Linton Kwesi Johnson

Linton Kwesi Johnson (alias LKJ) is a Dub poet ( poet Dub ) British and musician of Reggae born the August 24th 1952 in Chapelton in Jamaica.

Biography

In 1963, it left to join its family with London. Although being student, it adhered to the English movement Black Panthers. It organized for example a workshop poetry and took part in the group of reggae Rasta Love .

It started into 1973 of the studies of sociology to the Goldsmiths College of London. During these years, it published its first text in a newspaper of the group Race Today Collective , which off published in 1974 its first collection of poetry Voices the Living and the Dead .

Then in 1975 follows its second collection Dread Beat An' Blood . Its dub poetry is then its first recognition, it receives in 1977 the grant " Cecil-Day-Lewis". The label Island published in 1978 its first disc, also named Dread Beat An' Blood . In 1979 and 1980 follow the following albums: Forces off Victory and Low Culture , which, with its collection Inglan Has Bitch published at the same time, consolidates its famous lyric voice most significant of the British reggae.

At the same time, musical work, in his opinion, brings much to its social work and policy and in spite of its great success and the offer of a big contract of discs, it takes one moment of rest. However in 1984 it published Making History , which is according to several people her best album. It left then two following albums: Tings An' Times in 1991 and More Time in 1998. In 1991, it publishes an album of texts also titrated Tings an' Times . It does not make any more great rounds since 1985.

LKJ founds in 1981 its clean label, LKJ Records , and thus produces the important poet dub jamaïcain Michal Smith. Its own discs also generally leave under its own label.

Style, poetry and policy

Its poetry evolves/moves of the recitation of its clean in Créole jamaïcain with the reggae Dub, in general written in collaboration with the producer/British artist Dennis Bovell.

Although it employs English in his speeches with the students and the politicians, the poetry of LKJ is written in patois jamaïcain.

The majority of its poetry are political, approaching the topics of police oppression, the living conditions and the experiment to be black in Great Britain.

It was in particular invested in the demonstrations making following the imprisonment of George Lindo, a man accused for flight of which the culpability had not been proven. The photography of Linton Kwesi Johnson reciting a poem with the loud-hailer in front of the demonstrators come to claim the release of this last made the cover of " Happy Dread An' Blood" , its first album.

Works

Voices off the Living room and the Dead , London, 1974
Happy Dread an' Blood , London, 1975
Inglan Has Bitch , London, 1975
Tings An' Times , Newcastle upon the Tyne and London, 1991
Mi Revalueshanary Fren , Penguin, 2002

Discography

1978 : Happy Dread An' Blood - Island
1979: Forces off Victory - Island
1980: Low Culture - Island
1981: LKJ in Dub - Island
1983: Making History - Island
1985: LKJ Live in Concert with the Dub Band - LKJ Records
1991: Tings An' Times - LKJ Records
1992: LKJ in Dub: Volume 2 - LKJ Records
1996: Present LKJ - LKJ Records
1996: LKJ has Cappella Live - LKJ Records
1998: More Time - LKJ Records
1998: Independent Intavenshan - Island
2002: LKJ in Dub: Volume 3 - LKJ Records
2003: LKJ Live in Paris, with the Refusals Bowell Dub Band - LKJ Records

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