Boom! Welcome back to another weekly podcast of The Rebel Beat, your regular dose of revolutionary music across different genres, and class war on the dance floor.
This week on the show, our special guest is the legendary British-Jamaican dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson. Johnson hails from Clarendon, Jamaica, but immigrated to the UK in the early 60’s. From there, he got deeply involved in the Jamaican and Black diasporic reggae scenes, as well as political organizing at a time of fervent racial oppression in England. LKJ pioneered the genre of dub poetry, or dub lyricism, which combines Jamaican patois spoken word with deep reggae and dub grooves. His music amplifies the voices of Black youth who were clashing with police in the streets, and demanding dignified lives.
We spoke with LKJ on the phone from his home in London to talk about his music, his art, Black community struggles from the past and present (including the UK Black Panther movement), and fighting to win.
Hope you enjoy!
Next week on the program – A special on the Quebec student strike, featuring Québecois resistance music, a live performance from Caytee Lush, and special guests from the Howl Arts Collective!
Playlist April 8 2015
Alpha Blondie – Apartheid is nazism
Dennis Brown – Revolution
Delhi Sultanate w/ King Zumbi – Riot police
Mutabaruka – De system
Mungo’s Hi-Fi feat. Warrior Queen – Can’t stand it (Fleck remix)
D’bi Young – Tallawah
Linton Kwesi Johnson – Fite dem back
Linton Kwesi Johnson – All wi doin is defendin
Interview with Linton Kwesi Johnson
Linton Kwesi Johnson – Wat about di workin’ class
The Pioneers – Riot inna notting hill
The Clash – White Riot
The Observers meets Mutabaruka – Dis poem burns babylon (DJ Spooky remix)
D’bi Young feat Anonimo Consejo – Amerikkan dreaming
Las Cafeteras – It’s movement time
La Santa Cecilia – Ice el Hielo
Clare O’Connor and Corbin Murdoch – Song for a lonely internationalist
One Hundred Dollars – Paris is burning
LAL – Where we belong
Cris Derksen – War cry movement I
Tanya Tagaq – Uja (Boogey the Beat remix)
Lightning Cloud – #IdleNoMore
Frank Wain – Aboriginal
Mutabaruka – Big Mountain (For the Indians of Turtle Island)
the Brat Attack – Residential schools
East End Radicals – Nation’s secret shame
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