Profile via TMDB · Courtesy of TMDB
Benjamin Zephaniah
Sign in to saveAlso known as Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah, Benjamin Springer
British poet (1958–2023)
OverviewAI-generated
Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah was a British actor, poet, writer, and singer born in Handsworth, Birmingham, England, in 1958. He began his work period in 1980 and was associated with the Postmodernism movement. His notable works include *Let Dem Know*, *A Poem in the Sky*, *Verbal Riddim*, *The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah*, and *J Is for Jamaica (World Alphabets)*. He was a member of the British Academy and received an honorary doctorate.
Zephaniah spoke English, Mandarin, and Urdu, and performed using his voice. He adhered to veganism and identified with Rastafari, social anarchism, and Republicanism. He had dyslexia. He died of natural causes due to a brain tumor on December 7, 2023.
Synthesized by Vinony from 36 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1958
- Died
- 2023
- Works
- 59
Top works
- Let Dem Know
- A Poem in the Sky
- A Poem in the Sky
- Verbal Riddim
- The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Handsworth, Birmingham, England, UK
Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (April 15, 1958 - December 7, 2023) was a British writer, dub poet and Rastafarian. He was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008.
Known for
- Peaky Blinders: Rambert’s The Redemption of Thomas Shelby — Narrator2024
- Cold War Steve Meets the Outside World — Self2020
- Life & Rhymes — Himself2020
- The Big Narstie Show — Self2018
- Frankie Boyle's New World Order — Self2017
- Peaky Blinders — Jeremiah Jesus2013
- Celebrity Antiques Road Trip — Self - Participant2011
- Making the Connection — Himself2010
- PS Your Mystery Sender2010
- The Big Questions — Self2007
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Active from
- 1958
- Active to
- 2023
Discography
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 11,505
- Total plays
- 70,580
Tags
Benjamin Zephaniah (born Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Springer in Handsworth, Birmingham, on 15 April 1958; died 7 December 2023) was a British writer, dub poet, actor, musician and professor of poetry and creative writing. He was the first person to record with the Wailers after the death of Bob Marley in a musical tribute to Nelson Mandela. One Little Indian Records released the 'Naked' album on 2006. Previous records by Benjamin Zephaniah are Dub Ranting, Rasta LP, Free South Africa and Back to R
Key facts
- Born
- Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah , ( 1958-04-15 ) 15 April 1958, Handsworth , Birmingham, England
- Died
- 7 December 2023 (2023-12-07) (aged 65)
- Occupation
- Poet playwright author actor
- Genre
- Poetry teen fiction
- Literary movement
- Rastafari movement postcolonialism postmodernism
- Years active
- 1980–2023
- Spouses
- Amina ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1990 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 2001 ) Qian Zephaniah ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 2017 )
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Obadiah
- Family name
- Springer
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United Kingdom
- Place of birth
- Handsworth
- Occupation
- musician
- Languages spoken
- Urdu
- Religion
- Rastafari
- Award
- honorary doctorate
- Field of work
- music
- Movement
- Postmodernism
- Instrument
- voice
- Official website
- benjaminzephaniah.com
- Image
- Benjamin Zephaniah 20181206.jpg
- Political ideology
- Republicanism
Show 14 more facts
- Commons category
- Benjamin Zephaniah
- date of birth
- 1958-04-15
- Commons Creator page
- Benjamin Zephaniah
- lifestyle
- veganism
- medical condition
- dyslexia
- member of
- British Academy
- social media followers
- 8990
- date of death
- 2023-12-07
- manner of death
- natural causes
- cause of death
- brain tumor
- name in native language
- Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah
- start of work period
- 1980-00-00
- end of work period
- 2023-00-00
- P12749
- Johann Christoph Bach I
Sources (11)
via Wikidata · CC0
~25 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Zephaniah reciting a poem in 2015
Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (15 April 1958 – 7 December 2023) was a British writer, dub poet, actor, musician and professor of poetry and creative writing. Over his lifetime, he was awarded 20 honorary doctorates in recognition of his contributions to literature, education, and the arts. He was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008. In his work, Zephaniah drew on his lived experiences of incarceration, racism and his Jamaican heritage.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Benjamin Zephaniah” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.