Nineteen Sixty Something

In the late 1960s, LeRoi Jones became Imamu Amiri Baraka, a name change reflecting his move to a cultural nationalist ideology. Also reflective of that movement was his establishment of Jihad Productions. Jihad released three record albums. The first, Sonny’s Time Now, included a performance of Baraka’s poem “Black Art.” On this recording we hear the far more performative recitation mode Baraka evolved in the course of this decade. Jihad also released a recorded performance of Baraka’s play A Black Mass, accompanied by the Sun Ra Arkestra, and the album Black & Beautiful—Soul & Madness. As the sixties blended into the seventies, Baraka was given an unusual opportunity by Motown Records, and was able to record a full studio album of his word-sound works.