Jamaican Slang EditorialTHE Blog for Jamaican Slang, Patois, Reggae, Rastafari, Real T’ing dem and Jamaica

With so many riddims coming out every week, it can get hard to put things in perspective. Anyways, we thought we would look at the top 5 most successful riddims to come out. Now, these are not the best riddims or our favorites, but these are the riddims that you can hear at almost any party. The list is not in any special order and let us know if you disagree or have a different top 5:

1- Playground (Beenie Man is definitely the one who made this riddim “sell off” with Who Am I.)

2- Diwali (This might be the most successful riddim outside of Jamaica and it is rddim where Sean Paul really blew up abroad. This riddim showed the world the fun dances coming out of Jamaica. Stand out artists are T.O.K., Sean Paul, Wayne Wonder, Elephant Man…and should I add Lumidee? Uh No!)

3- Bookshelf (Every single song on this riddim is pretty much classic, but the people that stand out are Sean Paul, Beenie Manand T.O.K. This is also the riddim where Sean Paul dropped Dutty Yo on Deport Dem.)

4- Buy Out ( Sean Paul and Elephant Man did their thing on this riddim. This was a fun riddim and people were signalin’ di plane all the time.)

5- Showtime (This might be the best riddim of all time because nuff artist use parts of this riddim or the riddim to launch their career. Beenie and Bounty Killer definitely murdered this riddim.)

Even before finishing this post, I have people on my case that these riddims could be replaced by others. Leave some feedback of what you think should be on this list.

With Valentines Day on Saturday, now is a perfect time to talk about a special type of reggae called Lovers Rock. Lovers Rock is a type of reggae concerned primarily with love and romance, developed from the London reggae scene as an alternative militant and roots records from the late 1970s. Soul records have a strong influence on the Lovers Rock Sound. Many people believe that Lovers Rock is the one place, traditionally, in reggae where women have gained considerable attention and success.  Now, if you are a reggae lover, you have certainly heard Lovers Rock, but even if you are new to reggae you have heard lovers rock. The most recent Lovers Rock success is Sean Paul featuring Sasha ” I’m Still in Love with You”, a remake of the Alton Ellis song.

Most Lover Rocks songs have some element of Jamaican Slang, but the real special thing is the sound! Happy Valentines Day and Bless!

Although Sean Paul is known for his recent multi-platinum hits with artists like Jay-Z, Beyonce and Keisha Cole, Sean Paul has been responsible for some the hottest dancehall tracks with rich Jamaican Slang/Patois lyrics. One of the songs that always stands out is, No Bligh. Even the title is in Patois!!! The song was originally released on Sean Paul’s debut album, Stage One and it always gets the crowd moving. So, here are the lyrics for all students of Jamaican Slang/Patois. No audio this time, just to make sure you stay in your seat when studying the song! More Time!

Sean Paul- Nah Get No Bligh
Intro:
And again it’s one more try yuh know
Ten time me cry and ah dry me eye
Yeah
Well yuh dun know ah pressure i’ve run through
Check dis
Dutty Yeah!

Chorus:
Because me nah get no bligh
Sean Paul ah pressure yuh wit one more try
Fuss inna meh life man I’m feeling fi cry
Taking all meh heart baby dat’s no lie well ah dat’s no lie
Cau’ me nah get no bligh
Sean Paul ah pressure yuh wit one more try
Fuss inna meh life man I’m feeling fi cry
Taking all meh heart baby dat’s no lie well ah dat’s no lie

Verse 1:
Cause girl my world is coming to ah enda
Definitely check for you dis message come fi senda
You meh wha fi wake and see every morning ah
Lickle precious time make Sean a cry man ah singa
But yuh nah gi man no bligh nah no play
Everyday me sit and meditate and ah pray
Yuh left meh heart inna permanent state of dismay
‘Oman ah wha yuh hear de words de Dee Jay say

Chorus:
Cause yuh just nah give no bligh
Sean Paul ah pressure yuh wit one more try
Fuss inna meh life man I’m feeling fi cry
Taking all meh heart baby dat’s no lie well ah dat’s no lie
Cause me nah get no bligh
Sean Paul ah pressure yuh wit one more try
Fuss inna meh life man I’m feeling fi cry
Taking all meh heart baby dat’s no lie well ah dat’s no lie

Verse 2:
Well everyday me look up to the sky
Ten time me cry ten time me dry eye
We sit dung ah we yard and ah wait pon reply
We nuh stop bawl out cause she nah stop from deny
Dis little girl ah driving man mad
Dipping hottie hottie want ah hardcore slam
She nuh stop black we mind with nuff (?)
Sean a Paul wha dey ah wit ah different program

Chorus:
Cause me just nah get no bligh
Sean Paul ah pressure yuh wit one more try
Fuss inna meh life man I’m feeling fi cry
Taking all meh heart baby dat’s no lie well ah dat’s no lie
Cau’ me nah get no bligh
Sean Paul ah pressure yuh wit one more try
Fuss inna meh life man I’m feeling fi cry
Taking all meh heart baby dat’s no lie well ah dat’s no lie

