Country : United States Label : AFR Genres and styles : Poetry / rap / Soul/R&B / Spoken Word Year :

Abiodun Oyewole – Gratitude

· by Alain Brunet

In the 1960s, the declamatory rhythms of African American poets and songwriters, inspired by soul and R&B culture as well as the sermons of black pastors and the sacred songs of their congregations, clearly foreshadowed the coming of hip-hop culture at the turn of the 1980s.

As part of The Last Poets, Abiodun Oyewole helped lay the groundwork for rap through the black poetry of Langston Hughes and Amiri Baraka. Like the late Gil Scott Heron, who was from the same generation, Abiodun Oyewole became a sherpa on rough roads. Even today, he declaims, raps, sings, comments, reacts, feels, and analyzes. He also embodies this transition between poetic declamation and rap.

We didn’t expect this album, which gives him the profile like the Yoda of the African-American culture.

The preoccupations here are wise and thoughtful, but do not fundamentally differ from what we know of Abiodun Oyewole: black neighbourhoods, the quest for equity, revolutionary hopes, love, soul, criticism, self-criticism. We also get to hear the poetry or rap of Jessica Care More, J. Ivy, Ade de Poet, and Pharoah Davis, as well as the complementary songs of Melodie Nicole. The beat-making and the musical accompaniment propel this septuagenarian wisdom well beyond the nostalgia of a duty accomplished. The twelve tracks suggested by Abiodun Oyewole are timeless, multigenerational, and superbly chiseled. 

Gratitude is an excellent album coming very early in 2022; it avoids the trap of pompous assessments and also that of an excessively ageist production. An ideal balance is reached here, without fluff, exhaling the deep experience and the greenness of Abiodun Oyewole.

Latest 360 Content

Montreal Anti Jazz Police Festival – Day 2

Montreal Anti Jazz Police Festival – Day 2

Shaina Hayes and her Kindergarten Heart

Shaina Hayes and her Kindergarten Heart

David Binney – In The Arms Of Light

David Binney – In The Arms Of Light

Chauffeur et Parlak – “The Napoli Run”

Chauffeur et Parlak – “The Napoli Run”

Arlo Parks’ infectious, festive melancholy at the Beanfield.

Arlo Parks’ infectious, festive melancholy at the Beanfield.

Charles Lloyd – The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow

Charles Lloyd – The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow

Montreal Anti-Jazz Police Festival at URSA – Day 1

Montreal Anti-Jazz Police Festival at URSA – Day 1

Piano Symphonique | Julia Mirzoev, Braden McConnell & Antoine Rivard-Landry

Piano Symphonique | Julia Mirzoev, Braden McConnell & Antoine Rivard-Landry

Single of the Day: Magick Brother & Mystic Sister “The Hierophant”

Single of the Day: Magick Brother & Mystic Sister “The Hierophant”

The Bolokos – feat. Fanswa Ladrezeau – Kouté Pou Tann

The Bolokos – feat. Fanswa Ladrezeau – Kouté Pou Tann

Real Farmer – Compare What’s There

Real Farmer – Compare What’s There

Simon Leoza – ACTE III

Simon Leoza – ACTE III

Opera McGill Presents Semele: An Ambitious Evening with the Gods

Opera McGill Presents Semele: An Ambitious Evening with the Gods

In Pursuit Of Repetitive Beats Experience Strives for Human Connection through VR

In Pursuit Of Repetitive Beats Experience Strives for Human Connection through VR

Daymé Arocena – Alkemi

Daymé Arocena – Alkemi

Extra Time – Where Is The Light

Extra Time – Where Is The Light

Martha Wainwright about her new jazz festival

Martha Wainwright about her new jazz festival

Félix Dubé Trio – Impermanence

Félix Dubé Trio – Impermanence

Thomas Dybdahl – Teenage Astronauts

Thomas Dybdahl – Teenage Astronauts

Buzhold – What It Meant?

Buzhold – What It Meant?

Yoo Doo Right – The Sacred Fuck EP

Yoo Doo Right – The Sacred Fuck EP

Residente – Las Letras Ya No Importan

Residente – Las Letras Ya No Importan

Subscribe to our newsletter