Copyright 2025 Dwayne Marshall. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations used for review or scholarly purposes.
Written by Dwayne Marshall.
Recorded by Dwayne Marshall.
First printing edition 2025.
University of Technology, Jamaica 237 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6 Jamaica.
Preface
“Behind the Trigger” is a poetic anthology crafted to delve into the roots of crime and violence and propose potential solutions. Woven throughout its verses is a subtle yet powerful exploration of the social factors and cultural nuances that shape Jamaican society. The book’s intricate wordplay and carefully chosen language serve a specific purpose: to shift the focus of awareness towards the often-overlooked causes of crime and violence, offering an engaging perspective that moves beyond the constant emphasis on victims and their experiences.
Manners and respect to:
Fada God
Ardrene Edwards
Jhada Cohen
Jason Downer
Devoy Williams
Marshii D Productions
Friends and Family
Chapter 1
Eyes dem a behave like di roof when it rain
Years of tears dat a proof a mi pain
Daddy, mommy tell mi mi nuffi complain but…
How mi fi live when dem move weh yuh brain
Yuh teach mi right from wrong
Always tell mi nuffi hype pan man ‘cause God will wipe when mankind plan
And if mi wah life nice mi nuffi live like don
But dem tell mi a you did a di don
Suh sumn wrong
Always see yuh link wid politician
Yuh inna group wid di Sup weh deh uppa a station
And yuh nuh do nuh long talking a situation
Daddy everybody rate yuh
Mi neva see nuh man a claim seh dem hate yuh
Mommy tell mi seh yuh friend dem use to watch yuh head back
But dem neva watch di side and suh yuh get shhh…
“Merry Chrismus mi G”
Feliz Navidad
Yuh know mi deh a graveside a reminisce pan me dad
“Yow a suh di ting set when yuh miss smaddy bad”
Yuh know yuh right from yuh mention seh a smaddy bad
“Anyway, yuh know mi join di gang,
Is a fat matic mi have a walk wid inna mi hand
Dawg mi dun wid studio and stop build song
Mi couldnt buss fi mi self but mi buss dis ya one”
A weh di bu…dawg dat neva inna di plan
Sell back di strap fi a quata million
Invest inna yuh talent cause yuh have ambition
“Dawg tell mi fi dat mek sense?
Quata mil can cova fi yuh expense?
But if mi have a one strap wid sixteen shot
Mi can rob a big B and get Benz”
Well a dat mi nuh support
Ya try guh a court
Mi a try guh a Courts
Yuh nuh wah play fair when yuh fi pay fare
Is like yuh deeven have fear seh a will buss yuh throat
“Suh a which man bad suh inna di country”
Yuh nah get di point, yah move jumpy
A bet yuh fall off like humpty dumpty
Yuh wah dead like daddy or uncle Humphery?
Bad man it bess yuh do di right ting
Memba yuh deeven bad like mi handwriting
Yuh shoulda call mi and tell mi fi grease rope fi yuh
Cause di badness ting a suicide ting
“What if mi tell yuh seh di man wah yuh join di ting to, Blacks join and even aunty Kim to
Yah mi bro, and mi nuh wah yuh end up like Simpson
But if a no den shot affi guh reach yuh skin to”
Suh yuh start falla man an tun fren killa
Ya muckry fi end up inna dem ting yah
Matta ah fact, you and di ole a di man dem a clown
Uno cyah kill mi cause mi deeven deh a town
“Bro anno me set di orda
A di same man weh kill yuh fada,
Di same man weh kill yuh parent and if yuh stay den it ago be yuh parents”
Chapter II
Step off a di bus a 3 mile
Neva ave nuh plan suh mi juss a freestyle
Link Shawt Cut and seh mi need more time
But mi juss a try get mommy off di front line
Reach a di yaad tell mommy seh fi pack
Nuh worry ‘bout clothes, juss lift up di mattress
Get yuh birthpaper, ID and all a dat
Bring it inna bag like say wi ago shop
She seh son—“yuh affi go man up”
Di cruff dem a bluff
Suh yuh affi go stan up
Dem cyah mek me run, anno suh dis aguh wuk
If yuh daddy was alive
Everything a get F—
Leff di yaad and touch it up a station cause mommy nuh understand di situation
But di offica dun seh him couldnt badda solve a problem weh inspire by boogu-yagga
“Listen to me come out of di station, all you guys do is just sit down and listen music and kill off uno one anotha”
As mi leff di station
A bike ride up
A rev like truck, mi tink a my time up
When mi tek a look nuh mi dawg Shawt Cut
But him dip inna him waste and di place dark up
Di way mi run fi mi life yuh woulda tink a gold medal
Afta dat mi seh me affi get mi own metal
Mek mommy show mi which part fi dig up
Di mount a rifle and glock and shot mi liff up
