Dean's choice of "Jaspora" as his favorite song

[dean4america]

Okay, I googled the song, and the lyrics are in what looks to be Creole/ Haitian-French. Talk about obscure reference point. Anyway, can someone help with what the heck the song means? I've noticed several Wyclef websites that say "translations forthcoming" but none that have an actual (or approximate) translation.

Thanks.

[Rose Siding]

1. I was just sure it would

be some obscure blues number. He plays the blues.

edit- I REALLY liked that he was so genuine in his answer- no politics involved in his music!

[dean4america]

3. true

it has a bluesy riff to it. if you have Mac and iTunes Music store, they have the song available for download.

[Dookus]

2. Jaspora lyrics - I wanna hear Dean sing 'em ;)

Men sa le monde antye tap tann
Wyclef ki sot nan Fugee.

Jeremi! Ayiti! Potoprins! Flatbush!
Sou'w fyè desko'w se ayisyen mache

Dyaspora n'pa respekte dyaspora (4 fwa)

Depwi mwen piti mwen te kite Ayiti
Gen sa ki al Brooklyn gen sa ki al Miami
Poukisa Jamariken toujou di se Jamariken?
Men ayisyen pè di li se ayisyen
Poukisa ou pè di non'w se Samyèl?
Poukisa ou pé di'w ave'k Izrayèl?
Poukisa chak swa wap domi ak Jezabèl?
Ou pè di fanm ayisyen ke yo bèl?
Pa'm nan bèl

Mwen respekte non'w tankou mwen
respekte zanj Gabriyèl
Men nèg dyaspora vle Mennen nou nan otèl
Tonben pale anglè vire "playboy channel"
Yo pa respekte Izrayèl

Dyaspora n'pa respekte dyaspora

Si se dyaspora li ye mape voye' l bay reken

Dyaspora n'pa respekte dyaspora

Si se dyaspora li ye aswè a nap dezame'l

Dyaspora ha ha o le men
Mape pran li jete'l nan prizon
Map fè'l konnen kiyès ki Tousen
Map fè'l konnen kiyès ki Desalin
Aprè sa nou mèt lage'l voye'l back Brooklyn
Pou la'l jwenn manman'n kap fe manje nan kwizin
Mannan'n gade li di gason ou chanje
Li di mwen chanje paske se ayisyen mwen ye
Yo te ban mwen yon leson, yo te mete'm nan prison
Mwen wè dyaspora fi, dyaspora gason
Gen sa ki pap tounen yape domi a pwason
Yo pedi konesans kankou yo fèt san relijyon
Dyaspora n'pa respekte dyaspora
Si se dyaspora ou ye mape voye'w bay reken
Dyaspora n'pa respekte dyaspora
Si se dyaspora ou ye aswè a nap dezame'w

Nèg Potoprins pa respekte dyspora Ankò
Nèg Flatbush pa respekte dyspora
Nèg Canada pa respekte dyspora
Nèg Miami pa respekte dyaspora

Depwi mwen piti mwen te kite ayiti
Gen sa ki al Brooklyn gen sa ki al Miami
Poukisa jamariken toujou di se jamariken?
Men ayisyen pè di li se ayisyen
Poukisa ou pè di non'w se Samyèl?
Poukisa ou pè di'w ave'k Israyèl?
Poukisa chak swa wap domi ak Jezabèl?
Ou pè di fanm ayisyen ke yo bèl?
Pa'm nan bèl

Mwen respekete nou tankou mwen
respekte zanj gabriyèl
Men nèg dyaspora vle Mennen noun nan otèl
Tonben pale angle vire "playboy channel"
Yo pa respekte Izrayèl

Dyaspora n'pa respekte dyaspora

Si se dyaspora ou ye mape voyo'w bay reken

Dyaspora n'pa respekte dyaspora

Si se dyaspora ou ye aswè a nap dezame'w
Pa Kayos pa respekte dyaspora
Papa Djoume pa respekte dyaspora
Refugees pa respekte dyaspora
Nèg Florida pa respekte dyaspora
Malfini bagay yo pral fini mal,
sou'w derespekte natif natal
Malfini bagay yo pral fini mal
Derespekte ayisyen ou pral kout fistibal
Dyaspora n'pa respekte dyaspora
Si se dyaspora ou ye mape voyo'w bay reken
Dyaspora n'pa respekte dyaspora
Si se dyaspora ou ye aswè a nap dezame'w

[Rose Siding]

4. I bet he can!

Yikes, I want a translation

[dean4america]

5. lol, yeah

if he sings it at some point, that would be awesome.

