How to Write Dub Poetry Songs

You want words that sting and rhythms that make people move while thinking. You want lines that sound like they were carved into a wall and a performance that leaves a crowd buzzing. Dub poetry is a wild mix of spoken word, reggae energy, political bite, and studio trickery. This guide gives you the tools to write dub poetry songs that feel authentic and sound like nothing else.

This is for millennial and Gen Z artists who want their art to mean something while still slapping in a playlist. Expect practical exercises, studio tips, microphone manners, and examples you can steal and make yours. We explain jargon as if you were texting your best mate who only just learned what a sample is.

What Is Dub Poetry

Dub poetry is a performance form that grew out of reggae and dub music. It is spoken word set against reggae rhythms or dub production. Unlike a singing chorus with tidy melodies, dub poetry centers on speech, cadence, and timing. The content is often political, social, or deeply personal. The goal is to place language on a groove so the words land like a physical punch and then echo in the head long after the beat stops.

Short history A quick timeline will help. In the late 1960s and 1970s, Jamaica developed dub music, which is an offshoot of reggae. Dub producers took existing reggae tracks and remixed them by pulling instruments out, pushing drums forward, and throwing echo and reverb on voices and instruments. Poets started performing spoken word over those rhythms. Linton Kwesi Johnson and Mutabaruka are two artists who made dub poetry famous. In Britain, immigrant communities used dub poetry as a way to speak back about racism, housing, police violence, and identity. The sound traveled and mutated. Today dub poetry exists in studios, at protests, and on festival stages.

Why Dub Poetry Works

Dub poetry works because it combines three forces. The first is the physicality of rhythm. A reggae beat moves your body in a specific way. The second is the intimacy of spoken word. Speech can feel like a direct conversation. The third is studio space. Echo and delay make certain lines linger and become hooks even without melody. Together those things make a performance that can be both an educational lecture and a banger at once.

Core Elements of a Dub Poetry Song

• Voice and Cadence The way you deliver the line matters more than the rhyme. Cadence is the rhythmic pattern of speech. It is the difference between sounding like you are reading a grocery list and sounding like you are delivering a verdict.
• Riddim Riddim is a Jamaican English term that means rhythm. A riddim is the instrumental track, usually bass and drums, that the poetry rides. Choose a riddim that supports the mood of your poem.
• Dub FX Effects like delay and reverb that create space around words. These are studio tools that give your lines echo and emphasis. We will explain how to use them without sounding like a submarine.
• Topical Punch Dub poetry often speaks on politics, identity, or lived experience. The message does not have to be heavy every time. Personal vulnerability can be political when placed in context.
• Performance Dynamics This is the practice of moving from intimate lines to loud calls, controlling silence, and using pauses like knives. Pauses can be as powerful as any echo.

How to Find Your Dub Poetry Voice

Voice is not just tone. It is the mix of vocabulary, accent, breath, attitude, and the way you bend words. Finding your voice here starts with honesty and then with practice so your delivery stops sounding like an imitation.

Listen with intent

Study classic dub poets and modern performers. Listen to how Linton Kwesi Johnson places a syllable against a drum hit. Notice Mutabaruka using silence. Listen to how producers like King Tubby use delay as punctuation. Make playlists. Do not steal lines. Steal techniques.

Read the room, not the book

You will change your delivery depending on space. A living room open mic asks for softer dynamics. A march for housing rights wants projection and clarity so the sound system can carry your words. Practice in both environments.

Write in your conversational voice

Pick the way you talk to your closest friend and write like that. If your slang, your cadence, or your laughter show up in the page, your performance will feel real. Avoid writing in pompous or academic tones unless that is your intentional mask. Real feels like rebellion in this genre.

Writing the Lyrics

Dub poetry lyric writing is different than writing for a pop chorus. You will focus on prosody, hook phrases, call and response, and image density. Here is how to approach it.

Start with a single idea

Keep the poem focused on one core idea. The idea can be a protest demand, a memory, a betrayal, or a dream. The clearer the core idea, the easier it is to craft a poem that feels like a missile. Write one sentence that states that core idea. Everything you write should orbit that sentence.

Use a ring phrase

A ring phrase is a short line repeated across the poem. It acts like a chorus without singing. It can be a question or a declaration. Repeat it at key moments so the audience has a familiar anchor. Example ring phrase: "Tell me who build the city" or "My mother taught me to hold my head." Repetition builds familiarity and power in spoken word.

Show with objects and scenes

Abstract statements are boring on stage. Replace "we are oppressed" with "the bus driver checks our faces like price tags." Small objects and scenes let listeners create pictures in their head. The brain remembers pictures. Use them.

Build through a stanza map

Map your poem as you would map a song. A simple structure that works is: opening image, escalation, ring phrase, a personal turn, a political reach, final repetition with a twist. This is flexible. You may also prefer free form. The point is to give the poem tension and release so each section feels necessary.

