Saturdays 9:00pm
on C31 Melbourne






bric-a-brac Puzzled Look
14 & 15 Linton Kwesi Johnson
Reggae Artist and political poet Linton Kwesi Johnson, aka LKJ, was born in Chapletown, Jamaica in 1952 and moved to England at the age of eleven to live with his mother in Brixton. It was a traumatic experience, compounded by the hostility and racism of Britain in the early 60s. Before long he had joined The Black Panthers, where he learned about both politics and black literature, which first inspired his desire to write poetry.

LKJ's music involves the recitation of his own verse in Jamaican Creole over dub-reggae, usually written in collaboration with renowned British reggae producer/artist Dennis Bovell.

Most of Johnson's poetry is political, dealing mainly with the experiences of being an African-Caribbean in Britain. Some of his most celebrated poems were written during the government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The poems contain graphic accounts of the often racist police brutality occurring at the time. However, he has also shown himself more than capable of writing about other issues, such as British foreign policy or the death of anti-racist marcher Blair Peach.

LKJ is the author of four books, eleven albums and continues to write, lecture and perform around the world.

www.lkjrecords.com


Wrasse Records / Filter Music