News at Eleven: The performances of LKJ's poems are accompanied

by reggae rhythms, but according to the poet himself these rhythms are inherent in the meter of the verse, indeed, LKJ continues to see his texts as poems and not songs, insisting that his poems must work as poems.

To describe this type of demotic hammered poetry LKJ coined the term ‘dub poetry' in reference to the technique of dubbing or mixing the instrumental track of a recording with voice. In reggae terms dub, strips away many of the melodic tracks leaving only the rhythm section with the other instruments reduced to an echo. These instrumental recordings allow DJs to toast or chat over the top of the music and this is where LKJ finds the space to perform his poetry.

from PopMatters: Linton Kwesi Johnson and the Eloquence of Rioters

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