[dean4america]

8. the gist of it...

as far as i can tell, is about respecting (or, respect in) the african (or, perhaps more broadly, pan-african) diaspora.

definitely want a translation now.

[frank frankly]

27. last kick on this

[hippiechick]

6. Y'think he selected it for the 'urban' appeal ?

I mean, having recently - and often - accused of not being 'in touch' with minority voters .... selecting a song with Haitian lyrics, by a black urban artist whose popular with the Generation Y crowd ... that's a home run in the PR department.

Good thinkin' Burlington ....


:hippie:

[Rose Siding]

7. Blues is what he plays

I doubt he learned it for its urban appeal

[MercutioATC]

11. I give it a "10". It's got a good beat and you can dance to it.

More reggae than blues, though, and they could be expounding on the merits of cannibalism for all I know (it's obviously not in English).

Still, a good tune.

[Cha]

14. I love "reggae"! And "I'll bet Dean can sing in, too!"

That's some of my favorite way to talk is creole or at least listening to it!

The song must have strong meaning to Dean if it's his "favorite"!

[GreenArrow]

17. if it's reaggae

it's more liklely expounding on the merits of cannabisism.

[dean4america]

9. i think he played it straight up

someone on the blog mentioned that this is his "personal" song, whereas the song WE CAN is the campaign song (I brought this up over there, too).

[uconnyc]

10. It was a big hit in Haiti

I used to live in Haiti (my father worked in the foreign service there), so I talk to Haitian taxi drivers all the time. Jaspora was a big hit in Haiti as with all songs by the Fugees and Wyclef.

I think the song is about just loving life, but I doubt Dean knows that. His daughter probably has the CD or something or he has an incredible debate prep team.

[Cha]

15. I'll bet Dean Does know it! Dean plays music and I dont' think

he would have said it's his "favorite" if he didn't know the meaning.

[w13rd0]

19. Actually...

...it's perfectly possible, many can come up with some odd choices. Ok, I'm at the like 4th or 5th disruption. Wasn't this by invitation? Who invited these people? Al Sharpton is calling them out. He is SO right on... PHONY LIBERAL disruption! Oh wait, here's another phony...yeah, the disruptions have certainly thrown this off. I'm going to be looking for the official responses of the campaigns. I think everyone of them should cast serious questions on how was it that the CBCs debate, hosted by Fox, could be so severely disrupted, why did the hosts allow this? It casts the CBC in a negative light, and it's most certainly orchestrated. It deserves investigation. Joe is raising his voice, but he's still putting me to sleep. Man, my headache...

So when's one of the Dean sites going to have the mp3 available?

Ok, what's up with the Jesus commercials, is this typical of FOX?

[Tinoire]

21. Yeah- You don't know what you're missing

I used to force myself to watch it one hour a day just to keep a pulse in Middle America but stopped due to higher priorities.

We are SOOOO out of touch at DU.where we live in a yuppie Democratic vacuum. I don't mean that in a bad way- just an observation that we have totally insulated ourselves- a bit too much.

So yeah... Tremble when you see that... 50 million American Christian Fundies, among others, all hooked on that crap.

[Tinoire]

12. Jaspora is Creole for Diaspora - translation

Jaspora is Creole for Diaspora... All the names in it are typical Haitian names. It's a very beautiful song. Wyclef Jean is very hip among young Blacks. Smooth move Dr. Dean for the young Black vote... gotta hand it to him. Excellent musical taste

This is what the world was waiting for
Wyclef who came from the Fugees
Jeremie, Haiti, Port-au-Prince, Flatbush...

Jaspora doesn't respect Jaspora (repeat 4 x)

Ever since I was little, I left Haiti
There's some that went to Brooklyn there's some that went to Miami
Why do Jamaicans always say they are Jamaicans,
But Haitians are afraid to say they are Haitians?
Why? Are you scared to say your name is Samuel?
Why? Are you scared to say you're with Israel?
Why? Every night you are sleeping with Jezebel!
You're scared to say Haitian girls are beautiful!
Beautiful girls are beautiful...


I respect your name just like I respect the angel Gabriel
Here, Diaspora men want to take you to hotels,
Start talking English, turning to playboy channel
They do not respect Israel.


