D’bi young anitafrika (Zandile)

Hailing from the trenches of Maxfield Avenue kingston 13 jamaica and the concrete jungles of toronto city canada | d'bi.young stands firm as the hybrid-oasis where roots-rock-reggae meets dub-poetic-politix | infused by dangerous dancehall riddims and funked out punk [rock]. she is the future of dub poetry today | in 2007 she won the toronto arts council emerging artist award.

From headlining at the international reggae festival [havana cuba '02 | '03 | '04], co-billing with saul williams / michael franti [calgary folk festival '04] and opening for antibalas afro-beat band [montreal '02] to starring in canada's hit musical 'da kink in my hair which earned her a dora nomination [princess of wales theatre '05 | san diego repertory theatre '05] and lord have mercy [1st afro-canadian tv sitcom] to also being featured on bravo's playwrights & screenwriters, hbo's def poetry jam lll, cbc's zed tv | artspots | spinoff, and cuba's cuerda viva. d'bi.young is a worldclass roaring torrent who leaves her audiences awed and inspired.

She has independently produced four dub albums | a demo | and a single: [when the love is not enough...'00 | xperimentin dub with dub trinity reggae band '01 | xperimentin dub in havana cuba '02 | ky.ky '06 | blood demo '03 | animal farm single '05], and written a trilogy of plays [bloodclaat l featured at danny hoch's nyc hip hop theatre fest '03 | androgyne ll | chronicles in dub lll] which are being supported by theatre passe muraille | buddies in bad times theatre | and nightwood theatre respectively.

Her music has been highlighted on compilations such as: lost tribes of the sun: renewal | ribsauce: a cd anthology of words by women | wordlife: tales of the underground griots | and la vache enragee. and she co-produced the cuban-canadian feminist documentary blood based on her poem of said title featuring political exile nehanda abiodun and las krudas [one of havana's leading feminist hip hop groups] with filmmaker judy singh.

In Mar '06, d'bi.young launched her first book of poetry art on black [by women's press]

In June she began a two-year theatre arts residency at soulpepper theatre academy | in aug she launched a bilingual [english/spanish] edition of her critically acclaimed play blood.claat [playwrights' canada press] | in sept she remounted blood.claat at theatre passe muraille [nominated for five dora awards two of which it won - best new play and best female performance] | in october she was shortlisted for the toronto arts council emerging artist award | and now she is preparing to premiere with 'da kink in my hair in london england in november 2006. all this while mothering her sun: moon.

"best dub poet and storytelling actor...she calls herself a storyteller but who cares about titles when you're so mesmerized by the heartfelt truths she communicates." - jon kaplan, now magazine