A year ago I posted on Linton Kwesi Johnson's first record, Dread Beat an’ Blood, 1978. Linton was a British Black Panther activist, journalist, poet and dub singer. In 1979 he released his second record, the influential Forces of Victory. Here is how it begins:
Want Fi Goh Rave |
It Noh Funny |
Much of the album was written in response to the British "Stop and Search" laws (the so-called "Sus Law"), which allowed British police to stop, search, and even arrest, anyone they believed was suspicious. Use of these laws exacerbated racial tensions leading to the Brixton riots of 1981. Here is a heartbreaking little Sus Law parable from Forces of Victory:
Sonny's Lettah |