Rhyme is optional but useful

Rhyme can punch lines home. Use internal rhymes and near rhymes to keep flow without feeling sing song. A perfect rhyme is fine at moments that need emphasis. Otherwise vary the sonic texture with assonance and consonance. If the rhyme looks like it was forced, delete it.

Prosody check

Say the lines out loud at conversational speed. Mark where your natural stresses fall. Those stressed syllables should land on strong beats of the riddim or be highlighted by studio effects. If you force a word to sit weirdly on the beat, rewrite it until it feels natural to speak and to hear.

Working With Riddims and Beats

Your riddim is your stage. You have options. You can use a simple reggae one drop beat, a steppers pattern, a dub riddim with space, or a slower electronic riddim that borrows from trip hop. Choose what supports your words.

One drop explained

One drop is a reggae drum pattern where the emphasis is on the third beat of a four beat bar. It gives room and a laid back feel. If your poem wants to be conversational and low simmer, one drop fits like an old hoodie. If you want a march feel, steppers or rockers patterns work better.

BPM and feel

BPM stands for beats per minute. You do not need to obsess. A typical dub poetry tempo sits between seventy and one hundred BPM. Faster tempos make the words urgent. Slower tempos give you space to pronounce and breathe. Pick a tempo that lets your syllables land comfortably.

Leave space in the riddim

Dub poetry benefits from instrumental space. Busy production can swallow spoken words. When working with a producer or making your riddim, tell them to leave ear room for the vocal. Sometimes the bass and drums alone are enough. Other times a ghostly organ or delay-drenched guitar adds atmosphere without cluttering the message.

Studio Tricks That Make Lines Echo in the Brain

Dub producers treat the studio like a live instrument. The key tools are delay, reverb, filtering, and dropouts. We explain each so you can ask for them without sounding like a studio baby.

Delay

Delay repeats your line like an echo. Short delays create doubling. Longer delays create a call and response with the echo. Use delay on the last word of a crucial line so it lingers and becomes a hook. Think of delay as punctuation rather than decoration.

Reverb

Reverb creates space around your voice. Small reverb keeps things intimate. Large reverb puts the voice in a cathedral. Use reverb tastefully on phrases you want to feel bigger. Too much reverb blurs words. If the words stop being clear, reduce the wetness of the reverb.

Filtering and EQ

Filter out frequencies that clash with the riddim. If your voice sits in the same range as the guitar, carve out a notch in the guitar or boost the voice range to cut through. Producers will call this EQ, which stands for equalization. Simple EQ moves can save your vocal from disappearing.

Dropouts and Send Effects

Dropouts are when instruments are pulled out of the mix. Use a dramatic dropout right before a critical line. Silence will focus attention. Send effects mean the voice is sent to an effect channel like a delay or reverb bus. Ask for a send so your vocal dry signal stays clear while the effect creates atmosphere.

FX as a character

Think of delay and reverb as characters that answer the voice. The echo can become a chorus. The reverb can become a memory. Use FX to add a second voice without writing words. Works great for the ring phrase which returns like a ghost whenever you need it.

Performance Techniques

How you move when you perform matters as much as the words. Live dub poetry performance is theatrical without being fake. It is honest energy controlled like an athlete.

Mic technique

Keep the microphone six to twelve inches from your mouth when you want clarity. Move it closer for intimacy. Move it slightly off axis to reduce plosives like P sounds. Learn to cup the mic with intention. Cupping changes the tone and can create a vintage vibe. Do not breathe into the mic like a fog machine unless you want to sound like a haunted door.

Use pauses like commas with teeth

Pause after a heavy line. Let the echo or the riddim respond. The audience will fill the silence with their thinking. Pauses give space for the echo to land and for the crowd to react. Practice long breaths so your pauses sound deliberate instead of like you are out of breath.

Call and response

Use call and response as an engagement technique. Teach a short response line and use it strategically. The response can be just a noise or a one word reply. Keep it easy so even the tipsy person at the back can join in.

Movement and eye contact

Lock eyes with one person to make the poem feel intimate. Move the mic stand when you want to change the energy. Step forward at the chorus moment. A small walk can feel like a journey. Do not over-choreograph. Let the words dictate motion.

Collaborating With Producers and Musicians

If you are writing dub poetry songs you will often work with musicians and producers. Collaboration requires communication and a bit of power sharing. Here is how to get the most out of a session.

Bring reference tracks

Bring examples of the feel and the effects you want. Point to parts you like. Reference tracks say more than adjectives. Instead of saying I want a warm delay, play a snippet that demonstrates the exact echo length.

Be precise about vocal space

Tell the producer where the voice should sit in the mix. Do you want the voice on top like a preacher or slightly embedded like a memory? Use words like intimate, in your face, or ghostly. Producers will translate those requests into EQ, compression, and effect choices.