Diaspora do not respect Diaspora
If you are a Diaspora I am going to give you to sharks
Diaspora do not respect Diaspora
If you are a Diaspora tonight we're going to disarm you

Diaspora ha ha o, put your hands up!
I am going to take them and throw them in prison
I will make them know who is Toussaint
I will make them know who is Dessalines
After, we will let them go and send them back to Brooklyn
So he could go to his mother who is cooking in the kitchen
His mom looked at him and said "Man, you've changed"
She said I changed because I am Haitian
They taught me a lesson, they put me in prison.


I see Diaspora women and Diaspora men
There are people who are not going to make it because they will sleep with the fishes
They lost their knowledge just like a priest without religion

Diaspora do not respect Diaspora
If you are a Diaspora I am going to give you to sharks
Diaspora do not respect Diaspora
If you are a Diaspora tonight were going to disarm you

Port-au-Prince do not respect Diaspora again
Men Flatbush do not respect Diaspora
Men Canada do not respect Diaspora
Men Miami do not respect Diaspora


Pa Kayos do not respect diaspora
Papa Djoume do not respect Diaspora
Refugees do not respect Diaspora
Men Florida do not respect Diaspora
Wrong things done are going to finish worse
If you disrespect native-born
Done wrong things are going to finish worse
Disrespect Haitians you will get hit...


Jaspora has to respect Jaspora
Jaspora has to respect Jaspora


The son of a minister, Wyclef "Clef" Jean was born in Haiti but moved to New York at age nine, where his relatives lived. In his teens Wyclef began performing with his cousins as the rap group Tranzlater Crew, later called The Fugees; besides rapping,Wyclef also became a talented guitar player. After several successful albums fronting the Fugees, Wyclef released his first solo album, The Carnvial, featuring his band the Refugee Allstars, inJuly of 1997.

His much-anticipated follow-up, The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book, hit record store shelves in summer 2000.

http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bio.asp?oid=2125&cf=2125

[dean4america]

13. THANK YOU - eom.

.

[hedda_foil]

22. Thanks, Tinoire ....

I had just listened to the mp3 clip and was just wowed by this song. Was hoping you'd jump in with the translation. Wonderful lyrics. Dean's got great taste in music.

[Tinoire]

31. Were you really wowed?? lol

I like Wyclef Jean but always thought he was a little cacaphonic compared to other Haitian singers but he is so talented and it's a great song with beautiful lyrics.

I agree that Dean has great taste in music if he knows and likes this. Personally, I have no problems believing he knows and likes this song especially since there are a lot of Haitian Physicians on the East Coast. Who knows where he picked it up...

I'm impressed... and even if someone did their homework and told him about it especially for an apprearance at Morgan State (and that would be one hell of an outstanding, rare, prepper), I give him big-time kudos for that answer. It pleasantly shocked me and you know how jaded I am :)

[Media_Lies_Daily]

23. My hat's off, Tinoire...you are truly a wealth of knowledge!

[Tinoire]

41. Years of living in Haiti :) Beautiful island once upon a time

and the people are still beautiful :)

[frank frankly]

25. thanks for the quick translation!

[Tinoire]

33. lol, I didn't do it

I started to but then decided google would be faster! ;) Found it in a cache...

[frank frankly]

16. Dean gets it, sisters and brothers.

Dean knows the score.
Can't you feel it?
He's legit! He worked in the Bronx.

He got my vote tonight, with that answer.

I can't think of a better answer. Beautiful.

[frank frankly]

18. kick

this is important. it speaks to Dean's soul.

[Cha]

20. That's interesting! It's definetly got me more curious about

Wyclef Jean and the song now.

[frank frankly]

24. What's GWB's take on the African Diaspora?

I would LOVE to hear someone drop that on him. He would not have a fucking clue what the hell it meant.

I think Dean's spent time pondering this. How wonderful.

[KaraokeKarlton]

26. Wyclef is awesome

You may have heard of the Fugees? They did the remake of Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly". Wyclef is part of that group (if they're still together) but also does solo stuff. You may have heard his more well known solo song "Gone By November", which is another great song. I have one of his less popular albums with him doing Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" as well as a really cute duet with Kenny Rogers...which my kids get a huge kick out of.

[hedgetrimmer]

28. dean is the mac-daddy... the yoda of song... the hippest song selected

dean is the sh*t... he is pearly white... i wish i could wipe his *ss for him... he is the king... he is the supreme candidate... he's got the hundred year campaign mumbo-jumbo... he's got the bad-*ss pull the wool over your eyes funk...

