Caribbean Beat — January/February 2019 (#155)
A calendar of events; music, film, and book reviews; travel features; people profiles, and much more.
A calendar of events; music, film, and book reviews; travel features; people profiles, and much more.
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need to know<br />
How You Say<br />
Reggae patwa primer<br />
Reggae is the musical heartbeat of Jamaica, and Reggae Month, celebrated each<br />
<strong>February</strong>, comes with an overflowing programme of performances, seminars,<br />
exhibitions, and other events dedicated to the musical genre and its offspring, like<br />
dancehall. But reggae’s global popularity doesn’t mean that non-Jamaicans always<br />
understand every nuance of the lyrics, usually sung in patwa. Here are some lines<br />
from iconic songs you may have failed to understand <strong>—</strong> and some useful phrases<br />
for your next reggae concert.<br />
From “Boombastic” by Shaggy<br />
Naw guh laba laba and a chat pure faat<br />
Translation: Not going to talk<br />
excessively and speak pure nonsense<br />
From “Bam Bam” by Sister<br />
Nancy<br />
A me seh one thing Nancy cyan<br />
understan<br />
Translation: And I say one thing Nancy<br />
cannot understand<br />
From “Blood Money” by Protoje<br />
Man deh road a carry one wuleepa a<br />
felony<br />
Translation: Men with a lot of felonies<br />
walk the road freely<br />
Pull up! Dah tune yah bad<br />
Start over! This song is nice<br />
Di party a go slap weh!<br />
The party is going to be awesome!<br />
From “Do It For the Likes”<br />
by Chronixx<br />
Gwaan like seh dem deh a studio<br />
a voice<br />
Translation: Pretending that<br />
they’re at a studio recording<br />
Yuh need fi tek weh yuself fram<br />
yah suh<br />
The party’s over. It’s time to go<br />
Likkle more. Mi ago crush di road<br />
See you later. I’m going on the road<br />
courtesy chronixx<br />
34 WWW.CARIBBEAN-BEAT.COM
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