In the last 25 years Linton Kwesi Johnson (LKJ) has had a huge impact on poetry and politics in the UK and internationally. His commitment to the rights of Black British people has been paired with a deep appreciation of history and his Jamaican musical and cultural roots.
He coined the term “dub poets� to describe popular reggae artists. ‘Dub poetry’ also came to describe LKJ’s poetic use of Jamaican patois (and Creole vernacular of English) and reggae rhythms.
Born in the parish of Clarendon, Jamaica in 1952, LKJ followed his parents to London in 1963. While studying at Goldsmith’s College at the University of London, he joined the Black Panthers and helped to organize a poetry workshop for the organization. The Panthers exposed him to the legacy of Black politics and literature, and it was The Souls of Black Folks by WEB DuBois that first inspired him to write poetry.
During the 1970s, LKJ was active in the struggles against police brutality in England, and his early works dealt with this topic. In 1974 Race Today published his first collection of poetry, Voices of the Living and the Dead. Dread Beat An' Blood, his second collection, was published in 1975 by Bogle-L'Ouverture. In 1978 LKJ released his first album of reggae poetry, titled Dread Beat An’ Blood, which featured poetry over driving bass-lines and drum licks. A documentary film of the same title about LKJ’s work was released the same year. In 1980 Race Today published his third book, Inglan Is A Bitch.
LKJ released four albums on the Island Records label: Forces of Victory, Bass Culture, LKJ in Dub and Making History, all backed by the Dennis Bovell Dub Band. In 1981 he launched his own record label, LKJ Records, which released Tings An’ Times, LKJ: A Cappella Live and More Time as well as a number of albums by other musical artists and poets. His latest projects are a new CD and DVD both entitled LKJ Live in Paris, soon to be available from LKJ records.
In 1990 LKJ received an award from the city of Pisa, Italy for his contribution to poetry and popular music at the XIII Premo Internazionale Ultimo Novecento. He has received numerous award and accolades and has had his poetry translated into many languages. His appearance on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam last year exposed his rhythmic, reggae-inflected poetry to a whole new audience in the U.S.
LKJ’s poetry and his albums of reggae music have always been deeply political, reflecting the struggles of Blacks and working class people in the UK and worldwide. Writing in a 1995 edition of the Trinidad & Tobago Review, Professor Kenneth Ramchand called LKJ “the first West Indian writer to document … new lifestyles and capture in verse rhythms the despairing apocalyptic mood, its menace and its mounting delusions."
LKJ’s poetry scathingly describes life under capitalism while painting a picture of hope and justice for humanity. After decades of political activism, musical innovation and radical poetry, Linton Kwesi Johnson continues to give voice to both a uniquely Black British culture and a universal outcry against racism and oppression.
For more information:
LKJ records www.lkjrecords.com
Reality Poem
By Linton Kwesi Johnson
dis is di age af reality
but some a wi a deal wid mitalagy
dis is di age af science an’ teknalagy
but some a wi check fi antiquity
w’en wi can’t face reality
wi leggo wi clarity
some latch aan to vanity
some hol’ insanity
some get vision
start preach relijan
but dem can’t mek decishan
w’en it come to we fite
dem can’t mek decishan
w’en it comes to wi rites
man,
dis is di age af reality
but some a wi deal wid mitalagy
dis is di age af science an’ teknalagy
but some a wi check fi antiquity
dem one deh gaan outta line
dem naw live in fi wi time
far dem she dem get sign
an’ dem bline dem eye
to di lite a di worl’
an’ gaan search widin
di dark a dem doom
an’ a shout ‘bout sin
instead a fite fi win
man,
dis is di age af reality
but some a wi deal wid mitalagy
dis is di age af science an’ teknalagy
but some a wi check fi antiquity
dis is di age af decishan
soh mek wi leggo relijan
dis is di age af decishan
soh mek we leggo divishan
dis is di age af reality
soh mek we leggo mitalagy
dis is di age of science an’ teknalagy
soh mek wi hol’ di clarity
mek wi hol’ di clarity
mek wi hol’ di clarity
(C) Linton Kwesi Johnson,
reproduced by kind permission of
LKJ Music Publishers Ltd
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