|  | | SEE ALSO | | An interview with Norman Samuda-Smith Get the lowdown on how to speak Patois An intro to the Rastafarian faith Rastafarian festivals and holy days | | | WEB LINKS | | Norman Samuda-Smith website Tindal Street Press
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites. | | | FACTS | | Whispers in the walls - 17 stories from the pens and hearts of Black and Asian writers in Birmingham. Tindal Street Press - now an established publishing house, grew out of the Tindal Street Fiction Group, founded in 1983. With funding, the Press has now embarked on an expansion of its early publishing activities from 2002, with six fiction titles with a regional focus planned each year. Its aim is to raise Birmingham's cultural profile, showcase new writers and build a readership for good, locally set fiction. Awards - Chosen by World Book Day 2003 as one of 10 books that say the most about contemporary England * Winner of the Arts Ball Celebrating Cultural Diversity Award * 5 stories broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2002 | | | PRINT THIS PAGE | | | View a printable version of this page. | |  |
| | About Rasta Love... Rasta Love, written in Patois, is a love story based in Small Heath Birmingham. It's set in the mid 1970s, amidst the energy crisis, mass union strikes, redundancies and record unemployment. Within the black communities of England, a religious revival is happening, the Rasta musical uprising in Jamaica is influencing the first generation of black British-born youth to follow the teaching and glory of Rastafari... Talking Patois... If you need to brush up on you Patois, take a look at our Patois words and phrases.
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Rasta Love
Norman Samuda-Smith |
 It was winter 1974, minus six degress and still dropping rapid, while de heavy frost dat sekkle pon de pavement was glistening. De dustman dem deh pon strike fe well over a week now.
Nobody believe how much rubbish can accumulate in nine days.
Every street yuh walk down all you see is jus pile ah rubbish everywhere. De miner dem a seh dem want to guh pon strike too, dat gwine lead to power cuts again;and we all know wha dat mean - no dance! Nuff bredrin and sistren file out the dance on St Oswalds Road. De bredrin dem sporting dem ites, gold and green crowns, scarves and belts as dem bop wid pride along de icy pavement inna dem clarks boats and ting. De sistren dem majestically wearing dem head-wraps in various shape size and colour, wid dem long skirt, full-length sheepkin coat and fe dem Clarks boots, glide longside de bredrin dem. Every Friday night nuff ah dem would get off de number 8 bus at de Golden Hillock Road, Coventry Road junction inna Small Heath around eight. Dem destination: St Oswalds Road dance hall to hear de musical bible of Rastafari featuring Small Heath baddess yout sound, Ital Nyah. Dere was pure vibes every week. De following Friday, St Oswalds was ram. Members of other yout sounds gather to learn fe entertain de people wid pure dub-wise and pre-release roots music. While dem listen and learn, de treble section ring inna dem ears, de bass shake dem trouziz and rattle dem ches; de lyrics educate and mek dem mediate. Pure peace and love inna de dance as de congregation rock cool and easy to every rhythm dat touch down. De Ital Nyah followers stand up surrounding dem amp-case as Pedro, de operator at de control tower, mix and blend de music, teasing the crowd wid pure treble. Halfway through a tune, him give dem a full dose ah bass and shake everything in its path. De selector dem, Beres and Robbo, dig deep inna de record box to find a nex hypnotizing tune, and Errol, cool and easy, chat him owna lyrics inna style and fashion dat taste like milk and honey to de dance-hall crowd. "Yes crowd ah people, yuh tune into de baddess yout sound, Ital Nyah sound and we nuh wear no frown! Dont fget, tommorow night all roads lead to St Agathas church hall, right down dere inna Sparkbrook way! In tune to de might Jah Shaka from London town versus Mafia Tone Hi-Fi from Lozells! Is one fifty pon de door, security tight. So mek it a date and dont be late cah Shaka gwine trow down dub plate dat no other sound can imitate, seen? So nuh worry bout de energy crisis, nuh worry bout unemployment and redundancy. Dont yuh know, Jah will work it out seen? JAH!"
"RASTAFARI!" de crowd reply. |
