Dub poetry
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"Dis poem shall call names. Names like Lumumba, Kenyatta, Nkrumah, Hannibal, Akhenaten, Malcolm, Garvey, Haile Selassie." --"Dis Poem" (1986) by Mutabaruka |
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Dub poetry is a form of performance poetry of Caribbean origin which evolved out of Jamaican dub music. Notable dub poems include "Inglan Is a Bitch" (1980) by Linton Kwesi Johnson, "Rasta" (1983) by Benjamin Zephaniah and "Dis Poem" (1986) by Mutabaruka.
The term "Dub Poetry" was coined by influential Dub artist Linton Kwesi Johnson in 1976, and further popularized by equally influential artist Oku Onoura, which consists of spoken word over reggae rhythms, originally found on the backing or "version" side of a 12 or 6 inch vinyl record.
Unlike dee jaying (also known as toasting), which also features the use of the spoken word, the dub poet's performance is normally prepared, rather than the extemporized chat of the dancehall dee jay. In musical setting, the dub poet usually appears on stage with a band performing music specifically written to accompany each poem, rather than simply perform over the top of dub plates, or riddims, in the dancehall fashion. Musicality is built into dub poems, yet, dub poets generally perform without backing music, delivering chanted speech with pronounced rhythmic accentuation and dramatic stylization of gesture. Sometimes dub music effects, e.g. echo, reverb, are dubbed spontaneously by a poet into live versions of a poem. Many dub poets also employ call-and-response devices to engage audiences.
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Political nature
Dub poetry has been a vehicle for political and social commentary, 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 (thus sharing these elements with dancehall and "conscious" or "roots" reggae music).
Notable albums
Dub poetry has been established itself as a major form of black popular art and its breakthrough was made through Linton Kwesi Johnson's (LKJ)'s seminal album Dread Beat an' Blood, which was released in the UK in 1978. Oku Onuora's Reflection In Red in 1979, was the first Jamaican recording of a dub poem, followed by Lillian Allen's Revolutionary Tea Party and Benjamin Zephaniah's Rasta, both produced in 1983, and many others from the early 1980s onwards such as Anti Social Workers 'Positive Style' produced by leading dub producer The Mad Professor on Ariwa Records..
United Kingdom
LKJ still runs LKJ Records in the UK, a label that publishes both his own books and music, as well as that of other musicians and poets.
Benjamin 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 British Poet Laureate in 1999, and in 2003 was also offered an OBE, which he declined.
Many dub poets have published their work as volumes of written poetry as well as albums of poetry with music.
See also
