The life and rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah – video obituary
This article is more than 6 months old
The British poet has died at the age of 65. He was diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks ago, his Instagram page stated. The post read: ‘Through an amazing career including a huge body of poems, literature, music, television and radio, Benjamin leaves us with a joyful and fantastic legacy.’ Zephaniah used his career to address political injustice, highlighting personal experiences and tackling issues such as immigration and racism. His work was heavily influenced by Jamaican poetry and music, and he was often classified as a dub poet. In 2003, he rejected his OBE, saying it would be hypocritical as he had been ‘fighting against empire all my life’