National Geographic Music (National Geographic)

One of the great artists to emerge from the British reggae explosion of the late '70s was Linton Kwesi Johnson, who combined dialect-heavy spoken word with a heavy roots reggae backing band to pioneer a style called "dub poetry." Johnson differed from other members of the dub poetry movement, such as Oku Onuora and Mutabaruka, in that his laser-sharp diatribes are usually focused on his adopted country of England, and that he eschews Rastafarianism.

Born in 1952 in the rural Jamaican village of Chapelton, Johnson learned to read from his grandmother's bible. At the age of 11, he followed his mother to Brixton in London, where he learned about racism first-hand from white Britons' backlash against the increasing number of West Indian immigrants.

Johnson joined the Black Panther party while still in school and was also influenced by the revolutionary recordings of the Last Poets. Johnson's early albums from the late '70s and early '80s—Dread, Beat an' Blood, Forces Of Victory and especially 1980's Bass Culture—each furthered his reputation as a major voice in reggae. But Johnson began withdrawing from the touring circuit by the early '80s, appearing only occasionally at poetry readings and festivals, and he stopped recording for a few years as well. Making History (1984) was a strong return, but LKJ then disappeared again until the early '90s, when he re-emerged for the occasional tour. He has recorded sporadically since then, with 1999's More Time and 2005's Live in Paris.

Back when Johnson first started publishing and performing his poems in the 1970s, he was denounced for corrupting the youth and undermining the "purity" of the English language with his patois grammar and spelling. But now he's earning honorary degrees and gaining widespread respect. In a recent poll to determine the top 100 Black Britons of all time, he was ranked #22, and with the publication of Mi Revalueshanary Fren, he's become only the second living poet ever to be included in Penguin Books' Modern Classics series.—Judson Kilpatrick, Courtesy Global Rhythm Magazine