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That is so sad to hear. Always liked it when he was a guest on QT too.
It's ironic that whilst Johnson is wriggling out of any personal responsibility for the Covid debacle and the tory shysters are grabbing the headlines with their infighting, a decent human being with more integrity in his dreads than the whole of the tory party conbined has died.
Seems to be a lot of love out there for him and so there should.
Distortion becomes somehow pure in its wildness.
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Oh no - R.I.P. Benjamin Zephaniah on 12:09 - Dec 7 with 3160 views
Oh no - R.I.P. Benjamin Zephaniah on 11:50 - Dec 7 by Whos_blue
That is so sad to hear. Always liked it when he was a guest on QT too.
It's ironic that whilst Johnson is wriggling out of any personal responsibility for the Covid debacle and the tory shysters are grabbing the headlines with their infighting, a decent human being with more integrity in his dreads than the whole of the tory party conbined has died.
Seems to be a lot of love out there for him and so there should.
When he was on QT he could put forward a persuasive argument with intelligence, eloquence and good humour. He was never nasty or abusive.
Very sad news. Lovely guy. He performed in the Albion Mills cellar and Caribbean Club early 80s but I don't remember much about either now unfortunately.
Ackees, chapatties Dumplins an nan, Channa an rotis Onion uttapam, Masala dosa Green callaloo Bhel an samosa Corn an aloo.
Yam an cassava Pepperpot stew, Rotlo an guava Rice an tofu, Puri, paratha Sesame casserole, Brown eggless pasta An brown bread rolls.
Soya milked muesli Soya bean curd, Soya sweet sweeties Soya's de word, Soya bean margarine Soya bean sauce What can mek medicine? Soya of course.
Soya meks yoghurt Soya ice-cream, Or soya sorbet Soya reigns supreme, Soya sticks liquoriced Soya salads Try any soya dish Soya is bad.
Plantain an tabouli Cornmeal pudding Onion bhajee Wid plenty cumin, Breadfruit an coconuts Molasses tea Dairy free omelettes Very chilli.
Ginger bread, nut roast Sorrell, paw paw, Cocoa an rye toast I tek dem on tour, Drinking cool maubi Meks me feel sweet, What was dat question now? What do we eat?
12
Oh no - R.I.P. Benjamin Zephaniah on 12:38 - Dec 7 with 3051 views
Oh no - R.I.P. Benjamin Zephaniah on 11:50 - Dec 7 by Whos_blue
That is so sad to hear. Always liked it when he was a guest on QT too.
It's ironic that whilst Johnson is wriggling out of any personal responsibility for the Covid debacle and the tory shysters are grabbing the headlines with their infighting, a decent human being with more integrity in his dreads than the whole of the tory party conbined has died.
Seems to be a lot of love out there for him and so there should.
Oh no - R.I.P. Benjamin Zephaniah on 12:26 - Dec 7 by BarcaBlue
Very sad news. Lovely guy. He performed in the Albion Mills cellar and Caribbean Club early 80s but I don't remember much about either now unfortunately.
Great days; John Row put on a bunch of the ranting poets there - Ginger John, Seething Wells, Atilla the Stockbroker too - usually supported by the very wonderful Panorama in Black.
3
Oh no - R.I.P. Benjamin Zephaniah on 13:00 - Dec 7 with 2967 views
Inna di heart of Babylon, where di sun meets di sky, Benjamin Zephaniah, a Rasta poet, reachin' heights so high. From Birmingham's streets to di reggae beat, His words, a chant, inna di righteous heat.
In di rhythm of di drum, him verses dem sway, Dreadlocks dancing, inna di island sun's warm ray. Zephaniah rising, like a lion in Zion, A rebel poet, heart full of iron.
"Jah bless, mi people," him declare with pride, In a language of love, where roots and culture abide. From Handsworth to di world, him voice is heard, A Rasta bard, in every poignant word.
Inna di struggle for justice, him tek him stand, A lyrical soldier, with a mic in him hand. Oh Benjamin, with yuh locks so free, Yuh poetry echo inna di pulse of di sea.
Inna di herb-scented air, where freedom sings, Him verses soar on di wings of reggae wings. A prophet inna di smoke, a mystic inna di mist, Zephaniah's words, a revolutionary twist.
Babylon trembles, as di poet chants, Rasta wisdom flowing inna rhythmic rants. Inna di style of di dub, where echoes resound, Benjamin Zephaniah, inna roots, him is found.
We are Premier League, say we are Premier League!
4
Oh no - R.I.P. Benjamin Zephaniah on 13:33 - Dec 7 with 2824 views
Oh no - R.I.P. Benjamin Zephaniah on 13:25 - Dec 7 by matteoblue
Inna di heart of Babylon, where di sun meets di sky, Benjamin Zephaniah, a Rasta poet, reachin' heights so high. From Birmingham's streets to di reggae beat, His words, a chant, inna di righteous heat.
In di rhythm of di drum, him verses dem sway, Dreadlocks dancing, inna di island sun's warm ray. Zephaniah rising, like a lion in Zion, A rebel poet, heart full of iron.
"Jah bless, mi people," him declare with pride, In a language of love, where roots and culture abide. From Handsworth to di world, him voice is heard, A Rasta bard, in every poignant word.
Inna di struggle for justice, him tek him stand, A lyrical soldier, with a mic in him hand. Oh Benjamin, with yuh locks so free, Yuh poetry echo inna di pulse of di sea.
Inna di herb-scented air, where freedom sings, Him verses soar on di wings of reggae wings. A prophet inna di smoke, a mystic inna di mist, Zephaniah's words, a revolutionary twist.
Babylon trembles, as di poet chants, Rasta wisdom flowing inna rhythmic rants. Inna di style of di dub, where echoes resound, Benjamin Zephaniah, inna roots, him is found.
A man of principle who turned down an OBE when many so-called radical people go weak at the knees at the mention of an honour.
This is how he described it.
"Me? I thought, OBE me? Up yours, I thought. I get angry when I hear that word 'empire'; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised... Benjamin Zephaniah OBE – no way Mr Blair, no way Mrs Queen. I am profoundly anti-empire."
[Post edited 7 Dec 2023 13:46]
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Oh no - R.I.P. Benjamin Zephaniah on 13:46 - Dec 7 with 2760 views
'I come from a musical place Where they shoot me for my song And my brother has been tortured By my brother in my land.
I come from a beautiful place Where they hate my shade of skin They don't like the way I pray And they ban free poetry.
I come from a beautiful place Where girls cannot go to school There you are told what to believe And even young boys must grow beards.
I come from a great old forest I think it is now a field And the people I once knew Are not there now.
We can all be refugees Nobody is safe, All it takes is a mad leader Or no rain to bring forth food, We can all be refugees We can all be told to go, We can be hated by someone For being someone.
I come from a beautiful place Where the valley floods each year And each year the hurricane tells us That we must keep moving on.
I come from an ancient place All my family were born there And I would like to go there But I really want to live.
I come from a sunny, sandy place Where tourists go to darken skin And dealers like to sell guns there I just can't tell you what's the price.
I am told I have no country now I am told I am a lie I am told that modern history books May forget my name.
We can all be refugees Sometimes it only takes a day, Sometimes it only takes a handshake Or a paper that is signed. We all came from refugees Nobody simply just appeared, Nobody's here without a struggle, And why should we live in fear Of the weather or the troubles? We all came here from somewhere.'
Seems the most appropriate poem of his to quote today.
[Post edited 7 Dec 2023 14:47]
I'm one of the people who was blamed for getting Paul Cook sacked. PM for the full post.
He was a top, top man in many ways. A groundbreaking poet, an eloquent speaker with a political conscience and a keen sense of (in)justice, and just a wonderful, humble man despite his talents. A big miss. Couple of people have referred to him as a national treasure and I couldn't agree more.
Oh no - R.I.P. Benjamin Zephaniah on 12:26 - Dec 7 by BarcaBlue
Very sad news. Lovely guy. He performed in the Albion Mills cellar and Caribbean Club early 80s but I don't remember much about either now unfortunately.
I don't know how much time he spent around here back then but he 'went out' with a friend of a friend in Hadleigh. Great artist, greater man.
1
Oh no - R.I.P. Benjamin Zephaniah on 18:29 - Dec 7 with 2427 views
Oh no - R.I.P. Benjamin Zephaniah on 14:43 - Dec 7 by BlueBadger
'I come from a musical place Where they shoot me for my song And my brother has been tortured By my brother in my land.
I come from a beautiful place Where they hate my shade of skin They don't like the way I pray And they ban free poetry.
I come from a beautiful place Where girls cannot go to school There you are told what to believe And even young boys must grow beards.
I come from a great old forest I think it is now a field And the people I once knew Are not there now.
We can all be refugees Nobody is safe, All it takes is a mad leader Or no rain to bring forth food, We can all be refugees We can all be told to go, We can be hated by someone For being someone.
I come from a beautiful place Where the valley floods each year And each year the hurricane tells us That we must keep moving on.
I come from an ancient place All my family were born there And I would like to go there But I really want to live.
I come from a sunny, sandy place Where tourists go to darken skin And dealers like to sell guns there I just can't tell you what's the price.
I am told I have no country now I am told I am a lie I am told that modern history books May forget my name.
We can all be refugees Sometimes it only takes a day, Sometimes it only takes a handshake Or a paper that is signed. We all came from refugees Nobody simply just appeared, Nobody's here without a struggle, And why should we live in fear Of the weather or the troubles? We all came here from somewhere.'
Seems the most appropriate poem of his to quote today.
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