Artist page

Linton Kwesi Johnson, also known as LKJ, was born on August 24, 1952, in Chapelton, Clarendon, Jamaica. He moved to Brixton, London, UK, at the age of nine. Johnson is a British-based author and dub poet. During high school, he joined the English "Black Panther" movement, which helped him establish a poetry workshop, and later became part of a small group of percussionists and poets called "Rasta Love." He began publishing in the magazine "Race Today" in 1973 after graduating in sociology. His first book of poetry, "Voices of the Living and the Dead," was released in 1974, followed by "Dread Beat an' Blood" in 1975, the title of his first album released in 1978. In 1980, he published his third book, "England is a Bitch," and followed it with his second album, "Forces of Victory," which garnered him recognition and led to various media roles in cultural programs. Johnson's poetry is notable for its clever use of unstandardized transcription of Jamaican Patois and is connected to the Jamaican "toasting" tradition. He became the second living poet and the only black poet to be published in the Penguin Classics series, solidifying his status as a leading figure in "Dub Poetry." In 1991, he ran his own label. In 2020, he was awarded the prestigious PEN

For any edit requests, please reach out to info@rovr.live