Rice n Peas

Rice and Peas, a seemingly simple basic dish of many Caribbean nations, is a signature theme in Jamaican music.  There have been numerous releases featuring this specific dish as the focus, ranging from modern dub style of Iration Steppas, to the more melodic version released by Freddie McCoy in 1967.

The song “Rice and Peas” released by dub artists Iration Steppas is a modern representation of the struggles of poverty face by many inhabitants of Jamaica. Through the use of genre of reggae dub music this song representative of the contemporary youth society, living everyday lives in Jamaica. Dub style music has developed out of traditional reggae music and is a significant genre within Jamaican culture; originally developed to allow revellers at clubs and parties to sing the words of popular songs themselves. The genre has since moved more into again having lyrics in recorded versions of the songs, often having significant importance to local communities.

Poverty is an issue faced by many people all over the globe. The reference to rice and peas (or beans) in Caribbean music has a connotation to the often tough financial situations faced by large portions of the various communities. In the first verse of the song we are faced with quite vivid visual imagery through the words used to describe growing up in the ghetto and being sent the store to purchase items for the evening meal for the family, staple of rice and beans. Since colonisation of the Caribbean Islands, the abolition of slavery and lack of economic development has directly impacted on the level of standard of life in Jamaica and surrounding nations. For example to ghettos of Kingston, such as Trench Town and Spanishtown, have remained areas of low socio- economic growth, change and development since inception. Music uses visual imagery as a key communicator, throughout this song we are reminded that people all over the world have for the dish, proving that the simple staple peasant food means so much to so many different cultures.

Freddie McCoy released a song titled “Peas and Rice” in 1967, although featuring the same key theme of rice and peas, the music itself has different connotations. The simple clean instrumental background with the almost conversational party background is mush more inline with the time period in which it was created (as opposed to the head baseline of the Iration Steppas). The album artwork associated with this particular song is also of interest when decoding Caribbean music. The simple artwork and text are keeping inline with the simple melodic some with minimal vocals. One interpretation of the simple approach to this topic may be in respect of the simplicity of the dish itself, representative of the life that many of the local live. Although these songs have been created nearly 40 years apart they still represent the same community ideals and values of the Jamaican spirit.

The Gladiators were another Jamaican act that released a similar themed song, again supporting the connotation that rice and peas in music is a representation of the poverty faced by members of Jamaican society and the struggles they face in daily life.  The lyrics in this rendition do take the poverty issue quite a bit further than most other songs on the topic, explaining that many cannot afford basic essential foods to survive, being rice and peas, again using the ghetto as a specific location that the poverty issue directly affects on a daily basis.

The presence of songs about specific dishes a common among the Caribbean music scene. Rice and peas is one of the most common food centric themes that relates to poverty within Jamaican society. The dish itself is a symbol for the lower socio economic classes and using music as a medium to express these opinions allows it to be adopted and supported by the local community.