by Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Dub Poet Yasus Afari during a Gleaner interview. - Ian Allen

Dub poetry will touch the masses with a new television series to be aired on the American station BETJ (Black Entertainmnent Television Jazz) entitled 'Word, Sound and Power'.

Filmed mainly in Stony Hill, Jamaica, and other Caribbean countries, the show features Caribbean dub poets such as Yasus Afari, Cherry Natural, Royal African Soldiers, LSX, Kamika, Suhuir Hammad of Palestine, Roger Bonair of Trinidad, Ainsley Burrows, Mutabaruka, Oku Onuru and Lynton Kwesi Johnson, among others. Each episode features four performances, accompanied by insightful interviews that give viewers an intimate connection with the poets and their influences.

Word, Sound and Power began airing on BETJ on October 6, and airs every Saturday at 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. The show is hosted by M1 from the American rap group Dead Prez.

According to the executive Producer for the show, Aranthes, the idea for the show came from lyming with his friends and watching Def Poetry Jam. He said: "Word, Sound and Power is a weekly poetry series that airs weekly. It's a half hour show and features some of the greatest dub poets. This is the first TV series centred around poetry."

The themes expressed centre around conscious creativity from the streets and represent the influence of revolutionary works by artistes such as Bob Marley and Tupak Shakur, who addressed controversial issues such as from racial oppression, religion, war, education and universal justice. This represents a huge step for dub poets who have for a long time strived for acceptance and mainstream success.

Aranthes emphasised that the supporters of the genre, as well as members from corporate Jamaica are hugely excited about the show. "Dub poetry has never had a platform solely about them, about their voice. Their voice is now brought to 36 million households. The feedback has been really good, its running like three times a week on the network. It's a completely different show, not mundane and not music driven," he said.

According to Aranthes, Word, Power and Sound shows another art form, other than music, from the Caribbean to the world. The show seeks to not censor the poets in any way, but gives them free reign to revolutionise and open the minds of their countless viewers.

The host M1 from Dead Prez says: "I think the show is powerful, the raw words coming from the place it comes from, combined with culture is limitless. There is so much more to come."

Poet Mutabaruka will appear with other dub poets from the Caribbean and around the world on 'Word, Sound and Power' on BETJ. - Andrew Smith