Kunta Kinte

Kunta Kinte is the protagonist in the novel, Roots: The Saga of an American Family, and the television miniseries Roots. The author, Alex Haley, claims that the novel is a mix of fact and fiction. Roots tells of the trials and tribulations of Kunta Kinte, as he was taken from his village in Africa and put into the slave system. A prominent part of the miniseries was when he was tied up and whipped by a fellow slave, on orders of his white slave master, as he had refused to take on the name 'Toby', which was given to him by the slave master. The name Kunta Kinte has always been mentioned in many hip hop tracks, as it is synonymous with the slave trade and the fight for freedom. The reggae anthem, Kunta Kinte, has been performed by numerous reggae and dub acts such as The Revolutionaries, Mad Professor and Horace Andy.

Horace Andy - Kunta Kinte