Spread di word
Now me is a dead leff son
Wid some dead leff gun
Mi rather live inna fear dan fi dead leff fun
Dem dun dead already
Suh mek di dead dem come
All dem family a get it
Dem nah dead leff none
Now mi dress up like a man weh nuh bathe fi tuty week
Some tear up clothes and barefoot a touch di street
29 inna di 9 and suh mi tuck it neat
But me hear a small voice seh mi nuffi dweet
“Yow juss dont dweet dawq, juss easy mi yute”
Suh mi tuck di blue book inna me back pocket
Mi hand a shake and it feel like me asthmatic
Mi anger chip
A wah kinda monsta dis
Yow mi rather draw matic than dramatic
Suh mi tackle dem which part di ball a kick
Dem neva see mi yet like a pastor spliff
Mi start knock it towards dem top pocket
Mi see man a move like when yuh flash ratchet
Di bullet from me gun mek a body lie dung
Me ear somebody shoutout a Pi-Pi son
Yute deeven ten and him life juss done
Suh right a mi head a weh mi point my gun
Chapter III
Barrighton see mi leave di scene wid me Konshens
Mi try a Masicka like mi nuh ave sense
Now a innocent yute ago absent
Plus a di don son suh now di ting Intence
Now blue light a look fi mi
Dem put a Bounty pan mi head
Because mi Killa pickiney
But if dem get di chance a woulda dat dem do to mi
Mi woulda see D’Angel dem beside me dead daddy
Suh nuh likkle Beenie Man nuh fi a seh nuttin’ to mi
Mommy tell dem seh mi innocent
Seh when it happen mi did deh a road a look di rent
But different, cause squaddy have a witness
Suh a Barrington mi have pan mi hitlist
Mi Popcaan to Kranium fi fix dis
When dat gwan a baay rum and big spliff
A me bring Iwaata to di district
Same life dem afta me a risk it
Now a two innocent life dismiss
And di choice weh yuh tink nuh realistic
Weh ya go do when…
Dem bun dung yuh house and shot yuh mada
Some Boys and II men seh dem wah be Govana
Yuh tink nubody can tell mi fi Squash da one yah
A Guh Burna Boy even tho mi colda dan Canada
Mommy deh a hospital and mi cyah go visit
Cause mi nah guh nuh weh if mi know me cyah bring it
Mi wanted from Wednesdeh
Law Boss a look fi mi
Plus Pi-Pi a seh him couple shot fi gi me
Right now mi skin look like three lamp
Cah mi rob two cream, cah mi affi revamp
Buss a one trim but mi still Valiant
Suh mi cumin wid Spice like Egyptian wid mi guard ring
Mi fi Gage weh dem deh if mi wah win
Mi beg Jah fi Cure mi often
Cause jailhouse betta da coffin
Fi dem Kartel mi nuh have nuh Vybz fah
Dem Yung Bredda yah a some vipah
Dem start wuk Kraff fi mi fall
But mi bad like di old DanceHall
Now Jada seh she like mi
Suh mi deh inna har Kingdom nightly
Unlikely she ago be mi wifey
But fi di past couple days she a hide mi
One night when di two a wi get lively
She seh close yuh eyes
She a surprise mi
She tek time move di strap from beside mi
And deh mi look up inna Shawt Cut nikey
“Aye bwoy if yuh move mi buss yuh head”
Chapter IV
Mi see mi life a flash
Mi feel like sumn ole mi dung like when a light a gyash
Mi tell di dawg seh if him live him get all type a cash
And di way mi feel empty is like mi n’ave nuh match
Mi time woulda up even if mi did have a watch
And if mi watch him do di crime wah happen afta dat
Mi heart a move like carnival a wait fi Afta Mas
Feeling like a natty when Busta did afta Ras
But di dawg seh calm down and tek a smoke
Den him tell Jada fi run a boat
Him seh him leff di gang
Mi tink a joke until di dawg start play a voice note
“Yow hombre´, yuh nuh know seh di blood bath new shoes weh mi gi dem bwoy deh fi lock
Hilter call mi and tell mi seh a you move dem
Badman! Mek sure mi get back mi strap dem by eight a clock
And yuh see if mi nuh get dat…
Yow, yuh see ike how mi just lose all my son
Anyweh mi see yuh a dirt
Yuh hear dat”
Suh Shawt Cut, how yuh reach inna dis?
“A peer pressure and pure pressure,
Di man dem draw mi out like tape measure
Plus yuh know is a badmind community
And a dem man deh show mi unity”
Yow nuh matta how much you and dem run boat
Yuh nah go see dem if yuh drop a gun court
Dem woulda tun dem back pan yuh like JanSport
And yuh see it fi yuh self suh nuh feel mi a joke
“Yow if wi kill Pi-Pi everyting dun,
A one shot kill bwoy anno big gun”
Bredda mi cyah trust nuh man weh try kill mi
“Stop gwan like gyal, ya pickney?
As a matta a fact, see yuh phone deh a ring
Put it pan speaker mi nah seh nuh ting”
And wi wanna come down for the funeral
So as soon as the date is set bro, you just gotta let us know and we’ll help to care of…”
Wait! Mommy dead?
