{"title":"Linton Kwesi Johnson","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLinton Kwesi Johnson (aka LKJ) is a British-based author and dub poet. Born in Jamaica, he moved to Brixton, London at the age of 9. Johnson joined the English \"Black Panther\" group in high school, where he helped create a poetry workshop. He later became part of the \"Rasta Love\" group, consisting of percussionists and poets. Johnson's first book of poetry, Voices of the Living and the Dead, was published in 1974, followed by Dread Beat an' Blood in 1975 which also served as his debut album. His work gained recognition with his third book England is a Bitch in 1980 and second album Forces of Victory.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJohnson's poetry cleverly incorporates Jamaican Patois and draws inspiration from the Jamaican \"toasting\" tradition. He has been published in the Penguin Classics series, making him the second living poet and only black poet to achieve this honor. As a pioneer of Dub Poetry, Johnson is widely regarded as its greatest representative.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn addition to his artistic endeavors, Johnson ran his own label starting from 1991. In recognition of his political ferocity and tireless scrutiny of history through his work, he was awarded the prestigious PEN Pinter prize in 2020.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"selected-poems","title":"Selected Poems","description":"\u003cp\u003eNow including an afterword and new poems by the author and an introduction by Gary Younge\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePioneering poet Linton Kwesi Johnson has revolutionized English literature with his electrifying fusion of oral verse, Jamaican speech, radical politics and reggae rhythms. This new edition of a vital selection of poems covers over four decades and includes classic early poems such as 'Inglan is a Bitch', 'New Craas Massakah' and 'Sonny's Lettah', as well as compelling recent work.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":50443753750859,"sku":"1159625","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/85db5d96-c6c9-40be-9706-810ee0a634d7_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727019917"},{"product_id":"making-history","title":"Making History","description":"\u003cp\u003eExpanded LP edition of ‘dub poet’ Linton Kwesi Johnson’s classic 1984 album, featuring the original album + three bonus tracks. Bespoke gatefold sleeve with enhanced artwork. Remastered at Abbey Road, released on heavyweight coloured vinyl. Produced by Linton Kwesi Johnson and the legendary Dennis Bovell (‘Blackbeard’), the album continues LKJ’s fierce, politically-charged view of Britain at the time. His outspoken comments on the 1981 Brixton riots, the New Cross fire that killed 13 black teenagers and confronting the National Front are all tackled but with an accessible and strident dub-reggae beat. Extensive liner notes from the original LP, by the late political activist and journalist Darcus Howe, are included in the package. Darcus was depicted in the recent Steve McQueen film, ‘Small Axe: Mangrove’ on BBC TV.\u003cbr\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Island","offers":[{"title":"Yellow | LP","offer_id":50465589428555,"sku":"1119408","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/d6d81bed-e884-4a63-ab61-e738acde5419_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727292977"},{"product_id":"bass-culture-lkj-in-dub-rsd2020","title":"Bass Culture \/ LKJ In Dub RSD2020","description":"\u003cp\u003e40th anniversary 2-LP edition of ‘dub poet’ Linton Kwesi Johnson’s classic 1980 album, released on Island Records, with additional LP – \u003ci\u003eLKJ in Dub\u003c\/i\u003e, featuring dub versions of tracks from \u003ci\u003eBass Culture\u003c\/i\u003e and previous studio LP \u003ci\u003eForces Of Victory.\u003c\/i\u003e Produced by Linton Kwesi Johnson and the legendary Dennis Bovell (\u003ci\u003eBlackbeard\u003c\/i\u003e), the album is a fierce, politically-charged view of Britain at the time. The music however is both highly accessible and experimental, going beyond traditional reggae arrangements to include free jazz and avant-garde elements. Remastered at Abbey Road, released on heavyweight coloured vinyl: Green for \u003ci\u003eBass Culture\u003c\/i\u003e \/ Red for \u003ci\u003eLKJ In Dub\u003c\/i\u003e. Features expanded artwork in a bespoke gatefold sleeve. Both albums out of print on vinyl for years.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Island","offers":[{"title":"Red | LP | x2","offer_id":50465657815371,"sku":"1092737","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/d8ad2789-5d3f-4dae-a7ce-5bfd3190e887_thumbnail_4096.png?v=1727294462"},{"product_id":"reggae-greats-5","title":"Reggae Greats","description":"\u003cp\u003eback in stock\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Island","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50480750821707,"sku":"119045","price":5.