Jamaicans always love their ripe plantain
Jamaicans
and they love fritters
saltfish fritters, and they like
fried dumplings
Even at the restaurant at Manchioneal
they ask for fried dumplings and saltfish and ackee
Some people take it with coffee
but the saltfish that some people deal with
Salty
People don’t take care of it
In the mornings they just take it and go - boom
quickly cook the saltfish, make what they’re making and it’s salty like hell
It will make you drink one quart of water, or ten quarts for the day
No, he said he drank four bottles
Matthew and I drank two bottles
Yeah, doesn’t that make four?
Bloodclaat That was crazy Yeah, doesn’t that make four?
No
Four bottles, to raasclaat, each
Two bottles as big as this? Four bottles, to raasclaat, each
To raasole
Two big bottles?
to keep down the salt
When I’m going about my business I don’t want anybody to f**k with me
because I have no business with you and you have no business with me
No sir. Not a f**k
It’s better that a man
eats an orange or a mango or something than f**k around those people’s things
which will kill you off with that whole heap of salt, and he knows you don’t eat salt
And it’s up in the club with you and the salt
It will kill you off Matthew. That’s no good
Dry you up like a frog, man
Ya man. F**k you up, man
and the man already told you. You could have made something, man
and it didn’t have to go his way, but because they’re doing their thing
Next time I’m going out, I have a pretty little dish
I can put cheese in it
bread
crackers
Nice ganja tea in a Thermos
with some cerasee in case I feel bad
I’ll drink some
and eat what I have. It’s nothing I can’t have
Most of the time when gusets and I are going out, I leave my breakfast
but now I have dishes
Nice dishes to keep things locked up
It is my food sir
If you want to go buy what you want, buy what you want
Buy what you want to buy, but
your body might give out on you
earlier than you want in life If you keep doing that, right?
And with some people, the thing is this
And with some people, the thing is this, where
and I want Coppy to get a metal drum
I want to put a metal drum around there
I wonder if Coppy can get any old metal drums
I’d get a metal drum and make another firepit around there
I’d cook chicken on one side
Food on one side and chicken on one side
I’d have two drums
...
even the virus
[Do] people still recognize
you wearing the mask?
Yeah. Must. Always
They see the tams and everything
They see the tam, I think that’s it
That’s the thing that they look at
So even if they see you in a mask, they’ll know exactly who you are
They see the tam and the style
Yeah man, and they say “see the man there”
and the skinny jeans. That’s it man
A police looked and said “Rasta, your jeans are tight though”
What was the line he said at the airport when you came to get me?
The police pulled over and was like
”Oh Rasta ...”
”Boy, your jeans are tight to rhatid”
”Those jeans are tight man”
The other one said “Ya man, Rasta look good!”
The other said “Yeah, he looks good”
Because he saw me there and didn’t know who I was
so he just knew that this man looks good
People just react as they do
If you’re in the bush like me, now, in these trousers
That’s how it goes. People see you in videos. That’s nothing
because you are at your yard, but it’s different whe you go out there
everybody reconizes you no matter what you do
You can try and put yourself in all different spots
”Oh Ras! Ras Mokko!”
One time I was standing there
...
I stood there and heard people
”Ras Mokko” “Ras Mokko” “Ras Mokko”
Sometimes
Those are the good ones
But sometimes, from nowhere you’ll hear a man “Mokko!”
I’m not looking for a vehicle to knock me down
and anytime I’m in Morant Bay
if ten people are passing and they’re going to
They’re coming from where the bank is and want to go up to Morant Bay
and all of them are standing there
and because they see the veicles
and you know how I always do this
Yeah yeah
when I pass, and sometimes
I’m all in red so they know “See the man there”
because they see and know my vehicle
and then all the people follow and come across
and that’s when you know it’s “Wicked”
I never go there and people don’t ...
Yo, it’s time for the man to pass
They know him. They know Mokko anywhere
they won’t come running and bounce me down
But there’s one thing. I don’t like getting called
Some guy is in some little corner and shouts “Matthew!”
Bloodclaat. That’s f**ked up man
For no reason
”Yo Matthew”
Yeah, and you can’t even see their face
and you still can’t tell who it is, but, you know
but we always say, it’s not who you know, but who knows you
Right
Good
It’s about who knows you. Not everybody knows you
it’s about those who do
because if I don’t know you I’m not going to call to you
But in this situation
when Mokko is in the streets
A woman said “I was calling you the other day”
I asked her what she meant by calling me
I don’t take calls from just anybody
I don’t want people to hit me down
How am I to pay her attention?
calling on the one hand
and a vehicle comes when I’m paying her attention
out of the way
The other driver saw me so I can’t take any calls
Even if it’s something very serious
When I’m in the streets
Don’t hide around a corner and say “Mokko!”
