Reggae Wisdom: Proverbs in Jamaican Music

College Literature, Winter 2005 by Manlove, Clifford T

While the first three chapters of Reggae Wisdom analyze the broader history, theory, and meaning of proverb use in the roots reggae subgenre, the second half of the book (chapters four, five, and six) focuses on analyzing individual cases of proverb use in specific roots reggae songs by particular performers ("warrior/priests"), using particular "forms of address," for specific types of "addressees." Although most other critical approaches to reggae music tend either to blur distinctions between its subgenres, or to focus too narrowly on one specific artist (most commonly Bob Marley), Prahlad thoroughly lays out a definition of roots as a reggae subgenre and uses his focus on proverbs (a key characteristic of roots) to lead him to two specific performers noteworthy for their proverb "mastery." Chapter Four, "New Brooms Sweep Clean," focuses on how the various possible forms of address in roots affect how proverbs, and the "content" of particular songs, should be read. According to Prahlad, roots songs have four types of content: "(1) sermons, (2) prayer, (3) praise, and (4) love songs," with the sermonic song being "by far the most prevalent" (112-13). In addition to the issue of content, the addressee of each song is also an influence on the interpretation of proverbs, and Prahlad finds eight possible addressees: "(1) Babylon [the First World], (2) Jah [God], (3) a lover, (4) the Rastafari community, (5) the African Diasporic community, (6) a nonspecific listener or general audience, (7) the speaker, or (8) some combination of these" (113). A roots song's content, addressee, and context interact to produce a distinctive intertextual meaning greater than the sum of its parts.

The final two chapters serve specifically as case studies of proverb use in roots. In the fifth chapter, "Still Water Runs Deep," Prahlad focuses primarily on analyzing the contexts and meanings of proverbs used by the roots group, the Itals, because "[o]ne of the aspects of the Itals' music that drew me to them was their frequent use of proverbs. In fact, [group member] Keith Porter is the greatest living proverb master among reggae artists. Only Bob Marley's use of proverbs is comparable" (141). The word "ital" is a "Rasta Talk" word (a product of what is called "wordsound power" by Rastas) derived from "vital," which refers not only to life and liveliness but also to the idea that those things that are closest to nature have the most vitality. Chapter six, "Fire, Corn and Pots" concludes Reggae Wisdom and is dedicated to an analysis of "Bob (Robert Nesta) Marley, O.M.," the other reggae artist/performer Prahlad cites as a frequent proverb user. In addition to popularizing and internationalizing understanding of proverbs, "Throughout the world, Marley is [also] a symbol of resistance to colonial mentality, of spiritual and social revolution, and of freedom of expression" (170). It is Marley's postcolonial political agenda that truly demonstrates the power of proverbs to make people of differing political and cultural backgrounds see material reality.