 |  | "Dub Hip-Hop Flo is how I describe my sound", said Rugby-born poet, Richard Grant. He has been descriped as Benjamin Zephaniah meets Eddie Izzard - at lighting speed.
He creates a heady mix of Jamaican dancehall rhythms coupled with wry, anecdotal tales of sexual liasons, race and whatever else he feels like scripting that day.
Father of four, former lorry driver, doughnut seller and currently chef, Richard is now also using his skills and newfound talent for poetry to help reduce racism and bring poetry back to the people.
University kick-start
| |  | Richard Grant in a BBC photo-shoot
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Unemployed at the age of 27 Richard Grant, aka Dreadlockalien, started a 2+2 degree at the University of Warwick, and hasn't looked back since.
He successfully juggled raising a young family, working as a chef and working in the arts.
The degree opened up the chance for Richard to forge a career in the arts when a course lecturer first published a piece of his dub poetry, which is a brand of oral poetry arising from reggae and hip-hop cultures.
 Money doesn't drive what I do, it's when I see people like Birmingham Poet Laureate Roi Kwabena, Moquapi Selassie... What drives me on is my great family and the massive adrenaline rush I get when I get the chance to perform my material.
 | | Richard Grant
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Speaking on harder times he said: " I've been there - bounced around the benefits system - that was no fun. But I've always stuck with my poetry and now I'm all about trying to make it work for me."
Building on success
Five years on, Richard has performed at 70 events, and he regularly runs workshops in schools and community groups.
Richard's dub, hip-hop poetry revolves around issues of racism, definitions of blackness, immigration and growing up as an 'Indo Caribbean' in the UK.
Using the media
Richard is helping to promote communication between African-Caribbean and Asian communities and ensure cultural activities are brought to mainstream audiences via local radio and television.
He said: "Money doesn't drive what I do, it's when I see people like Birmingham Poet Laureate Roi Kwabena, Moquapi Selassie, getting their work programmed into some of the top venues in our region. What drives me on is my great family and the massive adrenaline rush I get when I get the chance to perform my material."
Leamington connection
| |  | Some of the members of the New October Poets
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Richard is resident poet at the Community Arts Workshop in Leamington and recently won a National Slam Poetry competition, held in Oxford.
During his year of residency at the gallery he has recorded his first anthology of work titled, Anglo Inndo Caribbean Flo Flava. A follow-up is also currently in production.
In his spare time he runs a spoken word recording label and manages a local collective of artists called the New October Poets.
They jam when and where they can get the space, performing in community centres, small theatres, coffee shops and schools.
For more on this group, follow the Warwick University Boar link on the left.
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