This man will not answer you
I don’t know who you are
You know me, I don’t know you
That’s the thing, Matthew. They know me, I don’t know them
Kind of strange
Yes sir. Some of them come up on me and say
”Oh, I watch you a lot man”
I say yeah?
and look
Yeah, I just look
He says “Yeah, yean man, you’ve got it”
“going on man, but I”
“am seeing you here in person now”
”One day I have to come and let you cook some good food for me”
”but one of the videos you did, I liked it a lot”
”The one in Montego Bay. When are you going back there?”
I said brother, there’s Coronavirus, I’m not doing anything
You see what I’m doing here, though
I’m keeping my social distance
because all those people down there aren’t keeping social distance
The man said “I don’t want to lose touch with you”
”because I’m coming to your place. With that type of food you’re cooking ...”
and you know him. He drives a hype, big, pretty bus
and he told me “I was watching you last night”
I know which one with your last night.
”The one in Montego Bay to rhatid man!”
”when are you going back there to shoot videos?”
I said I don’t know, brother, there’s a virus going around
then I said see how far I have to stay from these people?
Are these people keeping social distance big man?
He said “No”
The man said “We don’t want to lose you Mokko. Stay far from this virus”
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Stay away from the f**kery for real
Yeah, stay away from this thing
Then some guys were calling to him
...
The man said “Alright Ras Kitchen, I’ll see you again brother
Yeah, that MoBay trip was fun, man
Yeah, everybody who sees me
Even some big, old women
maybe in their eighties
“Oh, I've been watching you. I’ve been following you”
”Are you Ras Mokko?” I said of course. Of course Grandma
Yeah, “I've been watching you”
”for these long, past, many years”
I said I have to pray for you Grandma
She said “Oh lawks, I like it”
Big up Grandma. Ras Kitchen is good for all ages
I got a lot of people showing me a picture of the little kids watching it
Ya man, ya man
So from young to old. That’s cool. I never would have expected
Well I didn't really have any expectations
Yeah Well I didn't really have any expectations
and they told me one of the videos made them get mad
and that it is the only one
Got mad? About which one?
About my goat, man
Oh, the goat
But all of the rest of them
I said that because of that, that’s why I get so wicked sometimes
”But all of the rest of them, Mokko, I like them”
”My grandkids are right here sitting down watching too”
And I make them feel nice too. The old Grandmas
That’s cool
We’re putting out videos, so we have to make it look good
So some people ask me “How is it?”
How do you mean?
“Does it look good?”
Yeah, yeah. Mokko always says “How do you mean?”
One time, this little kid said to me, with a woman
”Oh, we’re your fans”
I said fans what?
Fans for what?
“We watch you”
I said what are you watching?
”I’m watching you”
I said no, I don’t know
I have a brother that resembles me
The woman said “Oh”
and the little kid said “No”
Now, Mokko was off-guard
So Mokko said no man
No man
Lord God, morning and evening
Yo. Ratty, behave yourself
Take the noise outside
Oh, yeah man, respect man. Where are you calling from
now brother?
Yeah man, ok man, bless up man
Up there, up there
Yeah man, yeah man. Whenever you’re ready man
Yes man. Cool. Bless
Alright brother
What, where was that call from?
Must be California
California ?
New Jersey. New Jersey. New Jersey
Cool.
Say he was watching the video just a while ago
He said Matthew posted a video ... not Matthew
Simon. Simon posted a video and he was looking
at it, and he knew everything. He was listening to a recording
He just wanted to call me and bless me up man
He told me he loves me and he loves the food man
New Jersey
Wicked
Ya man
Surprise call. How many calls like those you get a day?
Boy, a whole heap man
I have a time when I light up
and I have a time when I’m not blazing
Ah! Did you hear whata the man said?
They said
Two hundred dollars for them to come here now
But then they said they have to pay $200 extra
$200
What is the $200 extra that they have to pay?
For a tourist thing, you mean?
That's what they're talking about? Is it insurance?
But later on in the year
Come up here man. Come eat some good food man
Even more so since he’s a vegan
As soon as he saw the video he was a vegan
Saturday night, a man said to me
Mokko, I say I’m a vegan, but what do you think brought me to your yard?
I asked what brought him here
Boy, I couldn’t be a vegan all the time Mokko
“It was the scrambled eggs! I cut out being vegan a long time ago
Being vegan mashed me up and made me weak
but I ate that way for so many years man
That’s what the white man said
He didn’t want to hear about any vegan thing
He was dealing with scrambled eggs
What did the man say again?
What kind of food did he say I cooked?
He said he saw the videos
and he saw the number, that’s why he called
Every day Matthew. Especially like how it’s getting close to winter time
I get calls a lot
He said to big up Ratty