Archie Shepp was born in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in 1937, but raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he studied piano, clarinet and alto saxophone before focusing on tenor saxophone. Shepp studied drama at Goddard College from 1955 to 1959, but he eventually turned to music professionally. He played and recorded with both Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane in the early 60's. Shepp recorded Ascension with Coltrane in 1965, taking his place at the forefront of the avant-garde jazz scene.

In 1965, Shepp released Fire Music, which included the first signs of his increasingly prominent political consciousness and Afrocentricity. It contained the reading of an elegy for Malcolm X, deriving its title from a ceremonial African music tradition. The Magic of Ju-Ju in 1967 also took its name from African musical traditions, and dove headlong into the continent's music, utilizing an African percussion ensemble. At this time, many African-American jazzmen were increasingly influenced by various continental African cultural and musical traditions, and along with Pharoah Sanders, Shepp was at the forefront of this movement. The Magic of Ju-Ju defined Shepp's sound for the next few years: freeform avant-garde saxophone lines coupled with the rhythms and ideologies of Africa.

Shepp continued to experiment into the new decade, at various times including harmonica players and spoken word poets in his ensembles. With 1972's Attica Blues and The Cry of My People, he spoke out for civil rights; the former album was a response to the Attica Prison riots.

In 1971, Shepp was recruited to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, beginning a 30-year career as a professor of music. Shepp's first two courses were entitled "Revolutionary Concepts in African-American Music" and "Black Musician in the Theater." Shepp was also a professor of African American Studies at SUNY in Buffalo, New York. In the late 1970s and beyond, Shepp's career went between various old territories and various new ones. He continued to explore African music, while also recording blues, ballads, spirituals, and tributes to more traditional jazz figures such as Charlie Parker and Sidney Bechet.