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

Everyone’s mother holds a special place in this world and it might not be even really a comparison, but we are going to do it. Over the past few years, a handful of classic reggae tracks have come out that are dedicated to all the mothers out there.  Each one is great in its own special way, but I always think…who really made the best and most classic song! So here are the contenders:  Sizzla Kolanji, Gyptian and Vybz Kartel.

Each one of the songs has a video associated with it because without a doubt, each artist put their heart into the song, but who made the best song???? Watch the videos and then see what we think!

Sizzla - Thank You Mama

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=5760489

Gyptian - Mama

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=3867413

Vybz Kartel - Mamma

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=52789253

Okay, so hopefully you listened to each one of these special tracks, now let’s break this down to get to a #1!

Riddim/Beat Selection:

1) Sizzla (One to One Riddim)

2) Gyptian (Triumphant Riddim)

3) Vybz Kartel (Story Tella Riddim)

This might be the hardest part of the competition because every riddim used is great, but the credit goes to the producers. Basically, everyone who made a song on the One to One Riddim and Triumphant Riddims made classic. Don’t get me wrong, Story Tella is great too, but it is hard to top One to One or Triumphant.

Emotion:

1) Gyptian

2) Sizzla

3) Vybz Kartel

Gyptain wins in this category by a few steps because it just seems so authentic and divine when singing this song. And for Vybz Kartel to make a track dedicated to his Mamma when at the same time he has alot of tracks dedicated to punnani damages the credibility. It might be a ploy to clean up his image of constant slackness.

Lyrics:

1) Sizzla

2) Vybz

3) Gyptian

“Work so hard to see us go to school, blista on ya finga so dey won’t take us fi fool”. I think Sizzla just did an amazing job with this song.  Vybz didn’t do a bad job either  and neither did Gyptian, but as far as lyrical content, Sizzla is the man in this competition.

Jamaican Slang Factor:

1) Vybz Kartel

2) Sizzla

3) Gyptian

The results of this category were destined to lean in favor of Vybz. Vybz Kartel is a dancehall artist while Sizzla might moonlight as a dancehall artist, he is also a roots artist and Gyptian is certainly a roots artist. Since dancehall is the breeding ground of Jamaican Slang, Vybz has this category on lock.

So who is the winner? Sizzla, but really the listener is the winner. All of these tracks are great and although each one represents something different for each artist in their career, all are worth having in your collection.

More Time!

Reggae music is so vital in one’s journey to speak Jamaican Patois and Jamaican Slang that it might be the number one way to learn the language. Although, all forms of reggae present vital information about Jamaican Culture, Jamaican Slang is usually found in dancehall reggae, also known as ragga. Ragga is basically digitally produced reggae music. Ragga is the most commercially successful Jamaican music since Bob Marley and it also the most popular form of music among all Jamaicans. (By the way, I use dancehall and ragga interchangeably as well as rhythm and riddim interchangeably. Riddim is the patois version

The fact that most rhythms are digitally produced allows producers to create an unlimited amount of rhythms for very little cost has opened the doors to many Jamaican and International producers. Just to give you an idea, since the 1990s, at least 5,000 new rhythms have been produced…annually. Similar to hip-hop beats, ragga rhythms (dancehall riddims) can be created on the fly, but they can also be created using samples. For example, a few years ago there was a popular rhythm called the Mission Impossible Riddim and as the name implies, the rhythm took the sound sample from the theme song to the film, Mission Impossible. What is interesting about rhythms in danchall riddims is the number of artists that make songs over them. This would never be allowed in hip-hop in the same way, it would be deemed ‘bitting’. When 15 or more artists make songs over one riddim, its called a ‘One Rhythm’ album. This is something that is unusually found in dancehall, but places a key role in an industry that often relies more on singles sales as opposed to album sales. It is also on these rhythms where new artists get a chance to shine and talk about everything from politics, Jamaica, family and more often than not, sex!

I would say, that if you listen to some of the more popular riddims, you are very likely to learn a great deal of Jamaican slang. For example, here are the lyrics to Sean Paul’s “Punkie”, a song that was popular before it was released into the mainstream:

Hot sexy punkie, me punkie
Gal me see say that you want me, you want me
And it no matter wa you man a say, man a say
Cause you know say that we haffi link up one day
Hot sexy punkie, me lady
Gal me see say that you want me, me baby
And it no matter wa you man a say, man a say
Cause you know say that we haffi link up one day

Just checking out the lyrics in this verse of the song, you can learn several patois phrases, pronunciation and words. With ragga tracks being the most popular form of Jamaican music in recent times, artists from all socio-economic classes have made songs. Usually, people from the lower end of the socio-economic ladder speak more patois and slang than people from the upper end. Jamaican Slang and Patois are not seen as proper by some members of society, even though this is changing as Jamaicans learn to embrace patois for national identity. So, the deeper into the masses you look, the more authentic the slang becomes in dancehall. If you listen to a Vybz Kartel track, you are certain to hear many new Jamaican Slang words and Vybz is an artist that makes all of his songs over riddims. For example, check out the lyrics to Vybz’ ‘Tek Buddy’:

Tek buddy gal, yuh think me easy?
Who you ramp wid? Yuh wha live easy
Tek me things and yuh tek me money too
So tek buddy too, tek buddy too
Tek buddy gal, yuh think me easy?
Who you ramp wid? Yuh wha live easy
Yuh, tek me things and tek me money too
So tek buddy too, tek buddy too

Vybz Kartel - Tek Buddy

I hope this helps explain a few things about dancehall and where you can learn Jamaican Slang…besides getting the definitive source on Jamaican Slang…the Rastaman Vibration at www.jamaican-slang.com

Here are two bonus songs to help you learn some Jamaican Slang! More Time!:

Busy Signal - Nah Ansa

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Timberlee - Backdoor Delivery (Ole Geezer Riddim)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Its being described as the The Settlement of All Arguments and its going to be a real sound clash between two of the hottest DeeJays in the history of Dancehall music. The main event is STING 2008 - the 25th Anniversary!!! This will be the stage where Vybz Kartel and Mavado go toe to toe to settle a long running beef. To bring everyone up to speed, the beef/feud began in 2006 when Vybz left The Alliance, a federation of sorts of dancehall artists which includes legends like Bounty Killer and of course, Mavado. Although they had worked together in the past, diss tracks started coming out on various riddims. Violence followed, but nobody was hurt. The feud died down in 2007 after a press conference, but then it came back to life in August of this year (2008). The diss tracks started again and now we will have the priviledge of seeing these two stars go at it through music at Sting 2008.

I had a chance to check out some of the interviews with Vybz and Mavado and the level of Jamaican Slang is everything you dreamed of. The patois flows so naturally as both artists are at ease trying to make a case as to why they are going to win. It might be bold to say this is like Mike Tyson vs. Lennox Lewis in the boxing world, but it is certainly up there with one of the hottest beefs in dancehall. I think these video clips are gems for anyone looking to learn Jamaican Patois/ Jamaican Slang. Check them out…and to learn more Jamaican Slang…check out SpeakJamaican.com

STING 2008 - MAVADO

STING 2008 - VYBZ KARTEL

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!