It's called DUB poetry and it's different then DJ's toasting. Just listen to one track of an LKJ album and you know: indeed it is.

It's not, that the Reggae DJ's do not have intelectual lyrics, it's not that they both chant rhythmically over the music. Because these things can be the same for a DJ and a DUB Poet.

It's more, that a poem is something different then lyrics. And it's more, that reading a poem is something different then toasting, which can be quite melodic at times.

But the difference can hardly be described. It must be heard. And so, listen to Forces Of Vicktry: a collection of eight heavyweight poems on heavyweight DUB tracks.

LKJ's poems are deep and very conscious. The ones on this album deal with the life of being Black in Brittain. Take for example the magnificent "Sonny's Lettah", a poem written as a letter from a youth in prison to his mother. Or the militant "Fite Dem Back", about resistance against neo-nazi's and racists.

This album could have been created today, even though it's older then a quarter of a century at the moment this review is written. The topics are unfortunately not dated, as racism and discrimination are still going on. Black people are still not given justice.

Forces of Vicktry is a worthy follow-up for Dread Beat and Blood, and definitely one of the best LKJ albums. 

Buy it for the poetry, buy it for the music!

The music is definitely as hard and inteligent as the poetry. Where Linton Kwesie Johnson created the basslines, Dub Master and producer Dennis Bovell took care of the rest. Good musicians came together, and truly some of the best UK Roots tracks were created as a result of Linton Kwesie Johnson's works.

This album contains some of these crucial tracks.