“Yea, I just got the news bro
Like a few minutes ago bro, like im so, hm, im so traumadized bro”
Yow Shawt Cut !
A time fi draw blood wid di ting dem weh tall up
And mek it sound like a when cold a hawk up
A two bright sun a mek e place a dawk up
Mi watch e live and see weh dem group up
Cause when dem group up dem easy fi shoot up
All doh mi know fi hold heat like soup cup
Me a par wid smaddy weh mi nuh too trust
“Dawg look and tell mi a how much a dem”
Hol’ on mek mi, mek mi count…’hol on
Mi see one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight
Fee, fi, fo mi step like a heavy weight
Brain and neck affi separate
Mi raise hell go to heaven gate
Dem a get eliminate
Wait
“Hol’ on hol’ on hol’ on”
Wait
Alright gwan
Mi mek Shawt Cut be di bait
Dem buss him head fus
But dem see mi late
And yuh done know seh mi nah hesitate
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight
A two man wid two glock a shoot back
And mi tool drop
A lucky ting mi did walk wid two strap
Mi ‘ave di next one a fyah and a move back
Mi feel like sumn sting mi inna mi shoulda’
Mi drop a grung same time mi roll ova
By di time mi look up mi see baay Hilux and baay blue light
Suh yuh know how dat guh
Chapter V
Does the defendant has anything to say before we move on to sentencing
Yes your honor,
Okay, Go ahead
Di jury dem a move like a Muta
But tell dem put a foot inna da shoes yah
Dem nuh know di truth and choices of a shoota
Probably want a bike but yuh end up wid a scoota
Inna other words if yuh nuh know how dat guh
Mi tun Assassin when mi did wah be Sasco
311 nuh stop crime, dat a cap
Dem only wah fi see yuh get kill or capture
When di system fail
It beat wi like a hammer ‘gainst a six inch nail
Wi hustle every hurdle weh yuh nuh know bout
And live hand to mouth like seh wi a spliff tail
Beyond di beach white people nuh see it seh wi wah reach di peak
But wi cyah peak di peak
Dem use politics just because people weak
Di lack a social sense yow a dat cause defeat
Behind di scene when mi daddy was a don
Him show mi seh violence nuh mek you a man
Mi fight fyah wid fyah and a deh suh mi guh wrong
Yuh judge di action but not di situation
But base on what i’m seeing here, you’re no better than your father, You’re making a fool of yourself in this court
Mi did wah be acta’
But mi tun a victim to di facta’
Mi feel like dis a mi final chapta’
Suh mi dig up everyting tracta’
If Shawt Cut did get a buss inna di music
Him wouldn’t affi buss it and abuse it
If mommy did come wid mi a country
Wi woulda escape and it woulda lovely
But if we eva start from di root
And use up wi hart pon di yute
And show dem seh dem nah fi shoot
Dem woulda do dem bess inna dem khaki suit
A nuff yute wah feel different
Tyad fi liff up bucket and thick cement
Wish mi coulda download milly sometime
But wi only download 50 Cent
Suh all you inna di suit an’ tie
Weh a wonda weh da yute ya a try
Man just a try rescue an’ revive di system fi a innocent life
But a lot a di killa weh deh back a di trigga
Come from back a di class
And di shota weh in ya
Weh did affi be winna
A di obstacle inna mi path mek mi life unfortunate
Woulda rather be a clown inna corporate
Unless mi fidget how di war set
Mi wouldnt stay grounded like carpet
But mi feel like di country love crime
Cause if yuh check di news pan yuh lunch time
Yuh nah go see it when di good a highlight
A just di bad weh di media magnify
Listen to mi, the court doesn’t have time for all of this,
So let us move on to sentencing
Glossary
Acta - Actor
‘Ave - Have
Baay - Bare
Cap - Lie
Chapta - Chapter
Facta - Factor
Fyah - Fire
Grung - Ground
Guh - Go
Hart - Heart
Quata - Quarter
Scoota - Scooter
Sup - Superintendent
Tracta - Tractor
Traumadized - Traumatized
Tuty - Thirty
Trigga - Trigger
Wednesdeh - Wednesday
Woulda - Would Have Yute - Youth
About the author
Meet Dwayne Marshall, a talented and creative media practitioner pursuing a BA in Communication Arts and Technology at the University of Technology, Jamaica. With a passion for writing, Dwayne is well-known for his captivating poetry and impressive prose, having won several awards and competitions with his literary contributions.
Dwayne is more than just a skilled wordsmith. His vibrant and witty personality is infectious, lighting up almost any room he enters and leaving a lasting impression on those he encounters. As the former Productions Manager of UTech Journalism Society, Dwayne also possesses a strong leadership background, demonstrating his ability to motivate and inspire others to achieve greatness.
Driven by a desire to make a positive impact on the world around him, Dwayne is always seeking new challenges and opportunities to grow and develop his skills. Whether he’s creating thought-provoking content, engaging with his community, or pursuing his many other talents, Dwayne is sure to leave an indelible mark on those he encounters.
