jamaican-patois

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Chet Hanks Cannot Be Stopped

Tom Hanks' son, Chet, brings back Jamaican accent and brushes off cultural appropriation criticism.

All eyes were on Tom Hanks' son, Chet Hanks, the morning after the 2020 Golden Globes, as news outlets were jumping on the trending topic of his bizarre red carpet moment. A video showed him busting out a Jamaican patois accent while he shouted "BIG UP FIMI WHOL FAMILY SOON COM AT DI AWARDS NA SEEN." A discussion about cultural appropriation inevitably followed, but Hanks emphasized that he was unfazed by any criticism. The next day, he used the accent in another video on his Instagram page, promoting a "BIG CHUNE" he just released as Something Out West. 

Hanks, who uses the stage name Chet Haze, is back to torment all those who were bothered by his Jamaican alter-ego. "HOLD UP WAIT A MINUTE... YALL THOUGHT I WAS FINISHED?!?!????," he started an IG caption, referencing Meek Mill's iconic "Dreams & Nightmares (Intro)." He posted a video of himself entertaining friends at a pool party by talking about how he "no wan no mawga gyal." "Mawga" meaning meager in Jamaican patois, Hanks gives a shoutout to G-Eazy, who seems to prefer thicker women as well.

Hanks preemptively addressed the backlash that this clip was bound to attract. "AND TO ALL YOU LAMES STILL BITCHIN ABOUT APPROPRIATION PREE DIS... YALL CAN “APPROPRIATE” DEEZ NUTZ LMAOOOO," he wrote. The next post on his IG page features him sharing his thoughts on the topic in a more earnest tone. 

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Tom Hanks’ Son, Chet Haze, Drops "Big Chune" After Viral Golden Globes Moment

See what happens when you make someone go viral?

The 2020 Golden Globes on Sunday were rather tame, but at least one bizarre story was bound to come out of it and it came courtesy of Tom Hanks' son, Chet Haze. Haze was in attendance to witness his father being honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award, but he ended up attracting lots of attention to himself. While on the red carpet, the 29-year-old confusingly busted out some Jamaican patois. The Internet struggled to make sense of the clip, but mostly resorted to just making fun of it. The viral vid was edited to have Haze shouting "BIG UP FIMI WHOL FAMILY SOON COM AT DI AWARDS NA SEEN. CHUNE IN" over Drake's "War" instrumental, as Drake plays with a similar accent on the song. 

As is often the case in the sorts of circumstances, Haze is now leveraging his moment of Internet fame to fuel some good old self-promotion. He actually makes music under Something Out West, a duo comprised of him and Drew Arthur. His virality provided him with the perfect opportunity to "DROP 1 BIG CHUNE PON SOUNDCLOUD", as he captioned another video of him appropriating Jamaican patois. The fact that he was blasting Popcaan in his car in the video probably led viewers to expect (and fear) that his "BIG CHUNE" would be a dancehall track, but it's actually far from it. While Haze raps on the track, titled "HARLEY", it would be more accurately described as a country-pop-rock crossover. 

Haze's next post featured him thanking all the Jamaicans who showed love for his Golden Globes bit. "It’s all in good fun," he said. "I'm a goofball, but that’s one thing I’m not joking about is my love for the Jamaican people, the Jamaican culture."