Benjamin Zephaniah Naked
Review by Peter Newton
I first came across Benjamin Zephaniah in a 'Things That Matter To...' interview with him in Bulb Magazine. It was the most original collection of answers to interview questions that I have ever seen, and so I immediately went out and bought his album Naked.
I wasn't disappointed. It is an intensely composed series of critiques of our society, and personal emotional journeys, recited over backing tracks that meander between reggae, dub and drum n base.
There are many great incisive and original lines and when he describes himself as a wordsmith, it captures some idea of the craft that he puts into his poems. In a CD with almost an hour of carefully crafted and composed tracks, my favourite line is still 'I wanna kill educated ignorance'.
I did find it was a bit off the mainstraem for playing on the sound system at the office, but if you want to plug into something that is going to make you laugh, smile , think and feel, this is an album for you.
The CD comes with a 36-page booklet with images from UK street artist, Banksy. It is also well worth checking out the web site.
