D'bi.young anitafrika

d’bi.young anitafrika is a Jamaican-Canadian feminist dub poet, activist, and singer for the band D’bi and the 333.^[1] Their^{[2][lower-alpha 1]} work includes theatrical performances, four published collections of poetry, twelve plays, and seven albums.

d'bi young anitafrika
d'bi Young
Born	December 23, 1977 Kingston, Jamaica
Nationality	Jamaican-Canadian
Occupation(s)	Dub poet, performance artist, actor, playwright
Notable work	The Sankofa Trilogy; The Orisha Trilogy; The Ibeji Trilogy; Da Kink in My Hair

Early life and education

d’bi young anitafrika was born on December 23, 1977, in Kingston, Jamaica to dub poet, Anita Stewart, and community organizer, Winston Young. Young spent much of their childhood in Jamaica watching their mother perform dub poetry.^[3] In 1993, they moved to Toronto, Canada, to join their parents where they completed high school.^[4]

Career

Young's early career included the role of “Crystal” on the Frances-Anne Solomon produced sitcom Lord Have Mercy! (2003), theatre work with Black Theatre Workshop and Theatre Passe Muraille, and artist residencies with Soulpepper Theatre, CanadianStage, Obsidian Theatre, and Banff Centre for the Arts. In 2001, their breakout role as “Stacyanne” came through Da Kink in My Hair, by Jamaican-Canadian writer Trey Anthony, for which they were nominated for a Dora Award.^[5] Badilisha Poetry X-Change has ranked d'bi young anitafrika in the top ten poets.^[6]

Young's early poetry, including their first dub poem entitled "once dere was a mxn" written in 1988, followed the foundational aesthetic of dub poetry's form, style, and content.^[7] In 2013, Young was one of the headline names for the 2013 Human Rights Concert in Harare, Zimbabwe. There, they collaborated with Zimbabwean musician Victor Kunonga on a song called Ruvengo (Hate) off Kunonga's album Kwedu.^[8]

Key works

Young's works, The Sankofa Trilogy, The Orisha Trilogy and The Ibeji Trilogy, explore the psychological and ideological impacts of colonization to capitalism on people of African descent, from a Black Feminist perspective. They are triptych dramas.

The Sankofa Trilogy are the stories of three Jamaican women, Mudgu Sankofa, their daughter Sekesu, and their granddaughter Benu. Each play uses the women's familial bond to tell of their respective journeys of revolutionary self-determination, and transformative self-expression.^[9] The Orisha Trilogy^[10][11] is a series about the experiences of women characters of the past, present, and future who survived the transatlantic slave trade. In each time period, the women grapple with power, gender, and sexuality through oppression and social unrest, under the help and protection of the Orishas. The Ibeji Trilogy are three biomyth dramas about Black love as it evolves in the midst of major life changes, from friendship to romance, between mother and son, and deep self-love.

Publishing and theatre

Young established the micro-press Spolrusie Publishing,^[12] a publishing house to support the work of emerging black writers,^[13] and BQTIPOC and feminist works.^[14]

From 2008 to 2018, they also created and ran The Watah Theatre, the only black-focused performance art school in Canada. The Watah Theatre offered tuition-free professional development programs.^[15] Between The Watah Theatre and Yemoya Artist Residency,^[16] they mentored some of Canada's up and coming young black creatives and international artists of color including Amanda Parris,^[17] Kim Katrin Milan,^[18] Titilope Sonuga, and photographer, Che Kothari.^[19]

Young's style of theatre practice developed draws from their upbringing in the performative and political environment of emerging Dub poetry in Jamaica of 1980s. They use Jamaican language and idiom as nation language, as opposed to colloquialism.^[20] They work extensively with monodrama and biomythography, or “biomyth monodrama.”

They appeared on the 2021 FreeUp! The Emancipation Day Special.^[21]

The Anitafrika Method

Young's work recognizes the connections between identity and community as both inextricable and sacred.^[22] The Anitafrika Method initiates self-recovery through a creative process of performance that grounds broader notions of identity, community, social constructs, and metaphysical concepts, and focuses them into an embodied performance experience.^[20] The Anitafrika Method stems from the Dub theory of their mother, Anita Stewart.^[23] They have applied the method in a variety of disciplines and with practitioners in health care, social justice, art, and leadership development.

From January to June 2015, Young applied the method in a special collaboration with the Women's College Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada: The Black Womxn's Health Research Project.^[24]

In 2018, Young began work in postgraduate studies in the Praxes, Politics and Pedagogies of Black Performance at Goldsmiths, University of London.^[25]

Personal life

Young is non-binary.^[26]

