Talking Japanese – Part 1

"History is a set of lies agreed upon."
Napoleon Bonaparte

"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it"
Winston Churchill

"History is written by the victors."
Winston Churchill

"History doesn't repeat itself - at best it sometimes rhymes"
Mark Twain

 

THE PREAMBLE

Ching chung wah wang foo yeng... No ladies and gentlemen, this isn't your University 101 course intro to Japanese, I won't be teaching you the grammar, syntax, vocabulary or semantics, no accents or (H)accident as some people put it. This week we'll be taking a peep at more living history, more black history, more Montegonian history, more mystory, not dem story nor Kingston's story, but a tale that tells of one of our own Legends in the street or urban legends in some regard a tale of an icon, that if I didn't write, maybe we would have lost another story to the back pages of history or to some footnote in some book, because Mobay is home to icons such as Sam Sharpe, Jungle Jesus, September and Jah Cure and sometimes I believe that our heritage and legacy and contributions to this nation, financially, culturally, musically and intellectually have been treated with scant regard and pushed to the back burner. The Montegonian tale... our tale, takes us this evening to a man, the man who broke the Jawbone of the REAL King of the Dancehall, no not Fisheenie Man (Twins of twins seh to be King, Beenie need two Jaw fi bruk), Yellow Man, this man's tale spans decades and a variety of social and political eras from the age of tribal politics to the U.S. foreign invasion (by Jamaicans) to Jail and forward to contemporary Jamaica... readers one and call come hither and lend me your metaphorical ear, your eyes as it were and see the man I paint for you with words today, some of you who have your PHDs and Bachelor's Degree in urban living, gully sitt'n, garrison 'livity', thug life at the Montego Bay University of Street Thought (M.U.S.T.) will be familiar with this name, you must have heard it at your corners lecture, and those of you far removed from real life and living in a bubble meet... (drum roll) JAPANESE.

INTRO

Now how I came to this story is a little story in, and of it self. As with quite a few stories, this one starts at Junior X, a.k.a. Tash shop, sitting down with the usual host of characters, when one person says, "yuh know seh Japs soon come," when another person whimsically and sarcastically replies, "heh, from mi a lilly pickney mi hear seh Japs a come enuh" and as if tempting the hand of fate, another person, Colin's phone rings... Bling Bling "Aye yow wah deh Gallang... eeh Dat yuh seh... wah yuh seh... Japs deh yah, eeeh hih" and so the tale began Japanese was here...

JAPANESE THE LEGEND

Like most great men or even popular men, their name precedes them, so too with Japanese. To date some of his exploits have been recorded by the National newspapers of the day, and is the model from which many of the 'now-a-days' top-a-tops fashion themselves. He is a man who can say "been there and done that" for circumstances, must self styled or fashioned dons wish they in there list of experiences to put on their Bad-man résumés and curriculum vitae. His name is hallowed in the grittiest street sense of the word. Most "beknowing" (be known/ well known) characters of the second city and formerly the friendly city, can tell you a tale or two about this man, known for his generosity in the street and his uncommon acumen. Cellmates of his will tell you about a man who is focus, no nonsense, intense, his own critic, an ethic and character that manifests they say even when he was locked away in the states manifested around simple things like Ludo games, his fervour for scrabble, his passion for reading and books. Other people can tell you of his indomitable spirit in lock down and how he channelled what could have been a life crushing experience into literature... yes ladies and gentlemen, know this the same Samson that broke Yellowman's Jawbone is writer, whose literature will soon be on sale here in Jamaica as well. And for people who live in a far away bubble, know this, Japs, isn't unlike you, but probably more like you than you think, an avid Sidney Sheldon reader, and Danielle Steele, and Louis L'Amour, and John Grisham. The street in sprinkled with talk-a-tons who will tell you much more than I can in one article about the legacy of Japanese, some will tell you about the link they have some will tell you about, what he did for them and there community.

All this is not so relevant however, what I am sure you all want to know is the man. Japanese the man, not the don, nor the past, nor the myth or the legend, or the hype... Well, I managed to get a hold of him and have a chat courtesy of MR. PANG... and so we sat and had a chat, just to shoot the breeze and hold an informal interview of sorts. No questionnaires, no pens, no paper, no recorders, no "nutten"... just a chat to get his view of things, life, Mobay, himself, the legend, his plans and yadda yadda yadda. But I've run out of space for this week... so stick around till next week when we learn to talk more Japanese.

 

Yannick Nesta Pessoa
yannickpessoa@yahoo.com
http://yahnyk.blogspot.com