Revolutionary Minds

Zephaniah may be best known as a poet but, over the years, he's made occasional albums marrying dub and reggae grooves to his verses recited in a deep, almost incantatory voice. Revolutionary Minds is his first since 2005's Naked and little has changed in the dozen years that have elapsed. His musical collaborator and producer, The Sea, creates 1970s-style roots reggae rhythms and mixes them into a dub-heavy soundbed, over which Zephaniah intones his trademark brand of literate street protest, championing the dispossessed and shaking his fist righteously at the forces of oppression.
That little has altered is not a criticism: such constancy is vital, for the injustices he has so eloquently opposed all of his life have not changed, nor has the need to resist. The title-track is about the importance of speaking truth to power. ‘President’ expresses sentiments that could have applied equally to Nixon more than 40 years ago as to Trump today. ‘What Stephen Lawrence Has Taught Us’ draws political lessons from the racist murder of a black teenager in South London. Best of all is ‘In This World’, a seven-minute manifesto that seems to sum up everything for which he stands. More power to his singular voice.