Beyond The Bassline: Celebrating 500 years of Black British Music.

Beyond the Bassline is both a celebration and a starting point, spotlighting the rich legacy of African and Caribbean influences in British music. Yet, this is just the beginning. There's much more to uncover in our ongoing quest to understand and honour the depth of Black British music's impact, on British musical heritage. (Mykaell Riley (Exhibition Curator and Director of the Black British Music Research Unit and former member of Steel Pulse).

Updated June 28, 2024
Kirklees Libraries
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The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah: The Autobiography
Zephaniah, Benjamin
Paper Book
*BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week* Benjamin Zephaniah, who has travelled the world for his art and his humanitarianism, now tells the one story that encompasses it all: the story of his life. In the early 1980s when punks and Rastas were on the streets protesting about...
Too Much Too Young: the 2 Tone Records Story: Rude Boys, Racism and the Soundtrack of a Generation
Rachel, Daniel
Paper Book
A SUNDAY TIMES MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 #2 UNCUT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 A RESIDENT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 In 1979, 2 Tone exploded into the national consciousness as records by The Specials, The Selecter, Madness, The Beat, and The...
Inner city pressure : the story of grime
Hancox, Dan
Paper Book
A GUARDIAN, OBSERVER, PITCHFORK, NPR, METRO AND HERALD SCOTLAND BEST MUSIC BOOK OF 2018 'The definitive grime biography' NME 'A landmark genre history' Pitchfork Beginning at the start of the new millennium in the council estates of...
Black by design : a 2-tone memoir
Black, Pauline
Paper Book
Lead singer of legendary band The Selecter on music, family and roots in a new, updated edition covering The Selecter's recent reunion.
Grime Kids: The Inside Story of the Global Grime Takeover
Target, D. J.
Paper Book
NOW A MAJOR BBC DRAMA, AVAILABLE TO WATCH ON BBC THREE NOW 'An essential read for anyone with the slightest interest in the birth of Grime' The Wire 'Sharp and nostalgic' The Observer A group of kids in the 90s had a dream...
Weakness in me, the
Armatrading, Joan
Paper Book
Selected and arranged by the author, and featuring a foreword by revered record producer Glyn Johns, The Weakness In Me presents the lyrics of Joan Armatrading for the first time in one unique volume.
Totally Wired: The Rise and Fall of the Music Press
Gorman, Paul
Paper Book
A raucous yet reflective look back at the evolution of the music press and the passionate rock and pop journalists who defined the music of the 20th century. Totally Wired is the definitive story of the music press on both sides of the Atlantic, tracing its rise and...
Propa propaganda
Zephaniah, Benjamin.
Paper Book
Propa Propaganda was Benjamin Zephaniah's second collection from Bloodaxe. First published in 1996, it includes some of his classic poems, such as 'I Have a Scheme', 'The Death of Joy Gardner', 'White Comedy' and 'The Angry Black Poet'. Best known for his performance poetry with a political edge for...
Mother Country: Real Stories of the Windrush Children
Brinkhurst-Cuff, Charlie
Paper Book
***LONGLISTED FOR THE 2019 JHALAK PRIZE*** A leading new exploration of the Windrush generation featuring David Lammy, Lenny Henry, Corinne Bailey Rae, Sharmaine Lovegrove, Hannah Lowe, Jamz Supernova, Natasha Gordon and Rikki Beadle-Blair. For the pioneers of the...
Black and British : a forgotten history
Olusoga, David
Paper Book
Winner of the 2017 PEN Hessell-Tiltman PrizeWinner of the Longman History Today Trustees' AwardLonglisted for the Orwell PrizeShortlisted for the inaugural Jhalak PrizeA Waterstones History Book of the YearAn updated edition with new material of the acclaimed re-examination of a shared history,...
African and Caribbean People in Britain: A History
Adi, Hakim
Paper Book
Despite the best efforts of researchers and campaigners, there remains today a steadfast tendency to reduce the history of African and Caribbean people in Britain to a simple story- it is one that begins in 1948 with the arrival of a single ship, the Empire Windrush, and continues mostly...
Black Tudors : the untold story
Kaufmann, Miranda
Paper Book
A new, transformative history - in Tudor times there were Black people living and working in Britain, and they were free 'This is history on the cutting edge of archival research, but accessibly written and alive with human details and warmth.' David Olusoga, author of Black and...
Locks
Nugent, Ashleigh
Paper Book
'Blends humour and introspection, poetry and the poignant' - Derek Owusu'Irreverent, authentic and utterly enthralling. A wonderful book' - Jimmy McGovern'1993 was the year that Stephen Lawrence got murdered by racists, and I became an angry Black lad with a "chip on his shoulder"'Aeon, a mixed-up...
