This week on 4 Pz, The Pain & Pleasure Pa$$ion Produced” I decided to release some video me and my Dad did before he passed that I never got a chance to be released. It was him describing how his poem “One Eyed Critic” was created, and used in the hip hop group BlackStar album on the song “Yo Yeah”.
Black Star is an American hip hop duo formed in 1997, from Brooklyn, New York City, New York. The duo is composed of rappers Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) and Talib Kweli. They released a number of singles and one album, Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star on August 26, 1998.
My father’s name is Norman Jordan, and has also gone by the name Peter Jesus, he was part of the black arts movement in the 1970’s in Cleveland Ohio. He speaks in this video about how Motown Records recorded a poetry reading at the Apollo Theater in New York, with other poets such as the Last Poets. It was this recording the BlackStar used my father reading of his poem on their album.
As a birthday present my brother Gandhi Jordan had a plaque made for my father , and my father speaks about that also in this video. He also talks about me calling him and telling him about it for the first time. I miss my Dad, and the stuff like this we use to do.
Hear the song “Yo Yeah” from BlackStar and featuring my father Norman Jordan at
Catch you next week!