[Cha]

29. And get over your jealousy.

[dolstein]

30. Hey, lighten up.

NT

[Cha]

35. you "lighten up".

[hedgetrimmer]

34. jealous of dean, i want to be dean ... i want dean inside of me... every-

one wants dean... the dean machine, the dr. is in and out, the flabbergasting has flabergasted... dean the funkiest most popular craziest mindless dribbling candidate in the last 100 years...

[Pavlovs DiOgie]

40. Wow

Makes me want to jump onto the DK bandwagon.

[ShaneGR]

37. What's the difference???

Kucinich is the sh*t... he is pearly white... i wish i could wipe his *ss for him... he is the king... he is the supreme candidate... he's got the hundred year campaign mumbo-jumbo... he's got the bad-*ss pull the wool over your eyes funk...

There you go, no difference.

[Terwilliger]

38. hedge

relax, will ya?

Why is every trivial point such a point of contention?

Lets focus on the real, and leave this shit for Pukes to figure out.

[frank frankly]

32. This song is progressive.

I think it's a damn good sign.

If people think its false for a white person to care about the African Diaspora, then I suggest they simply don't get it.

It is very important to many whites.

[Cha]

36. It's "important" to me! And I'm glad to hear that Dean cares

about it, too. But then I already figured he would.

[mistertrickster]

39. He should have said "the Thrill is Gone"

Re: Public support for BushCo.

[ProudToBeLiberal]

42. kick

:kick:

[Merlin]

43. This "song" is a rap number, isn't it? I would hardly call it "beautiful."

I just listened to an .mp3 of it. It makes me wonder what Uncle Howard was smoking when he said this is his favorite.

Here's a brief sample of it. Check it out for yourself.

http://www.deandesign.com/downloads/Jaspora-WyclefJean-Sample.mp3

[Joe the Revelator]

44. Did you read the lyrics?

or does anything that comes under the label of "rap" force you to make completely uninformed blanket statements?

[Merlin]

47. Save it.

Lyrics aren't everything. This is a rap. It's not a "song." And I would hardly say it's "beautiful".

The lyrics are meaningful.

The song is hardly "beautiful."

I find it hard to believe Howard, much as I like him, really grooves on this.

Is that so hard for you to understand.

[Joe the Revelator]

48. Whats hard for me to understand...

is how you can make the blanket statement that if something is a "rap" it can't be beautiful. I think that the ability to flow words into one another over a melody is a beautiful thing. Like i said, you come off as misinformed and thats not your fault. Educate yourself on what you do not understand then come back.


I would be much happier to have a president that was open to all types of music instead of antiquated standards.

If you would like some examples of beautiful rap songs please feel free to email me at [e-mail] and i would be more then happy to make some suggestions.

[Merlin]

49. You can't be serious?

If you think the clip I put a link to above is "beautiful" then we live in different worlds.

When I think of "beautiful" music, I do not think of somebody speaking lyrics--however inspired--in an uninspired monotonous monotone, to an endlessly repetitive pulsing background. If that's what you call "beautiful" music, then I feel sorry for you.

Let me remind you that we're not discussing your "examples of beautiful rap songs" here. We're discussing a very specific piece of rap.

If you need examples of genuinely beautiful music, may I direct you to names like Sinatra, Bennett, Porter, Gershwin, Bach, Fitzgerald, Webber, Mozart, Enya, the Beatles, Sting, U2, and many, many more.

It is not derogatory to refuse to assign the adjective "beautiful" to a rap number. It is realistic. Rap does not try to be beautiful. It tries to connect. It tries to be meaningful. Its focus on significant lyrics is fantastic.

[Joe the Revelator]

50. All i'm saying

is that your listening to the wrong type of rap. Top forty rap does not attempt to be beautiful your right. There is rap out there however that is, and i could point you towards it.

Once again, while the standards ( Sinatra Sting, et al) are beatiful i respect Dean more for being a eclectic lover of music(like myself ) instead of pigeon holeing himself into one type of music.


( my apologies for word use and spelling, its late on the east coast :)

[Merlin]

51. We agree.

Yeah, it sure is late out here. What the hell am I doing up???

Peace.

[dean4america]

45. technically, it's reggae

and, also:

1. it has very nice lyrics
2. Vermont has an annual reggae festival (posted on the other music thread)

Just another example of people-powered Howard being, well, different :)

[Joe the Revelator]

46. I knew..

it was reggae but was just trying to understand the other persons logic about "rap numbers" :evilgrin: