Linton Kwesi Johnson – Independant Intavenshan: The Island Anthology (1998)

“Between 1979 and 1984, Linton Kwesi Johnson unleashed four seminal albums on the Island label — Forces of Victory, Bass Culture, LKJ in Dub, and Making History. This compilation draws crucial tracks from all four sets, as well songs off 12″ singles. 1979’s Forces and 1980’s Bass are heavily represented, with their superb companion dubs appearing immediately after the vocal tracks. During these years Johnson’s sound evolved, shifting from militant roots through an experimental period and finally toward a jazzier style, and with the set arranged in chronological order, listeners are able to note this musical transformation for themselves. Of course, there was a sizeable shift in sound between Johnson’s debut album Dread Beat an’ Blood and Forces with the inclusion of brass and fuller musical arrangements. …”
allmusic

YouTube: Independant Intavenshan, Reality Poem, Forces of vicktry, Sonny’s Lettah, Bass Culture, Di Black Petty Booshwah [12” Version]

Linton Kwesi Johnson – LKJ in Dub (1980)

“Probably the least essential of Linton Kwesi Johnson’s recordings. It is what it says it is, an album of dub versions of songs from Forces of Victory and Bass Culture. As dub goes it’s very good; Bovell acquits himself nicely as mixer and producer. This would be the last LKJ release for four years.”
allmusic

YouTube: Victorious Dub, Peach Dub, Shocking Dub, Bitch Dub, Brain Smashing Dub, Historic Dub, Funny Dub, Di Black Petty Booshwah

Dread Beat an’ Blood – Linton Kwesi Johnson (1978)

“Dread Beat an’ Blood is an album by Poet And The Roots released in 1978 on the Frontline label. It was produced by Vivian Weathers and Linton Kwesi Johnson. The Poet is dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson and The Roots are Dennis Bovell, Jah Bunny, Desmond Craig, Winston Curniffe, Everald Forrest, Floyd Lawson, John Varnom, Lila Weathers and Vivian Weathers. Most of the tracks first appeared in Johnson’s 1975 book of poetry Dread Beat an’ Blood. This album was the result of collaboration between Johnson, who had been active as a journalist and reggae critic as well as a poet, and Bovell a dub master and record producer. The combination of Bovell’s heavy dub rhythms and Johnson’s monotone intonation of his poetry created a whole new genre of reggae: dub poetry.”
Wikipedia

“The title pretty much says it all. This is a stunning debut and an indication of the great things that were to come. Johnson’s debut is longer on spoken-word pieces than it is on poetry and music, but Dennis Bovell’s influence can be felt in these eight tracks. Songs such as ‘It Dread Inna Inglan,’ which describes the death of George Lindo at the hands of racists, or ‘Five Nights of Bleeding,’ which recounts tales of British police’s capricious use of violence against London’s West Indian population, are moving and confrontational mini-masterpieces of anger and a man searching for justice in a country that seems all to willing too deny it to him and other Afro-Brits. A powerful and compelling record.”
allmusic

YouTube: Dread Beat an’ Blood (Live), Song of Blood, Doun De Road, Man Free (For Darcus Howe), It Dread Inna Inglan (For George Lindo), Come Wi Goh Dung Deh, All Wi Doin Is Defendin