Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
The Royal African Soldiers, dub poets. From left are Neto Meeks, Takura and Ginsu. The group performed at PerVerse on Tuesday. - ANDREW SMITH/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
IN THE hour or so before the launch of Tuff Tuff Triangle's Urban Journey, the night air hovering above Weekenz was filled with the word sound power of highly political poetry. It was the third Tuesday of July and the weekly poetry event, PerVerse, had combined forces with the dub poetry group.
Before the dub poetry ensemble touched the stage at the Constant Spring Road venue, however, the microphone was dominated by others. Clement Hamilton of Tuff Tuff Triangle explained that the night was intended to promote not just Urban Journey, but also other emerging poets who have chosen to travel the dub poetry path. Hamilton further explained that the group had decided to launch their album as an attempt to create a paradigm shift which would place the "grassroots" on the map. He, thus, urged the audience to encourage disc jockeys to play dub poetry.
The night was hosted by Duane Francis, who also goes by the moniker 'The Sniper Poet'. Though his role was hosting, he would later deliver a few of his verses adding a comic flavour to the night. The Sniper Poet took shots at the reign of guns, then turned his quirky sights on the situation of the infamous 'Joe' - lover of other men's wives or girlfriends. In this piece, which was preceded by a disclaimer, the Joe laments that he needs to find his own woman because he could not handle the beatings when he was caught.
Francis' light intercession between the political works ended with a new piece 'Just to Be With You'. In this piece, the would-be lover makes impossible promises including one to make 'Dracula apologise to everybody 'im bite'.
The first poet to take over the microphone, however, was Sage. He delivered 'It's a Tuesday' and 'Naw Si Mi Wings'. In both pieces he delivered the words as though they were bits of flames, which must be spewed forth before he combusts. As the words erupted from his mouth he bent double, crouched or hopped in time to his beat.
ROYAL AFRICAN SOLDIERS
The Royal African Soldiers, comprising Takura, Ginsu and Neto were the next to tackle the microphone. The three spread out across the stage with one always at the front and the others usually on either side at the back. The group dealt with issues ranging from rape (or rather that all rapists should be killed) to African heritage, and Jamaican culture. Though they performed individually, their final pieces dealt with the single theme of conspiracy and was punctuated by a hook.
The first female of the night, Marsha Hall, who announced that her name has been changed to I-Nubia, followed shortly. The new name arrived with new works and I-Nubia tackled the DJs, in particular Vybz Kartel, who was hit by double poetic barrels. She also tackled those she styled as the "pollutitions" for allowing criminals to reign, before turning to the "chemical brownings" and those who encourage the trend of bleaching skin by valorising the light-skinned.
Lynch was the final guest poet of the night. He too delivered hard-hitting political poetry though his pieces separated themselves, as he wove in folk imagery and references which enlivened the imagery. Lynch was soon joined by Sage who made his return to the stage with a running leap. Together they worked their way through a range of issues, bringing that segment of the night to an end.
PerVerse continues next week with its major performance night, the final Tuesday of the month dubbed 'Definitions of Desire'. The night will feature performances by Shelley Ann Maxwell, Samuel Gordon, the Pum Pum Posse, Duane Francis and Kerry-Jo Lyn.
