Chet Singh | Dub Poet

Chet Singh | Dub Poet

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ARTIST STATEMENT

Raised in the multicultural/multiracial context of the Caribbean, deeply influenced by the anti-colonial sentiments of reggae, I fortuitously stumbled onto the revolutionary art form of dub poetry.  As a university student in the early 1980s, I assembled a collection of reggae/punk/Latin musicians to challenge essentialist and static representation of culture represented in a popular multicultural event called “Cultural Outreach.”  Intended as a one-time performance the outcome was the fusion band, One Mind. 

My work reflects a continually shifting artistic/political globalized context that encompasses a wide range of artistic genres including trip hop, jazz, electronica and world musics.  The productive blurring of musical territories and collective political action with collaborators fosters hybridization born out of diasporic spaces, cognizant of the specificity of different forms of oppression, resistance and possibility.

Bio

One of the first wave of Caribbean dub poets, Chet cofounded the reggae/punk inspired outfit One Mind with Trent University colleagues in 1983. After parting ways with the band, he devoted his time to decolonizing and equity initiatives within community organizations and educational institutions. Lillian Allen shared her vision of an international Dub Poetry Festival with Chet and York professor Carole Yawney; their initial work led to the first International Dub Poetry Festival in 1993.

After moving back to Nogojiwanong (Peterborough) Chet joined Dub Trinity and released Chet Singh and Dub Trinity in 2004. He is one of the founding directors of Canada’s Dub Poets Collective, which organized community and educational programs including a number of international festivals and conferences. During this period, Chet released 6 albums of dub poetry with producers such as the Work Houze Boys, Fire Flower Review, and Nicholas Murray (LAL). Two of his albums charted on Canada’s indie chart for world music and two of his pieces appear on the sound track of the documentary, Capitalism is the Crisis.

As with many dub poets, poetry is praxis, an extension of work as educators, cultural workers and activists. Involved in numerous activist groups over the years, he also developed and implemented human rights and equity policies for public schools, colleges and universities. He’s served the board of the Ontario Art Council, as well as, the implementation advisory team for the Ministry of Colleges and Universities human rights framework. As faculty in the Humanities, he’s initiated institution wide curriculum transformation initiatives. His contributions to decolonizing and critical education have been acknowledged with Canadian and North American awards for teaching excellence, curriculum development and educational leadership.

Albums
Age of Rage, 2025
Diasporic Dub, 2015 (top 20 Earshot Global Music)
Occupation Nation, 2013 (top 10 Earshot Global Music)
Recessionary Revolutionaries, 2010
Darkness of Daylight, 2007
Dub Trinity and Chet Singh, 2004

Singles
Prime Minister Dub, Dub Club, 2015
Madawaska, Fire Flower Review
Strange Invada, One Mind, 1984