Rap’s Great Lost Album Is Reborn
Sampled by the Wu Tang Clan, Beastie Boys and Nas, lauded by Melle Mel and Grandmaster Flash, Hustlers Convention set the template for hip-hop. And yet the 1973 album by Jalal Nuriddin of the Last Poets has never received the recognition it deserves – or made any money for its creator. A mixture of bad luck, bad business and bad faith consigned Hustlers Convention to the margins, but 40 years after its initial release that may change. Next month in London the album will be performed live for the first time, and a film will follow later this year, directed by Mike Todd and produced by Chuck D, that celebrates its legacy.
