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When Linton Kwesie Johnson released his
debute album back in the late 1970's, he was
introducing a brand new genre within Reggae
Music. You see, when LKJ came out with that
album Dread Beat And Blood, he came
out with the first collection of DUB
Poetry.
Sure, toasting (rhythmic chanting
over drum and bass driven riddims) was
rather popular and even cultivated, but what
LKJ did was completely different. Before Dread
Beat and Blood, Linton had allready
published a book of poetry with the same
title. His lyrics were poems.
Linton Kwesie Johnson, who is based in
the UK, was also involved with a group
of Rasta musicians and so he managed to
combine music and poetry. A new style was
born.
In this live performance at the German
Chiemsee festival, LKJ recites a couple of
his poems while a supertight band with
Dennis Bovell on bass gives the musical
backing. Dennis Bovell has allways worked
with LKJ on his projects and is a UK Reggae
legend in his own might as well.
The band has an impressive drummer,
another noteworthy point is the fact that
they even have a violin on stage without
harming the Reggae vibe at all. Interesting,
to say the least.
LKJ's poetry is serious stuff. He speaks
about black struggle in the UK and world
wide, about fascists and police brutality.
Between the riddims and poems, he explains
to the audience where the lyrics are about.
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