THE LAST POETS

THE LAST POETS/NINE WASSIES FROM BAINNE: (Tivoli)

Nine Wassies are one the the best and most innovative bands to come from the bosom of Mother Ireland in a long time.

Fronted by Cork guitar magician, Giordai, they bombed the dance floor with music for the loose of limb and looser imagination. They had rhythms way beyond the call of duty and lyrics which dealt with everything from selling the Cork Evening Echo, to saving the language (great to hear the aul Gaeilge rapped), to telling stories of mad West Cork Grannies on acid, circa 1966.

Think of Captain Beeheart if you have to. Think of oriental music. Think of funk. Think of a guitar sounding like an organ. Think of a proud Cork accent. Think of music that can only be a reflection of an Ireland undergoing radical social change. And go see Nine Wassies.

If the Nine Wassies were great, then The Last Poets were simply way up there, out of the blues and into the funk. Where’s me superlatives!? Unbelievable. Intoxicating. Extra-extraordinary. Limb-liberating.

“The formation of The Last Poets was to articulate 400 hundred years of the legacy of slavery,” says rapper Jalal in a recent press release. The Last Poets were formed in 1968 and quickly became a prime inspiration for nation conscious rap, influencing such notables as Gil Scott Heron, Chuck D and KRS One, to name but a few.

Tonight, one of their founding members Jalal Nuridin, fronted a young five-piece lusciously funky crew which gave his amazing voice an earth-grooved track to ride on. What a voice! And such poetry. Proud, defiant, worldly-wise and street-wise, with a technique which moulded, stretched and explored the every nuance and crevice of the word. It was a joy, a life affirming joy to soak up the sheer beauty of his rapping. And everywhere was rhythm. Rhythm that flowed through your limbs, your heart and your soul. I danced meself silly and didn’t give a shite. It was wonderful. For once, the Last are first and foremost!

• Gerry McGovern