poets 01:33:40 Outro