Linton Kwesi Johnson

Linton Kwesi Johnson (aka LKJ) is a British-based Dub poet. Johnson attended Goldsmiths College in New Cross, London. LKJ’s poetry involves the recitation of his own verse in Jamaican Creole over dub-reggae, usually written in collaboration with renowned British reggae producer and artist Dennis Bovell.

Most of Johnson’s poetry is political, dealing mainly with the experiences of being an African-Caribbean in Britain. He has also written about other issues such as British foreign policy and the death of anti-racist marcher Blair Peach in 1979. His most celebrated poems were written during the government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The poems contain graphic accounts of the alleged regular racist police brutality occurring at the time.