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Their straight delivery of ridiculous references (“Crunch like Nestle.Snipe like Wesley”) and their use of repetition to re-emphasize the absurdity of their performance is funny. The use of autotune highlights the artificiality of the sung patois. "Even Jay-Z did a fake patois" by Flickr User NRK P3ĭas Racist’s song also reveals a degree of comedic intent. The parody, on the other hand, despite its comedic intent, does not have the performer’s genuine affect to mitigate its buffoonish mimicry. While potentially problematic, Snow’s performance is clearly born of an earnest appreciation of dancehall reggae. Similarly, the lyric, “Even Jim Carrey fuck with the patois,” makes reference to the actor’s parody of Snow’s “Informer.” While “ Imposter,” is clearly meant to call out Snow’s lack of ‘blackness,’ Carrey’s mocking “Day-O” and his characterization of dancehall lyrics as “gibberish” also underlines a disdain for the music form itself. Das Racist seems to be suggesting that the use of the patois sound in songs is selling something as well, even as they use it to sell their own song. Through her patois the Miss Cleo character sold the authentic origins of her mystic powers. For example, they mention Miss Cleo of psychic phoneline fame, who claimed to be from Jamaica, but is an actress and playwright from Seattle.
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Snow withstood attacks on his authenticity throughout his career and tried to shore it up through his incarceration narratives and associations with blacks of Caribbean descent.ĭas Racist doesn’t limit their list to musicians, and their choices highlight the different ways patois is put to work. Snow is probably the quintessential example of the “fake patois,” as his 1993 break-out hit, “ Informer” was for much of white America the first exposure to the sounds of dancehall reggae.
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The song shows this respect through its knowledge, but also immediately calling out artists that have used the “fake patois,”-respected ones like KRS-One, b ut also “My man Snow,” a white Canadian performer of dancehall reggae. While critical of reckless appropriation of various ethnic musics by western whites, Lipstiz nevertheless sees this music as a way for individuals to express their identity through solidarity, sharing a respect for that music’s history as it is embedded in a framework of power. If you want a more detailed mapping of a particular reggae meme’s journey through hip hop, check out Wayne Marshall’s fantastic essay on the subject, which demonstrates that even when contemporary artists think they are paying homage by imitating their rap fore-bearers they are also unknowingly paying homage to the influence of Jamaican music on American rap.ĭas Racist’s “Fake Patois” speaks with a deep awareness of this tradition in rapping, but what may on the surface seem like an indictment of the “fake” nature of the adopted style is actually an example of what George Lipsitz called “strategic anti-essentialism” in Dangerous Crossroads. That Kool Herc brought Jamaican DJ culture with him to the Bronx is originary, and Run D.M.C brought it up in 1984’s “ Roots, Rap, Reggae” (featuring Yellowman). And certainly the connection cannot be denied. “Fake Patois” recalls the role of reggae in identifying an authentic origin for hip-hop. The sounds of “fake patios” are a stylistic choice, reinforced through a dancehall reggae cadence of rapid-fire clipped words, rapped melodically. The “patois” used in American hip hop is clearly meant to be Jamaican-sounding, mixing elements of Jamaican creole language with a generous sprinkling of terms specific to Rastafarian English. This satirical and intelligent exploration of the sounds of authenticity and their relationship to the reggae-hip hop dyad uses fake patois itself, working off an ironic tension that is as troubling as it is funny- and it’s also a banging song.
MISS CLEO INFORMER SNOW FREE
Take for instance Das Racist’s “Fake Patois” off of their free downloadable “mixtape” Shut Up, Dude! (2010). As one of my favorite Das Racist songs says, “we’re not joking / just joking / we are joking / just joking / we’re not joking.” ( For those who need help parsing, no, they are in fact, not joking). Close-reading of their songs provide repeated evidence for the underlying tenor of seriousness in that absurdity-even if they’re being playful about it. Their songs are deep in the realm of the ridiculous, but I can’t help but feel that “ Combination Pizza Hut/Taco Bell” is a commentary on how the compression of urban space is shaped by our relationship to consumption. It may seem a little crazy to take Das Racist seriously.