Just a Poet With a Soul is the debut alternative hip hop

Alternative hip hop

Alternative hip hop is a sub-genre of hip hop music. Allmusic defines it as follows: -Origin:...

 album by Def Jef

Def Jef

Def Jef is the stage name of Jeffrey Fortson , an American alternative hip hop musician and rapper of the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was born in Harlem, New York City, New York, USA....

, released in 1989 (see 1989 in music

1989 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989.-Events:*January 14 – Paul McCartney releases Снова в СССР exclusively in the USSR...

), released on Delicious Vinyl

Delicious Vinyl

Delicious Vinyl is an American independent record label founded by Matt Dike and Michael Ross in 1987 and based in Los Angeles. Throughout its history, the label has had distribution deals with [Island Records/[PolyGram]], Warner Music Group, EMI, Red Ant, Rhino and Universal Music Group.-Early...

. The album was highly praised upon its first release, with critics enjoying the sociopolitical lyrics that have led some to Def Jef along with De La Soul

De La Soul

De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...

 and other members of the Native Tongues Posse

Native Tongues Posse

The Native Tongues is a collective of late 1980s and early 1990s hip-hop artists known for their positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics, and for pioneering the use of eclectic sampling and later jazz-influenced beats. Its principal members are the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, and A Tribe...

, though he was never a part of the crew. Many have called the album a lost classic of hip hop.

Track listing

1. "Droppin' Rhymes on Drums" (with Etta James
   Etta James
   Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
   
   )
2. "Givin' Em Rhythm"
3. "On the Real Tip"
4. "Poet With Soul"
5. "Give It Here"
6. "Do You Wanna Get Housed"
7. "Black to the Future"
8. "Do It Baby"
9. "God Made Me Funky"
10. "Downtown"
11. "Just A Poet"