# Shinehead (rap-reggae) lyric question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [May 2, 2026, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shinehead-rap-reggae-lyric-question/1029721 "2026-05-02T12:43:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2026, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shinehead-rap-reggae-lyric-question/1029721/1 "2026-05-02T12:43:58Z")
Shinehead was a Jamaican/New Yorker rap/reggae singer, somewhat popular in the late 80s and early 90s. On his wonderful album _Unity_, in a song “Do It With Ease,” there is a four-syllable falsetto phrase I’ve never understood. He says it twice, around 2:10 and 2:53. It’s one of his several end-of-a-line “tags” (not sure if that’s the word), which are typical of the genre (and of the dub and dance-hall styles) – another one in this song is “follow me now.” All the lyric sites I found avoid/omit the phrase (and only this phrase), interestingly. Any thoughts? [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/X-gTrFAKUbI/hqdefault.jpg "Shinehead: "Do It With Ease"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-gTrFAKUbI) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2026, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shinehead-rap-reggae-lyric-question/1029721/2 "2026-05-02T18:25:32Z")
Using up my one bump. Dopers, help me out! You don’t need to be a reggae (or rap) fan, nor to ever have heard the song (nor of Shinehead). Just a moment of your perceptive ears, is all I ask. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shinehead-rap-reggae-lyric-question/1029721/3 "2026-05-02T18:41:44Z")
I listened, not bad, but not for me and I like reggae. ETA: I fixed the title, it said Shinhead, not Shinehead. Someone else flagged it. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2026, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shinehead-rap-reggae-lyric-question/1029721/4 "2026-05-02T21:28:04Z")
Thanks for trying, and for fixing the title. The song has some humor: “Poconos…rent some skis…wrong size…had to squeeze…”. 🙂 His lyrics tended to be positive: “Gimme No Crack,” “Unity” (admonishes jerkish rap lyrics), “Hello Y’All” (maybe my favorite: celebrates the history of reggae and dub, with a happy bass riff), and “Ragamuffin” - pleasant sounding, old style rhythm, suitable for children or Harry Belafonte. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2026, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shinehead-rap-reggae-lyric-question/1029721/5 "2026-05-02T21:42:44Z")
I cannot decipher it. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2026, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shinehead-rap-reggae-lyric-question/1029721/6 "2026-05-02T23:23:14Z")
Oh, well. To me, it sounds perhaps like “pollination” – but I doubt that’s it! ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shinehead-rap-reggae-lyric-question/1029721/7 "2026-05-03T12:57:10Z")
Okay, I think he’s saying “for the nation.” It’s a phrase in Jamaican music – as in the Spotify playlist, linked below. Other references to “the nation” (not necessarily with “for”) are quite common. The “nation” can be the Rastifarian world, or Jamaica, or the reggae/ska/dub world, or all oppressed peoples, or all of humanity. (Let’s keep this thread open, in case someone corrects my interpretation). https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/1eO2xICU5yxBYtmn0jFJlU?utm_source=oembed (The first time I heard “the nation” in a reggae song was UB40’s cover of “Version Girl.” I just heard the 1970 original now – UB40 lovingly imitated every nuance of the song, including “[something] starvation [in]to the nation,” at 2:12) [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SFPIpYJvBSg/hqdefault.jpg "VERSION GIRL - BOY FRIDAY") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFPIpYJvBSg)