Watts Prophets: Well-Versed in Life’s Lessons : Poetry: The group, which performs tonight in Long Beach, tells of its experiences and concerns for the community.

Amde Hamilton knows how powerful an act of creativity can be.

“I can say that a poem saved my life,” says Hamilton, a member of the Watts Prophets, one of the forebears of rap.

In an interview at his South-Central home, Hamilton says that when he walked into the Watts Writers Workshop in 1966 “and took my little writing that I had put on a piece of paper and people said that it was something, it was the most meaningful thing that ever happened to me. It changed my whole life.”

The workshop was founded by Academy Award-winning screenwriter and novelist Budd Schulberg in 1966, in the aftermath of the Watts riots, as a means of providing urban blacks with a forum for expression.

“It let me know who I was,” said Hamilton, who is joined in the Prophets by Otis O’Solomon and Richard Dedeaux. “It gave me a direction, gave me an outlet, it gave me a place to explore.”

O’Solomon is of a like mind.

“I’ve had times where I was broke, and I’ve written a poem and I finished and I’d be so high,” said O’Solomon, seated next to Hamilton.

“Then I’d get in my car, put in two hours’ worth of gas and just drive. I’d stop somewhere and read the poem and it felt good. I’ve had money at different points in my life, but I don’t think I’ve had a greater high” than writing.

Today, the three men are considered the grandfathers of rap. But there was a time in their lives when poetry was just a word. That all changed when the three joined the Watts Writers Workshop. All the men praised Schulberg, who won a best screenplay Oscar for 1954’s “On the Waterfront.”

“He saw what was happening (in our community), made a commitment and came down, stayed in the trenches and proved himself,” said O’Solomon. “People said, ‘Hey, this guy’s for real, even if he is white.’ ”

By the late ‘60s, using the name Watts Prophets, the three were reciting gut-level, insightful poetry--sometimes simultaneously--about their experiences as young black men. These poems, with titles like “Sell Your Soul” and “Black in a White World,” were delivered dramatically over spirited music tracks.

The trio had some very strong years, appearing with everyone from Sarah Vaughan and Muhammad Ali to Billy Higgins and Ornette Coleman, and it has recorded an album, “Rappin’ Black in a White World.” And while the Prophets weren’t very active in the ‘80s, that has begun to change.

Besides tonight’s performance in Long Beach, the Watts Prophets will appear at California Plaza in downtown Los Angeles on July 30, and they’ve been signed to appear at Lollapalooza, coming to Cal State Dominguez Hills Sept. 3 and 4.

In addition, they are hammering out contract details for their first recording in two decades.

“That album should take us out into the world,” Dedeaux said.

The men still write about their experiences, and their concerns for their community. In one Hamilton poem about raising children, he writes, “Son, lend me your ears . . . I can see in the garden of young brains . . . you see man is fertile like the earth . . . what seeds are planted determine his worth . . . the cultivation of your child’s mind . . . must be done on your own time.”

Though they’d like to earn a living as the Watts Prophets, Hamilton, Dedeaux and O’Solomon, all in their 50s, each have day jobs. Hamilton works as counselor in alcohol and drug treatment programs, Dedeaux runs a custom picture-framing business from his home, and O’Solomon sells his poetry door to door.

“I go into beauty shops and barber shops, stores, parks,” O’Solomon said. “I’ve sold thousands of poems.”

The poets, whose work has been digitally sampled by numerous rap groups, will be backed tonight by a trio led by their musical director, Herb Graham Jr., of the B Sharp Jazz Quartet. The band will play everything from jazz to hip-hop.

“We can play over any kind of music. Next we are going to try Tchaikovsky,” said Dedeaux, laughing.

A Watts Prophets program includes poems written years ago, and some written last week.

“But it all sounds fresh, whether it’s old or new,” O’Solomon said.

Asked for their views on the state of the nation, and their community, the writers were mixed.

“I love America, and I believe it will sustain,” Dedeaux said.

“I have no hope,” said Hamilton, “but I have learned to have hope in the face of no hope.”

Ultimately, it’s the written word that keeps these gentlemen going.

“Writing a poem, even if it’s not the greatest poem, is like a release valve, Hamilton said. “It’s so therapeutic.”

* The Watts Prophets appear tonight at the Long Beach Museum of Art, 2300 E. Ocean Ave., Long Beach. 7 p.m. $8-10. (310) 438-9900.