DREAD BEAT AN BLOOD

“More than a timely retrospective, this singular event celebrates a militant artist still raising his voice for justice.” —BAM Available in America for the first time, BABYLON director Franco Rosso’s stunning portrait of “the regal dub poet” (The New York Times) Linton Kwesi Johnson captures how he set Black liberation to heavy riddims and gave voice to a generation of British African-Caribbean people in 1970s England. Forging the roots of British rap through dub poetry, the film captures the immediacy and potency of the reggae bard’s verse through his recording sessions with legendary producer Dennis Bovell, live performances, and activism. Screening alongside a rare 1985 concert.