Sport by Lightnin’ Rod is the opening track of the 1973 album Hustlers Convention. Lightnin’ Rod's real name was Jalal Manus Nuriddin (aka Alafia Pudim). He was a member of militant proto-rappers the Last Poets, who wrote Wake Up, Niggers, featured in the cult 1970 film Performance. He recorded Hustlers Convention under the pseudonym Lightnin' Rod. The album was a major influence on hip hop music and combined poetry, funk, jazz, and toasts and the album helped add a sociopolitical element to black music. Blaxploitation film
The album is like soundtrack of a blaxploitation movie that’s never been filmed. The album is about two fictional hustlers, named Sport and Spoon on an all-night gambling spree punctuated by drug use and violence set in 1959. After a bloody shoot-out and car chase Sport is arrested by the police, dumped in Sing Sing on death row. Defeated by a system where "the real hustlers were rippin' off billions. From the unsuspecting millions". Spoon escapes to try to live a better life. The album is his attempt to reflect a society around him that was characterized by hustlers in the ghetto that were seen as role models but in fact were parasites feeding off the people.
Well now they called me Sport cause I pushed a boss short
And loved all the women to death
I partied hard and packed a mean rod
And could knock you out with a right or a left.
Nuriddin originally recorded the album a cappella. But he changed his mind and invited talented musicians like King Curtis, Billy Preston and Bernard Purdie. Alan Douglas, his producer, discovered Kool & the Gang were also recording music in the same building. Douglas approached the band and asked them if they wanted participate on some of the tracks. The band agreed to play for free, uncredited. Their most notable contribution is a driving bass and horn heavy groove used on three different songs, most notably Sport. Kool & the Gang were signed to another label, and within a couple of months after the release of the album, United Artists label was faced with a lawsuit and withdrew the record. Hustlers Convention sank commercially, but its reputation grew via word of mouth.
Rap music's great forgotten classic
The album is regarded as one of rap music's great forgotten classics, influencing other rap artists. It has been sampled by Wu-Tang Clan Jungle Brothers and Nas. The sound effects of rolling dice, jazz clubs, car chases and gunshots inspired producers like Dr Dre and DJ Premier. Nuraddin he’s never received any money from the frequent sampling of Hustlers Convention. The album introduced gangsta rap with many rappers still boasting of their rags-to-riches tales with seemingly little regard for morality or social consciousness. But they didn't get the point: Nuraddin wrote this album to deflect gangsta rap, not promote it!
Documentary
In 2015 the album became the subject of a documentary. The film was produced by Chuck D ( Public Enemy) and filmmaker Mike Todd. De documentary is about the grandfather of rap and his classic album that changed the face of music.
Source: Albumism, Flabbergasted vibes, The Guardian
