Dub Poetry

Malachi's Blog

What Is Dub PoetryDub poet is a vehicle through which I advocate for the oppressed and dispossed of the world to the power structure of the world. It has nothing to do with work. I was writing this advocacy type of poetry long before I became a police officer. I am always aware of my history and the path of my people and this flows powerfully throughout my veins daily. I also write about love too. I have a quest to know love and find love for it is part of my journey on planet earth. Babylon is evil, so the system doesn't necessarily have to be Babylon. Evil hearts create and are Babylon. A police officer of a fire fighter who goes out there and does heroic things to save a life is not Babylon. On the other hand, an idiot out in the streets whether it be Kingston, Soweto or New York, who rob and kill and rape is Babylon. At lot of the persons in say Jamaica right now who are crying Babylon, are Babylonians because they are the ones whom often prey on their suffering sisters and brothers. Dub poets have conscientiously rejected the get rich, and get hip culture from time immemorial. We know who we are, where we are and where we are going. So it isn't just a show thing. We know that the roots of the movement, i.e., genre, is steeply rooted in in the griot traditions of mother Africa. Oku rejected contacts from major labels to sign him because they wanted him to drop the dup poetry label. Linton Kwesi Johnson received a Grammy nomination for his dub poetry long before the first Jamaican D.J. did. The truth is, dub poetry is hard hitting for the most part and Babylonians are afraid of this. Aspiring poets should read, listen, and go beyond the surface when writing. If they have the opportunity, they should establish working relationships with elders. My poems are journeys into the mind. I walk when I write and I hope that my reader, listener also takes this journey, so you might say, my style is deliberate. The poet must stimulate the senses so on my journeys one sees, hears, touches, feels, different aspects of the subject matter. Inspiration comes from creation. Everything and everything can be inspirational. It can be seeing a pair of beautiful eyes that wounds and slay the soul or it could be a bullet through a heart that makes your mind bleed for a whole night and then some days, or it could be a conversation with your inner man or an old lady. Art has and will always have a powerful role in society. Great societies are defined by their artists, sports heroes, cultural heroes, scientists and statesmen. It should be a balancing act, so the arts should never be compromised, but encouraged as it provided opportunities for minds to grow wings.