Roots Archives Forum

jumbo wrote:He definitely sings old nayga ( nigga)

nayga is (was) used very commonly in Jamaica as a derogatory term to to describe backward thinking, ignorant, uneducated, superstitious (country) people.

old nayga = a gossiping, conniving integer.

Aha didn't know that. So nayga = gossipper, that fits the rest of the lyrics very well. So Jacob Miller doesn't drop the N-Bomb on Tenement Yard.

Gabranth wrote:He definitely sings old nayga ( nigga)

nayga is (was) used very commonly in Jamaica as a derogatory term to to describe backward thinking, ignorant, uneducated, superstitious (country) people.

old nayga = a gossiping, conniving integer.

Aha didn't know that. So nayga = gossipper, that fits the rest of the lyrics very well. So Jacob Miller doesn't drop the N-Bomb on Tenement Yard.

I think you missed: old nayga (nigga)
It's just a pronunciation difference, and old nayga was used to talk about gossipers, but it's not a different word. Yes, he says nayga (nigga) in the song. It's still not "dropping the n-bomb", which is a hyperbolic and pointless observation to make about 70's roots tunes that use the word nayga, nigga, nigger. But he does say the word, just to be clear.

Ah okay, I got it now, thanks.