Dub poetry
Encyclopedia : D : DU : DUB : Dub poetry
| Music of Jamaica | |
|---|---|
| Kumina | Nyabinghi |
| Mento | Ska |
| Rocksteady | Reggae |
| Sound systems | Lovers rock |
| Dub | Dancehall |
| Dub poetry | Toasting |
| Raggamuffin | Roots reggae |
| US | UK |
| Timeline and Samples | |
| Anglophone Caribbean music | |
| Anguilla - Antigua and Barbuda - Bahamas - Barbados - Bermuda - Caymans - Grenada - Jamaica - Montserrat - St. Kitts and Nevis - St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Trinidad and Tobago - Turks and Caicos - Virgin Islands | |
| Other Caribbean | |
| Aruba and the Dutch Antilles - Cuba - Dominica - Dominican Republic - Haiti - Martinique and Guadeloupe - Puerto Rico - St. Lucia | |
Dub poetry is mostly of an overtly political and social nature, with none of the braggadocio often associated with the dancehall. The odd love-song or elegy appears, but dub poetry is predominantly concerned with politics and social justice, commonly voiced through a commentary on current events (and in this it does share much with Dancehall and 'Conscious' or 'Roots' [reggae] music).
Linton Kwesi Johnson (LKJ)'s album Dread, Beat an' Blood first appeared in 1977 then Oku Onuora's Reflection In Red in 1979 followed by Benjamin Zephaniah's Rasta, and many others in the early 1980s onwards. Although the genre had its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s, many of the poets are still active today; many new poets are emerging, and even experimenting with the genre (i.e., the Jamaican dub style over hip-hop beats).
Toronto Canada has the second highest concentration of Dub Poets preceded by Jamaica and followed by England. Poets such as Lillian Allen, Afua Cooper, and Ahdri Zhina Mandiela are among the founding mothers of the Canadian Dub Poetry legacy.
LKJ still runs LKJ records in the UK, a label which publishes both his own books and music, and also that of other musicians and poets.
Zephaniah continues to publish in the UK. He has written novels as well as poetry. He was put forward for the post of Oxford Professor of Poetry in 1989 and UK Poet Laureate in 1999, and was also offered an OBE in 2003, which he declined.
Many of the Dub Poets have published their work as volumes of written poetry as well as albums of poetry with music.
Notable Dub Poets
- Lillian Allen
- Jean "Binta" Breeze
- Afua Cooper
- Michael St.George
- Linton Kwesi Johnson
- ahdri zhina mandiela
- Mutabaruka
- Oku Onuora
- Michael Smith
- Benjamin Zephaniah
- D'bi Young
- Malachi Smith
| Reggae | Reggae genres |
|---|
| Mento - Rocksteady - Ska |
| Dub - Dub poetry - Dee jaying or Toasting - Dancehall - Ragga or Raggamuffin - Reggaeton - Roots reggae - Two Tone |
| Other topics |
| Haile Selassie - Jamaica - Marcus Garvey - Rastafari movement - Skinheads |
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