Story Behind The Song
Fast forward to the 90s and I found myself playing keyboards in a reggae band and it was in this environment that, in many minds, the idea of a typical Jamaican crystalised: yardees on the scene had long dreadlocks, smoked ganja, said yah man, smoked, sang, smoked and that was it. The assumption was that Jamaicans were all the spitting image of the Wailers. Interestingly, when I told people that I was Jamaican, they would fix me with a quizzical stare broken by phrases such as, you don't have long dreadlocks, why don't you smoke pot? and Oh, say something Jamaican, like yuh mon. No doubt, some of these descriptions accurately portray some of the Jamaican people some of the time but I thinks that's as far as it goes.
I felt compelled to let people know that there was no such thing as a typical Jamaican, they only exist on the screen.
No Such Thing is another song that started from a bass line, this time born from some rhythmic doodling among the lower octaves of the family piano based on the blues scale. I had just purchased an old PS390 Yamaha keyboard from a ramshackle hockshop in Perth which recorded 8 tracks per song: the ideal instrument for overlaying drum rhythms with bass and a variety of skanks.
Song Description
I was taught about racial stereotypes from an early age.
My mother and I moved to England while the (in)famous "Love thy neighbour" aired on primetime television, a show in which blacks were openly referred to as sambos and nig-nogs etc. For these and other reasons we eventually moved to Western Australia where, for the next few years and beyond, I was the only West Indian anyone in my district had ever encountered. I was watched closely so that stereotypes, myths and theories could beconfirmed or exploded.
| Song Length |
3:10 |
Genre |
World - Reggae/Caribbean, Electronic - Drum N' Bass |
| Tempo |
Medium Slow (91 - 110) |
Lead Vocal |
Male Vocal |
| Mood |
Restless, Restless |
Subject |
Judgement, Life |
| Similar Artists |
Bob Marley And The Wailers, Black Uhuru |
Language |
English |
| Era |
2000 and later |
| |
Lyrics
Verse
I don't have to grow out mi dreadlocks
I don't have to cultivate herb
I'm not known for saying, "yeah man" much
In spite of what you might have heard
There's no such thing as a typical Jamaican
They only exist on the screen
What the hell does an ounce of herb look like
I dunno, but people cyaan see that there's
Chorus
No such thing as a typical Jamaican
I don't sing calypsos all Day-O
I leave the dreads to the rastas and stylists
I don't smoke herb just on Bob Marley's say so