Genres & eras

Dub Poetry

Dub poetry is spoken-word performance over reggae or dub rhythms — associated with Linton Kwesi Johnson, Mutabaruka, and Oku Onuora — merging Caribbean oral tradition with studio-backed political commentary.

Why it matters: Dub poetry expands what counts as vocals on a riddim. It links Jamaican music to wider Black Atlantic literary movements and documents migration, police violence, and identity in Britain and the Caribbean.

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