Verse 3:
Well ah nuff people walk and tell meh say meh stupid
But dem never yet get lick by cupid
Dem have ah lickle girl wha ah bun like acid
Say deep inna meh heart and it ah move like rapid
Daddygon ah try
Loogaman ah try
Dutty cup ah try
Nah get no bligh
Mossy Kid ah try
Kid Kurrupt ah try
Chicken dem ah cry
Sean a Paul nuh stop try

Chorus:
Me say nah get no bligh
Sean Paul ah pressure yuh wit one more try
Fuss inna meh life man I’m feeling fi cry
Taking all meh heart baby dat’s no lie well ah dat’s no lie
Cau’ me nah get no bligh
Sean Paul ah pressure yuh wit one more try
Fuss inna meh life man I’m feeling fi cry
Taking all meh heart baby dat’s no lie well ah dat’s no lie

Verse 1:
Well girl my world is coming to ah enda
Definitely check for you dis message come fi senda
You meh wha fi wake and see every morning ah
Lickle precious time make Sean a cry man ah singa
But yuh nah gi man no bligh nar no play
Everyday me sit and meditate and ah pray
Yuh left meh heart inna permanent state of dismay
‘Oman ah wha yuh hear de words de Dee Jay say

Chorus:
Cause meh just nah get no bligh
Sean Paul ah pressure yuh wit one more try
Fuss inna meh life man I’m feeling fi cry
Taking all meh heart baby dat’s no lie well ah dat’s no lie
Cau’ meh nah get no bligh
Sean Paul ah pressure yuh wit one more try
Fuss inna meh life man I’m feeling fi cry
Taking all meh heart baby dat’s no lie well ah dat’s no lie

Verse 2:
Well everyday me look up to the sky
Ten time me cry ten time me dry eye
We sit dung ah we yard and ah wait pon reply
We nuh stop bawl out cause she nah stop from deny
Well dis little girl ah stop from man mad
Dipping hottie hottie want ah hardcore slam
She nuh stop black we mind with nuff (?)
Seana Paul wha dey ah wit ah different program

Chorus:
Cause me nah get no bligh
Sean Paul ah pressure yuh wit one more try
Fuss inna meh life man I’m feeling fi cry
Taking all meh heart baby dat’s no lie well ah dat’s no lie

I know that alot of people think that all reggae sounds the same, but nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, there are definitely some similarities among all of the types of reggae, but there are really two dominant forms of reggae that come out of Jamaica, Ragga aka Dancehall Reggae and Roots Reggae. So what are the differences?

To begin with, Ragga which I will refer to as Dancehall is largely played with digital instruments. Most of the beats which are called Riddims are made digitally. Dancehall has been the most commercially successful Jamaican music over the years. Many Dancehall artists have experienced cross over success with mainstream music. Artists like Sean Paul, Beenie Man, Shabba Ranks, Super Cat, Vybz Kartel, Bounty Killa, Elephant Man and many more are all examples of dancehall artists with some experiencing worldwide success. In addition, to artists known strictly for dancehall, some Roots artists also record dancehall tracks. Sizzla, Buju Banton and Capelton are roots artists who also appear on dancehall tracks. Dancehall is unique in that it draws on all aspects of Jamaican culture and is often the sound where authentic Jamaican Patois can be heard (to hear some authentic Patois on Dancehall Tracks, check out the JA Mixes). The subject matter in the songs ranges from politics in Jamaica, sex, women, violence, Jamaica or a new dance. Dancehall gets its name from the event or place where people go to hear ragga tracks and as the word implies, people dance! Many of the most popular dancehall tracks have dedicated dances with choreography. Recently, one of the most popular was dances was Pon di River, also a song by Elephant Man. In addition, to Pon di River, there is also a dance for Signal de Plane (click here to see the steps for Signal de Plane!) Dancehall tracks come out at a frenzying pace and some are classics while others leave much to be desired.

Roots reggae is the largely rasta influenced form of reggae. Many roots tracks are recorded with live instruments, although many are also digital. As mentioned before, some of the most well known roots artists who venture into the dancehall world are Sizzla, Buju Banton and Capelton. Other popular artists who focus almost exclusively on roots include Morgan Heritage, Ritchie Spice, Jah Mason, Anthony B, Luciano and many more. One thing to know is that many of these artists are also rastas. Sizzla, Capelton and Anthony are all Bobo Ashanti, a very unique and obscure sect of the Rastafarian faith. Most roots songs address issues such as Rastafari, Ganja, Jah, H.I.M (His Imperial Majesty), Africa, Jamaica and other realities that face the Jamaican people. As far as learning to speak Jamaican, Roots is important for understanding the roots, reality and culture, but is much more likely to have English lyrics. From a cultural perspective, Roots songs often have Nayabinghi sounds and other instruments of the Rastafari faith.

So is one genre better than the other? Absolutely not. I go in and out of phases. Sometimes, I want to listen to roots to relax and other times I want to listen to dancehall to get energized like Elephant Man. Dancehall is great to learn to speak Jamaican and Roots really gives you insight into the culture of Jamaica and Rastafari!