The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah

On television I caught glimpses of the heroes of the Black Power movement. Muhammad Ali, Stokley Carmichael and Yuri Kochiyama were all preaching about the condition of black people, and Angela Davis was still regarded as the most dangerous person in the USA.

Then there was the Sari Squad, who were quite incredible. They were a group of Asian women based in east London – each one a wicked kung fu fighter, each one willing to defend their community to the end, and some of them did actually wear saris. They started by guarding women’s gigs, but would then guard any gig where fans might need protection fro

It also feels like instinct to explore my surroundings and make up words about it that I repeat to myself, which means I take longer doing things than adults like. I remember on the very first day we moved into our house, Dad surprised me. He said, ‘Time this boy did some errands. Take this five shilling and go get some light bulbs from that corner

A guy called Red Saunders, along with a few of his friends, had formed Rock Against Racism in 1976, not just as a reaction to the racist skinheads terrorising our streets, but also in response to comments made by Eric Clapton and David Bowie. It’s extraordinary to think that back then Eric Clapton (aka God) said he agreed with Enoch Powell and that

The Oxford Book of Money, published in 1995, used ‘Money Rant’ because they said my poem explained the culture of money really well and made that explanation accessible.

the Ruts, one of my favourite punk bands, who had ended their set with ‘Babylon’s Burning’, which I think is one of the best punk songs ever written.