Bumboclaat, Star: The Worst Jamaican Accents of 2016

Words by Juss Kool

Jamaican culture was definitely in fashion in 2016, as artists like Drake and Rihanna took dancehall-inspired sounds to the bank, Sean Paul and Popcaan were all over the radio, and athletes like Usain Bolt and Elaine Thompson cleaned up at the Summer Olympics. As we have seen before, more Jamaican-ness in the mainstream often brings more Ja-fakin-ness, and this year was no exception. In 2016, we heard all sorts of bad accents and fake patois, from unforgivable casting in TV shows to laughable music-video dialogue.

Here’s a look at some of 2016’s Worst Jamaican Accents.

The “Jamaicans” From Power

The “Jamaicans” from Starz’s hit series Power starring Omari Hardwick (and executive produced by 50 Cent) have some of the worst accents ever in life. Yes, in life. In Season 3, Episode 4, an assassination attempt is made on lead man James “Ghost” St. Patrick by “The Jamaicans,” as the drug-selling, gun-for-hire crew is called throughout the series. However, these Jamaicans did not sound Jamaican at all. The real Jamaicans on my timeline were thoroughly disappointed, especially since Power is filmed in NYC, where there is a healthy population of Jamaican actors. Watch the episode here.

The “Jamaicans” on The Get Down

The Get Down on Netflix is a show about the birth of hip hop, set in the South Bronx of the late 1970s. As many know, Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc brought the reggae sound system culture of his homeland to the Bronx, essentially birthing hip-hop culture by fusing the ethos of Jamaican selectors with breakbeats from classic funk records. Considering this connection, and the Caribbean roots of fellow pioneer Grandmaster Flash, who is both a consultant on the show and a character in its storyline, you would think they’d get this part right, but no. There were a few scenes which featured “Jamaicans” and none of them were good. In fact, they were cringeworthy. Overall, The Get Down is a good watch but, in spite of other efforts at authenticity, they dropped the ball with the butchering of the Jamaican accent.

Charlamagne Tha God

The shock jock from the nationally syndicated Breakfast Club radio show is a South Carolina native but, like many people, has a love for Jamaican food. From time to time, he can be heard on the radio with a horrible Ms.Cleo-like rendition of what he thinks is a Jamaican accent. Watch him try it over and over in this interview with dancehall star Kranium. (And someone please tell him “Choke the chicken” is not a dance move.)

DJ Khaled

The DJ/Pitchman/CEO/Producer/Motivational speaker is having one of the greatest runs in the history of social media. Along the way, Khaled, who once had his own dancehall radio show in Miami, has blessed the world with his love of Jamaican music and culture. This includes coloring his vocabulary with phrases like “Bless Up” and “Give thanks,” going so far as to sell T-shirts with the former. He sounds comfortable using them, but in the video for “Nas Album Done,” he may have gone a little overboard. But really, now that I think about it, Khaled actually has a better Jamaican accent than Safaree, who is actually Jamaican.

Safaree Samuels

The ex-boyfriend (and alleged ghostwriter) for hip-hop superstar Nicki Minaj was out here abusing the Jamaican accent every week in his first season on VH-1’s Love & Hip Hop Hollywood this fall. Thing is, Safaree is actually of Jamaican descent himself — he can and must do better. It’s bad, but don’t take my word for it — have a listen for yourself.

Drake

Drizzy Drake, the No. 1 rapper in the world right now, has professed his love for the culture from the start of his career. I remember seeing him on a tour bus playing “Bad Man Forward Bad Man Pull Up” for his Young Money label mates a while back. Lately it seems Drake’s music has been heavily dancehall-inspired, in sound and slang. We’re all for him throwing a little patois into a song like the Rihanna collaboration “Too Good” in tribute to Popcaan, but some would say the Toronto native tek di ting too far. Go easy, rude bwoy.