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In 2006 writer and poet Benjamin Zephaniah has donated his classic rap-poem ‘Money Rant’ as a free download, to help promote a new poetry CD for Oxfam.
Benjamin Zephaniah’s work has been called many things – including dub poetry, performance poetry, pop poetry and rap poetry – but he prefers the title ‘oral poet’ because, he says, ‘as I write my poetry, I can hear the sound of it’. Zephaniah says his poetry is ‘ strongly influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica’.
He says, ‘I try to write poems that are fun but they should also have a serious message. I am very concerned about racism, animal rights, pollution and I have always believed that boys and girls should be treated equally.’
This certainly comes across in ‘Money Rant’, the playful and thought-provoking poem which has been donated to Oxfam as a free download:
"Children are dying, spies and spying,
Refugees are fleeing, politicians are lying,
And deals are done and webs are spun,
Laws keep the third world on the run.”
Or
“Money makes a student think about the course,
Money makes commercials and commercials make money
and if you don’t have money you just watch more TV.”
To hear the poem in full either download the MP3 or press the play button (right).
The poem appears here to help promote a new Oxfam poetry CD. ‘Life Lines’ is a collection of poems recorded exclusively for Oxfam by some of Britain and Ireland’s best poets, including Benjamin Zephaniah, Carol Ann Duffy and Andrew Motion. ‘Money Rant’ itself doesn’t appear on the CD, though it was recorded during the same sessions in February 2006.
Life Lines costs just £4.99, and is available from all Oxfam bookshops. All the money raised will go towards Oxfam’s work to overcome poverty and suffering around the world.
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