Lightnin' Rod was a pseudonym used by Jalal Nuriddin (Jalaludin M. Nuriddin), a member of influential proto-rap group The Last Poets .

Lightnin' Rod's much-sampled 1973 album Hustler's Convention (sic) consists of one long rhyming narrative, relaying the story of a young ghetto player and his partner in crime. Broken into twelve tracks or "chapters", the tale features backing from a host of funk, soul and jazz musicians including Kool & The Gang, Eric Gale, Cornell Dupree, Bernard Purdie and Richard Tee.

Doriella Du Fontaine, a retrospectively-released recording from 1969, features Rod rhyming over a guitar and drums backdrop provided by Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Miles.

In 1973 a fast-talking, hustler by the name of Sport played a huge part in the birth of Hip-Hop. Brought to life by Lightnin’ Rod a.k.a Jalal of the Last Poets and backed by music provided by Kool & The Gang among others. His street tales of card games, throwing dice and chasing women influenced Wu Tang, Ice T, Public Enemy, Jungle Brothers, Black Moon and many more. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.