Kofi and the Rap Battle Summer
Boakye, Jeffrey.
Paper Book
Kofi had an idea . . . one big lightning bolt of an idea that hit him like electricity. And all it needed was Kelvin's incredible memory for words.
Dance with Oti : the bird jive
Mabuse, Oti
Paper Book
Girl, woman, other
Evaristo, Bernardine
Paper Book
Grace is a Victorian orphan dreaming of the mysterious African father she will never meet. Winsome is a young Windrush bride, recently arrived from Barbados. Amma is the fierce queen of her 1980s squatters' palace. Morgan, who used to be Megan, is blowing up on...
In our mad and furious city
Gunaratne, Guy
Paper Book
This Lovely City
Hare, Louise
Paper Book
*As seen on the new BBC TWO TV book club, Between the Covers* Longlisted for the HWA Debut Crown Award Indie Book of the Month for March, selected by the Booksellers Association One of OBSERVER'S 10 best debut novelists of 2020 /...
The secret diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho
Joseph, Paterson
Paper Book
Swing time
Smith, Zadie
Paper Book
Dazzlingly energetic and deeply human, Swing Timeis a story about friendship and music and true identity, how they shape us and how we can survive them. Moving from north-west London to West Africa, it is an exuberant dance to the music of time. Two brown girls dream of being...
Orangeboy
Lawrence, Patrice
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE WATERSTONES CHILDREN'S BOOK PRIZE FOR OLDER READERS, SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD AND THE YA BOOK PRIZE "A truly brilliant book." Malorie Blackman "Incredible book. Thank you Patrice Lawrence for such a fresh...
Luna loves dance
Coelho, Joseph
Paper Book
The rapping princess
Lee, Hannah
Paper Book
A completely original rhyming picture book that celebrates daring to be different, featuring Shiloh, the rapping princess.
My two grandads
Benjamin, Floella.
Paper Book
Aston's Grandad Roy played in a steel band and Grandad Harry played the trumpet in a brass band. Aston always enjoyed going to visit them and listen to them practise. But soon he wanted to join in. So he asked Grandad Roy to teach him to play the steel drums and then he asked Grandad Harry...
Steady for this
Lessore, Nathanael
Paper Book
Meet MC Growls, wannabe rapper and star of the show in the laugh-out-loud teen novel of the year!
Black and British : an illustrated history
Olusoga, David
Paper Book
This beautiful hardback gift book is a stunning visual journey though Black British history for younger readers by award-winning historian and broadcaster David Olusoga and illustrated by Jake Alexander and Melleny Taylor.The essential starting place for anyone who wants to learn about Black...
Coming to England
Benjamin, Floella; Avelino, Joelle
Paper Book
This 25th anniversary edition of Floella Benjamin's classic memoir includes a foreword by the author and additional historical information. It is beautifully illustrated by Joelle Avelino.Floella Benjamin was just a young girl when she, her sister and two brothers arrived in England in 1960...
The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries: Drama and Danger (the Lizzie and Belle Mysteries, Book 1)
Williams, J. T.
Paper Book
A thrilling middle grade mystery series, perfect for fans of Robin Steven's Murder Most Unladylike. Set in eighteenth-century London, with all the fun and zest of Hamilton and inspired by real Black British historical figures. WINNER OF THE WEEK JUNIOR CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR:...
Windrush Child
Zephaniah, Benjamin
Paper Book
  In this heart-stopping adventure, Benjamin Zephaniah shows us what it was like to be a child of the Windrush generation. Leonard is shocked when he arrives with his mother in the port of Southampton. His father is a stranger to him, it's...
Funky chickens
Zephaniah, Benjamin
Paper Book
A wonderfully irreverent collection of poetry for children and young people touching on anything from vegetables to the Queen and from sewage to the sun. There's plenty of humour as well as poems on racism, pollution and the murder of a cat.
I am Nefertiti
Anang, Annemarie
Paper Book
Age range 3+ I AM NEFERTITI is a heartwarming story about identity, belonging and friendship. This rhythmical read aloud is perfect for every classroom and is filled with rich and colourful images.
We sang across the sea : the Empire Windrush and me
Zephaniah, Benjamin
Paper Book
  A powerfully moving and beautiful picture book about the voyage of HMT Empire Windrush from national treasure, Benjamin Zephaniah. The hopes, dreams and bravery of the Windrush generation are expressed in this vivid story through the real-life experiences of...

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