ENTITY · PERSON (ARTIST, SELECTOR, PRODUCER…)
Linton Kwesi Johnson
Well supported
Linton Kwesi Johnson, born in Jamaica in 1952 and raised from age eleven in London, coined the term "dub poetry" in the 1970s for verse performed over reggae rhythm that stayed "word-first" rather than subordinating the poetry to the music. His records, often made with producer Dennis Bovell, documented Black British politics directly - police harassment, immigration, the 1981 Brixton uprising - and his 1981 label LKJ Records later released work by other dub poets, including Mikey Smith.
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- Well supported
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What people argued about this record — two documented positions each time, kept apart from verified fact. Browse every argument in the archive →
Is dub poetry literature, record culture or both?
One side
Literary canon
The other
Sound-system poetics
Dub poetry challenges a clean split between book, stage and sound recording, making bibliography and discography equally important evidence layers.
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Compiled and researched by The Jamaica Music Atlas music desk. The sources that informed it are credited above.
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