Record multiple takes

Record a confident take, a shoutier take, and a whisper take. The producer can then comp these takes or use them as doubles. Doubles are multiple recordings of the same line layered to thicken the voice. Try it. Doubles can make a line sound massive without changing the arrangement.

Practical Writing Exercises

Do these drills to get faster at dub poetry writing and sharpen your voice.

The Echo Drill

1. Write a ten line piece about one small object.
2. Choose the final word of each line and imagine an echo on it.
3. Read the piece aloud and mark which final words should have a real echo in performance.
4. Practice delivering with the echo as if the studio already exists. Notice how your rhythm shifts.

The Riddim Match

1. Find three instrumental tracks with different feels. A one drop, a steppers, and a slow dub loop.
2. Write the same short poem to each. Adjust cadence and line length to fit each riddim.
3. Record quickly on your phone and compare which riddim makes the words land best.

The Ring Phrase Ladder

1. Write one strong ring phrase of three to seven words.
2. Write five variations of that phrase that are shorter or more vivid.
3. Pick the version that feels the most singable and chantable and build a poem around it.

Examples and Before After Lines

Theme: Police presence in a neighborhood.

Before: There are a lot of police walking around and people are scared.

After: Patrol lights cut our curfew like a serrated laugh. Children count their steps inside their rooms.

Theme: Love under pressure.

Before: I love you but it is hard right now.

After: You fold my letters into small boats and set them on puddles. I watch them sink and count the names we almost kept.

Theme: Migration and belonging.

Before: I moved here and felt out of place.

After: My suitcase still says the old city name on a sticker. The cabbie asks which island and I answer with my mouth full of city noise.

Common Mistakes and Fixes

• Too many ideas If your poem wanders, pick one image and cut everything that does not support it. Your audience has limited attention.
• Speaking like a lecture Lectures are boring. Bring rhythm and vulnerability. Tell a tiny story inside the political message so listeners feel rather than just learn.
• Overusing effects Echo repeated every line becomes wallpaper. Use echo for punctuation and reverb for moments that need space. Effects should highlight not hide.
• Not practicing with riddim Your lines can sound great spoken alone and terrible on a beat. Practice with the riddim you will perform on. The words will adapt.

How to Practice Performance

Record yourself in three ways. First record a dry vocal in your phone, second record while performing to the riddim, and third record a staged performance with lights and a small audience. Compare these and note where clarity or energy drops. The differences show you what you must rehearse the most. Practice walking the mic stand and looking at different parts of the room. Practice breathing. Practice dropping your voice to the point that the mic still hears you. This is how you get comfortable controlling attention.

Real Life Scenarios and How to Act

Busking the high street

If you are busking with a riddim on a portable speaker, keep your poem short and pick strong ring phrases. People will wander by and you have a few lines to make them stop. Use call and response and a repeated line that they can join. Carry a tip jar with a bright sticker that says support local poets. Be cheeky and direct.

Open mic night

For open mic nights you may have four minutes. Time your poem with the riddim. Do not start with long explanations. Begin with the ring phrase or an image. Use the back of the room as your judge and win them early. If you mess up breathe and keep going. Audiences love recovery more than perfection.

Recording your first dub poem

Record a skeleton first. Put a simple bass and kick loop under your voice and play with a single delay on the ring phrase. Do not chase perfect sound on your first try. The goal is to capture the feel. Then layer with subtle instrumentation. Mix in small snapshots and ask friends to sit in a dark room and just listen. Feedback matters. Ask one question. Which line stuck with you. Fix based on that answer.

Promoting Your Dub Poetry Songs

Dub poetry sits in many places. Post a raw clip on social video platforms. Clips that show the moment a line hits the crowd get shares. For studio tracks upload a single with a video of you performing or a lyric visual. For activist contexts share your lyrics with background footage of the place you are speaking about. Collaborate with visual artists for cover art that reads like a protest poster. Tag relevant organizers or community groups when your poem deals with their issues but be careful with performative activism. Make actual offers like reading at a fundraiser or donating proceeds.

Rights and Sampling Explained

If you borrow a riddim or a sample check the rights first. Sampling is when you use a portion of someone else’s recording. In legal language you must clear the sample or use royalty free loops. If you are remixing an existing reggae track into a dub poetry song ask for permission or use open source riddims. If you cannot get permission, create your own riddim with a producer. It is more work but you keep control.

Action Plan You Can Use Today

1. Write one sentence that states the core idea of your poem.
2. Create a ring phrase of three to seven words that anchors that idea.
3. Pick a riddim tempo between seventy and one hundred BPM and find a loop that fits the mood.
4. Write two stanzas with vivid images and a personal turn in the second stanza.
5. Practice with the riddim and mark where you want delay and reverb.
6. Record a confident take and one whisper take. Compare which carries the emotion better.
7. Play the track for three listeners and ask which line they remember. Polish that line so it sings, even if you are just speaking.

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