Selected works

Plays

Year(s)	Title	Notes
2018	Once Upon a Black Boy
2017	The Orisha Trilogy	Featuring: Esu Crossing the Middle Passage, Mami Wata & the Pussywitch Hunt, & Lukumi: A Dub Opera,
2016	Lukumi: A Dub Opera
2016	Esu Crossing the Middle Passage
2016	Mami Wata & the Pussywitch Hunt
2013	The Sankofa Trilogy	Featuring: Benu, Bloodclaat, & Word! Sound! Powah!
2011	The Sankofa Trilogy (Featuring: Benu, Bloodclaat, & Word! Sound! Powah!)	Tarragon Theatre
2010	Nanny Maroon Warrior	Summerworks, Lower Ossington Theatre
2010	Word! Sound! Powah! (Part 3 of The Sankofa Trilogy)	Free Word Centre (2010), Summerworks Theatre Festival (2010), Toronto Fringe Festival (2010), Canadian Stage Theatre (2010)
2008	She	Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
2007	Benu (Part Two of The Sankofa Trilogy)	Summerworks Theatre Festival, Theatre Passe Muraille
2006	organ-eye-zed crime[27]	Hysteria: A Festival of Women, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
2006	Domestic	Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts
2001-2016	Bloodclaat	Watah Theatre (2016), Tarragon Theatre (2011), The Rhubarb Festival (2010), University of the Western Cape (2010), Firehall Theatre Vancouver (2010), GCTC, Magnetic North Theatre Festival (2010), Firehall, Magnetic North Theatre Festival (2008), Theatre Passe Muraille (2006), Solitary, b current theatre (2001)
2003	Androgyne	Buddies in Bad Times Theatre

Theatre (actor)

Year	Title	Role	Theater	Notes
2017	For Colored Girls	Lady In Red	Soulpepper Theatre
2012	In Search Of My Father		Nu Century Arts
2008	Have You Seen Zandile	Zandile	African Theatre Ensemble
2008	Three Sisters	Olga	Soulpepper Theatre
2008	Three Penny Opera	Ballad Singer	Soulpepper Theatre
2007	Da Kink In My Hair	Staceyanne/Claudette	Hackney Empire London
2006			San Diego Repertory Theatre California
2006			Princess Of Wales Theatre Toronto
2003/2005			Theatre Passé Muraille
2001			Toronto Fringe Festival	Role debut
2003	Anowa	Badua	Artword Theatre
2002	Stuck	Womban	Black Theatre Workshop
2002	Three Parts Harmony	Body	Tarragon Theatre
2001	And Girls In Their Sunday Dresses	Mime	Artword Theatre
1999	Tooth And Nail	Sifiso	Mcgill Theatre

Film and Television (actor)

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	Lord Have Mercy!	Crystal
2024	Village Keeper	Dr. Anitafrika

Compilations

Title	Producer	Release Date
When Sisters Speak Live	Dwayne Morgan	2008
Love Equality Freedom Revolushun.	CBC Poetry Faceoff	2004
Blood And Animal Farm	Lost Tribes Of The Sun: Renewal	2003
Ain’t I A Woman (In Dub)	Ribsauce: Words By Women	2001
Revolution	La Vache Enragee. Planete Rebelled	1998
Johnny. Wordlife	Revword.	1998

Books

Title	Year	Publisher
Dubbin Theatre: The Collected Plays of d'bi.young anitafrika	2021	Spolrusie Publishing
Dubbin Poetry: The Collected Poems of d’bi.young anitafrika	2019	Spolrusie Publishing
Oya: Collection Of Writing	2014	Spolrusie Publishing
Shemurenga: Black Supah Shero Comic (Book 1)	2013	Spolrusie Publishing
Rivers And Other Blackness Between Us: (Dub) Poems Of Love.	2007	Women's Press
Blood.Claat	2006	Playwrights Canada Press
Art On Black	2006	Playwrights Canada Press

Essays

Essay	Date	Publication	Publisher
Black Plays Matter: Watah Theatre, Creating Safe Space for Black Artists in These Dangerous Times	2016	Canadian Theatre Review: Equity in Theatre	University of Toronto Press
R/Evolution Begins Within	2012	Canadian Theatre Review: Manifestos	University of Toronto Press
Love Equality Freedom and Revolushun	2007	Theorizing Empowerment: Canadian Perspectives on Black Feminist Thought	Inanna Publications
Revolushun III and Letter To Tchaiko	2007	Wasafiri Magazine	Open University and Routledge
Dubpoetics and Personal Politics	2007	Notes From Canada's Young Activists: A Generation Stands Up for Change	Greystone Books
	2006	Talking Book	Cumulus Press
Blood, Dub and Holy	2002	Contemporary Verse: The Canadian Journal of Poetry and Critical Writing	Canadian Magazines Publishers Association
Ain’t I a Woman (In Dub)	2007	A Canadian Anthology of Words by Women	Véhicule Press

Poetry

Poem	Date	Publication	Publisher
Love Equality Freedom and Revolushun	2007	Theorizing Empowerment: Canadian Perspectives on Black Feminist Thought	Inanna Publications
Revolushun III and Letter To Tchaiko	2007	Wasafiri Magazine	Open University and Routledge
Blood, Dub and Holy	2002	Contemporary Verse: The Canadian Journal of Poetry and Critical Writing	Canadian Magazines Publishers Association
Ain’t I a Woman (In Dub)	2007	A Canadian Anthology of Words by Women	Véhicule Press