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/8b00a03c-de57-4a7a-9bbd-3658cace4563_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727526492"},{"product_id":"forces-of-victory-black-history-month","title":"Forces of Victory (Black History Month)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLinton Kwesi Johnson\u003c\/strong\u003e's \u003cem\u003eForces of Victory\u003c\/em\u003e is reissued on heavyweight vinyl in celebration of Black History Month. The album was remastered at Abbey Road and features a bonus disc of dub versions, extended mixes, and expanded album artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"UMC","offers":[{"title":"Black LPx2","offer_id":50485680079179,"sku":"1133687","price":42.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/343ab414-c547-4ceb-a511-0bd3874283ac_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727602028"},{"product_id":"time-come-selected-prose","title":"Time Come: Selected Prose","description":"\u003cp\u003eRecognized as one of the great poets of modern times, and as a deeply respected and influential political and cultural activist and social critic, Linton Kwesi Johnson is also a prolific writer of non-fiction. In Time Come, he selects some of his most powerful prose – book and record reviews published in newspapers and magazines, lectures, obituaries and speeches – for the first time. Written over many decades, it is a body of work that draws creatively and critically on Johnson’s own Jamaican roots and on Caribbean history to explore the politics of race and ethnicity that continue to inform the Black British experience.Ranging from reflections on the place of music in Caribbean and Black British culture as a creative, defiant response to oppression, to his penetrating appraisals of music and literature, and including warm tributes paid to the activists and artists who inspired him to find his own voice as a poet and compelled him to contribute to the struggle for racial equality and social justice, Time Come is a panorama of an exceptional life. A collection that ventures into memoir, it underscores Johnson’s enduring importance in Britain’s cultural history and reminds us of his brilliant, unparalleled legacy.With an introduction by Paul Gilroy\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Picador","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":50489203294539,"sku":"2003752","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Linton_Kwesi_Johnson_9c431f48_thumbnail_4096.png?v=1727639266"},{"product_id":"verbal-riddim-dub-poetry","title":"Verbal Riddim: Dub Poetry","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is dub poetry: bold and musical, funny and furious.This collection brings together the work of nine inventive and brilliant poets who defined and drove the dub poetry genre. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the Caribbean, Canada and the UK, the poetry in this collection spans forty years, as dub became a powerful cultural and creative force.With roots in the reggae culture of 1970s Kingston, dub poetry uses the vivid expressions of everyday spoken language to describe and challenge the experience of life on the margins. Early dub poetry took on police violence, slums and poverty. Later, as Caribbean migrants arrived in countries like Britain and Canada, dub poets faced new issues: racism, discrimination and hostility. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOver four difficult decades, dub gave marginalised people a voice for their anger, defiance and creativity. It was the soundtrack to post-Windrush culture.Serious and humorous, alive and urgent, here is the very best of dub poetry.The poets included in this collection are: Oku Onuora, Mikey Smith, Mutabaruka, Jean 'Binta' Breeze, James Berry, Benjamin Zephaniah, Ahdri Zhina Mandiela, Lillian Allen and Afua Cooper.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":50529062519115,"sku":"2021694","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":51948323537227,"sku":"2021694","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/51vBbA2hJL._SX325_BO1204203200__4d4e4da1_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1728062244"},{"product_id":"bass-culture","title":"Bass Culture","description":"\u003cp\u003eBass Culture is an album by dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson, released in 1980 on the Island Records label. It was produced by Linton Kwesi Johnson and Dennis Bovell (credited as Blackbeard).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe track \"Reggae fi Peach\" laments the death of Blair Peach, an activist who was killed in London during a clash with police officers while protesting with the Anti-Nazi League against a British National Front meeting in 1979.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50922350281035,"sku":"1011040","price":5.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/b6334595-76d0-410a-baca-48ef1a136357_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1733216260"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_1dded5b1_thumbnail_4096_7fb557a0-1a62-491e-b504-8d7e6930ca25.jpg?v=1727019897","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/linton-kwesi-johnson.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}