OfficialRheaLayne

On my usual daily gallivant across the interwebs, I saw this “thinkpiece” by a writer called Chris McPherson floating around on Facebook with the following title:

“FOR THE LAST TIME, RIHANNA IS NOT SPEAKING JAMAICAN PATOIS IN ‘WORK’” - http://pettyparty.com/2016/03/05/for-the-last-time-rihanna-is-not-speaking-jamaican-patois-in-work/

In this short blog post, Chris seeks to defend our Barbadian culture by imploring fellow writers and readers alike to do more research on the cultures of other Caribbean countries; asking them to refrain from lumping the entire region into one nation - Jamaica.

Thanks Chris! As a Bajan myself I can appreciate that.

But...I was with you up to here:

“Rihanna is not speaking in Jamaican patois, cuz ya know, she’s Bajan. She’s speaking Bajan creole.”

Uhhh...she is speaking Jamaican patois, Chris.

Y’see, as Chris himself noted, it’s not okay to homogenise the cultures of the entire Caribbean region into Jamaica. Yes, the very nature of the Caribbean region leaves intrinsic in it many similarities between the varying nations, from the food and festivals, down to the music and language. BUT, we are not ALL the same and credit ought to be given where it’s due.

One of the easiest ways to distinguish Caribbean people from one another, is our varying accents and dialects/creoles/patois; and both Jamaicans and Barbadians have undeniable/unmistakable accents and dialects (of course to those who are familiar with them). We sometimes use similar words (e.g. pon (on), waan (want), wuk (work), mudda (mother) etc.), but the true essence and distinction is in the structure of our sentences. So for those who think Rihanna’s speaking Bajan Dialect in the #1 Hit “Work”, allow me to re-write the lyrics in a way that some Bajans might say it. Then you can compare it with the original lyrics here: http://genius.com/Rihanna-work-lyrics.

“Work” (Bajan Style) [Hook: Rihanna] Work, work, work, work, work, work He suh I gaw/gotta Work, work, work, work, work, work! He see me do muh Dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt! So I put in Work, work, work, work, work, work When you gine Learn, learn, learn, learn, learn Ahn cay if he Hurt, hurt, hurt, hurt, hurting

[Verse 1: Rihanna] Dry! ... I gine desert him Nuh time to have you lurking He getting on like he ain’t like it You know I dealt with you the nicest Doan bodda touch me, you ain righteous Doan bodda text me in a crisis I believed all of your dreams, adoration You took my heart and my keys and my patience You took my heart on my sleeve for decoration You mistaken my love I brought for you for foundation All that I wanted from you was to give me Something that I never had Something that you've never seen Something that you've never been! Mmmmm! But I wake up and act like nothing's wrong Just get ready tuh...

[Hook: Rihanna] Work, work, work, work, work, work He suh I gaw/gotta Work, work, work, work, work, work! He see me do muh Dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt! So I put in Work, work, work, work, work, work Ner ner ner ner ner ner! When yuh gine learn learn learn learn learn learn! Before de tables turn turn turn turn turn turn!

[Verse 2: Rihanna] I beggin yuh please Baby don't you leave Don’t leave me stuck here in the streets, uh huh If I get another chance to I will never, no never neglect you I mean who am I to hold your past against you? I just hope that it gets to you I hope that you see this through I hope that you see this true What can I say? Please recognize I'm tryin', babe!!! I have to

And so on, and so on...

So yuh see?! De changes ever suh slight! But duh got a difference none de less! See? The changes are slight, but there’s a difference nonetheless!

Although not the entire song is sung in Jamaican Patois (and there’s levels to this shit, trust me!), the dialectal elements are definitely not Bajan Dialect/Creole. So, Chris, thanks! But you’re wrong on this one.

Moreover, being Bajan ( or being from one country) does not prevent one from being able to speak/sing in a language from another country. Otherwise, Beyoncé wouldn’t have all those Spanish versions of her music and I wouldn’t be able to speak basic French or belt comfortably all the words to Kassav’s “Zouk la se sel medikaman nou ni” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vv1wxZAR1k - BIG TUNE!!

Big up to mi Yaadie dem, and large off tuh my Bajan people! Wunna done know is one love all de time families.