Amina Blackwood Meeks, Contributor
SEET DEY now, Miss Lady join forces wid Likkle Miss Jing Bang. For she sey Jing bang alone kean handle dis because young bud nuh know hurricane, unless him born inna hurricane season. Miss Lady sey storm ah storm, de whole a dem come fe wreak destruction, is jus de name dem change. An it look to her like dis time de only change is dat de people dem who name storm decide not to give dem any human names, so dem call demself tings like Junior MP of Farin Country, the Rights to Watch us from another Farin Country and some odda Outrageous Tings. Dem deh a de storm dem whey nuh so easy fe track for dem spring up all outa season an doan falla no particular course. For look pan de likkle breeze whey start blow and sey it headed for a destination called Violence In De Music an circle roun an gadder steam an come back now headed for Laws Only Of A Certain Variety.
Miss Lady drop some legs to de music what Jing Bang lock up inside har room a play - soso Bob Marley: "For when the rain falls, it doan fall on one man's house top, remember that? they got so much things to say right now, they got so much things to say" An ascordin to Miss Lady, she did know from dem start huff and puff sey it wasn't really de music dat did bun dem, it was how de music a lead a charge fe de right fe people preserve who dem is and what dem choose to believe in widout patriot missiles come dung back dem. De whole a we shudda see dat an rally roun Buju and Bounti for when de Church cudden speak a dem tun preacher and warner an seet deh, de puss jump outa de bag. When storm start blow you is to batten down. Sometimes all when Met Office declare sey storm season dun, kip on yu barricade an bunker dung for a tun back storm is a dangerous ting.
STORM OF ALL SEASONS
Jing Bang sey dem deh storm deh fe name Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth. She declare sey even King James did write inna fe him Bible into Revelation 17:5-6, sey him "Saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus", and dem naw get fe har blood nuh matter how dem try an she pump up a next Bob Marley, "Come we go chant dung Babylon one more time." For it look to har like chu him ded dem conclude sey we defence is defenceless. Aldoagh it come in like some a de sentry dem fall dung pan de jab before dem throw couple leff hook and upper cut, jab, jab, jab!.
Miss Lady had to agree dat she never yet see dis nation spend five consecutive months a talk bout Marcus Garvey into no media. An when people keep dem likkle storytelling festival for the children of Jamaica, she never see any news media follow dem roun fe whole entire five days and put dem pan front page, miggle page, back page, inna headline, beyond de headline. Den how comes it dat people meck dem private business a public affair an a come haunt we like Annie Palmer fe endorse it an everytime dem holla dem get coverage pan fe we news media? Till dem teck we law inna fe dem han an expeck de whole a we fe bow.
You know anyting bout de ethnic cleansing into Sudan? You know anything bout de how much Jamaicans what get national honours up a Kings House de odda day? De people dem from de Scientific Research Council just have a big conference bout how we cudda teck traditional knowledge like yu granny recipe, bush medicine and how dem grow food a St. Elizabeth widout water fe meck a science dat can develop de whole a we, rescue we from tun international paupers, you know anything bout dat? How many Jamaican scientists can you name? You read Senator Tony Johnson book bout dem? You ever hear anyting like dat pon a hype zone? Den how we fine time fe a ask Tony Rebel pan big afternoon entertainment programme bout what him tink bout Junior Minista from farin bag-a-wind statement sey DJ singing is causing de spread of AIDS? An anybody which part dat Junior Minista come from know fe him name? Den how him want to get him fame offa we? Whey him was when National Front deh pan de rampage? Is love dem a defend?
HUMAN RIGHTS IGNORED
Mista Junior MP kean fine no racist hate-peddling institutions which part him blow from fe demolish? Dem doan have no legal loopholes chu which hate preachers can change course dat need to be plugged? Dem doan have anybody in de Caribbean dat dem have in colonial subjugation unda some ancient laws dat need abolishment so dat de people dem can get emancipate?
Den is love somebody did love Amadou Diallo why dem did blow him dung so? Or ongly fe dem police is allowed to hate smaddy to death? Who a watch naw watch demself? What a good ting smaddy was watching dem a jump all over Rodney King. Memba de man what dem did tie up to a truck an drive round Texas till him body get dismembered? Memba some likkle black girls what was disappearing roun Alabama de oadda day, bout 28 a dem.
Dem close de case pan Princess Diana, JFK, Martin Luther, Malcolm X, Abraham Lincoln den how come dem waan close fe we case? Anybody remember how Sharon did sey him did have a feeling inna him heart fe 20 years fe kill Arafat? When last dem check what is going on in Haiti? Anybody did cry over Abner Louima an start 81 page report wid fe him condition? Patrice Lumumba? Amilcar Cabral? Maurice Bishop? 53 attempts pan Fidel Castro? What about de 129 hooman dat get murdered inna Jamaica dis year alone? Fe dem life nuh wort nutten or is love somebody love dem to death? De lyrics bout dem aright?
Jing Bang sey a dat yu shudda ask dem, Tony Rebel. Nuh ongly one way dem sey AIDS can ketch? Unless dem know something dat we doan know, anedda way fe spread it, ah dat a frighten Miss Jing Bang.
WEAPON
But Miss Lady sey it come in to har more like sey we have a weapon of mass destruction whey dem fraid fa. She remind JB sey Third World use to sing bout it into a song bout "Your grandfather cutting sugar cane, ah wonder why he survived the pain, when dem lick him wid de whip granpa gi dem de riddim, lick him wid de whip, granpa kill dem wid de riddim yea." An Jing Bang gi out "So go rhyme, Buju Banton, rhyme" an she put on '96 degrees in de shade'. For she sey if a so our lyrics powerful we can sing anyting into being. Sing dem affa we back. Ah so we defen weself gains dem kina a storm deh, with The Voice of Jamaica we bawl out to nuff people same time from Japan to Jakarta. A flop dem a try flop Brand Jamaica so Christian Dior can teck up de space wid him Rasta line and Puma can wave our flag while dem up a France a launch Buy Europe campaign wid Jerk Chicken an leff we inna de shadow a globalisation.
An Miss Lady give Jing Bang de nex Bob Marley fe play for she sey sometimes yu have to remind dem dat him wasn't singing bout no soso unconditional One Love, no matter what Roskind waan tink.
"Men see their dreams and aspirations crumble in front of their face And all of their wicked intentions to destroy the human race". That's how I know that reggae music, come fe chant dung Babylon with this music?