Notes

1. Young identifies as genderqueer and uses they/them and shx/hxr pronouns.

References

1. "D'bi & The 333". d'bi.young anitafrika. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
2. "dbi young anitafrika: biography". d'bi young anitafrika. May 10, 2019. Archived from the original on 2017-11-20. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
3. "d'bi.young anitafrika pays tribute to her creative muse-her mother, pioneer dub poet Anita Stewart". CBC Radui. May 10, 2019. Archived from the original on 2020-05-07. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
4. Johnson, Richard (May 28, 2012). "D'bi's Word! Sound! Powah!". Jamaica Observer. Archived from the original on May 10, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
5. Lewis, Jules (January 27, 2016). "d'bi.young anitafrika". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2017-01-07. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
6. Internationally acclaimed Toronto poet d'bi young ranked top ten, retrieved 2021-02-11
7. De Villiers, Mila (August 19, 2019). "Get to know dub poet d'bi.young anitafrika ahead of the SA Book Fair". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 2019-08-19. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
8. "Jamaican dub poet to serenade Harare". 6 December 2013.
9. "The Sankofa Trilogy". d'bi.young anitafrika. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
10. Maga, Carly (April 4, 2016). "Esu Crossing the Middle Passage a powerful journey back in time". The Toronto Star. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
11. Parris, Amanda (Sep 22, 2017). "Everything you ever wanted to know about dub". CBC Arts. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
12. "spolrusie publishing". spolrusie publishing. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
13. "d'bi young anitafrika on performance, centring oneself, and storytelling". Archived from the original on 2016-05-27. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
14. De Villiers, Mila (August 19, 2019). "Get to know dub poet d'bi.young anitafrika ahead of the SA Book Fair". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 2019-08-19. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
15. "HERstory in Black: d'bi young anitafrika". CBC News. Feb 22, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
16. "d'bi.young anitafrika | Improvisation, Community and Social Practice". www.improvcommunity.ca. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
17. "CBC Arts: The Exhibitionists".
18. Samuel, Getachew (February 15, 2012). "SWAY MAGAZINE: Q&A with Kim Crosby". SWAY Magazine. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
19. Che, Kothari. "Che Kothari- About".
20. Eva C., Karpinski (2017). "Can Multilingualism Be a Radical Force In Contemporary Theatre? Exploring the Option of Non-Translation" (PDF). Theatre Research in Canada / Recherches théâtrales au Canada. 38 (2): 153–167. doi:10.3138/tric.38.2.153. S2CID 158430980. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-05-10. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
21. "FreeUp!: This Sunday, join artists across Canada to celebrate Emancipation Day 2021". CBC Arts, July 27, 2021.
22. anitafrika, d'bi. young (2016). "Black Plays Matter: Watah Theatre, Creating Safe Space For Black Artists In These Dangerous Times'". Canadian Theatre Review. 165: 26–31. doi:10.3138/ctr.165.005. S2CID 147506429.
23. "The Method". Anitafrika Retreat Centre. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
24. "Research". anitafrikmethod. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
25. "dbi.young anitafrika". Open Space. Archived from the original on May 10, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
26. "BIOGRAPHY". d'bi.young anitafrika. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
27. Wilson, Ann (January 2012). "Linda Burnett, ed. Theatre in Atlantic Canada. Laura Levin, ed. Theatre and Performance in Toronto". Theatre Research in Canada. 33 (1): 117–120. doi:10.3138/tric.33.1.117. ISSN 1196-1198.

Further reading

• Allen, L 2016, ‘The Sixth Sense in Performance: d’bi.young anitafrika’, in J Householder & T Mars (Eds), More Caught in The Act: An Anthology of Performance Art by Canadian Women, YYZ Books, Toronto, pp. 107–113.
• Austin, D 2018, Dread Poetry and Freedom: Linton Kwesi Johnson and the Unfinished Revolution, Pluto Books, Montreal.
• Flynn, K & Marrast, E 2008, ‘Dubbin Revolushun: Interview with d’bi.young’, obsidian lll, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 35–58.
• Luhning, H 2010, ‘Accountability, Integrity, and 'Benu': an Interview with d'bi.young’, Alt Theatre Magazine, vol. 8, no.1, pp. 10–17.
• Gumbs, A P 2016, ‘Angel’s Basic School: d’bi.young anitafrika and Black Queer Divinity’, Jacket2, 6 October
• Ford Smith, H 2018, ‘Performing Queer Marronage: The Work of d’bi.young anitafrika’, in P Dickinson, C E Gatchalian, K Oliver & D Singh (Eds), Q2Q: Queer Canadian Performance Texts, Playwrights Canada Press, Toronto, pp. 239–243.
• Gill, L K 2016, ‘I Represent Freedom: Diaspora and The Meta-Queerness of Dub Theater’, in E P Johnson (Ed), No Tea, No Shade: New Writings in Black Queer Studies, Duke University Press, durham, pp. 113–130.
• Sakolsky, R 2004, ‘Summer Festivals 2004: International Dub Poetry Festival’, The Beat, vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 36–37, 41.

External links

• d'bi.young anitafrika, official website