Talented dancehall artist shatta BLAIZ FAYAH was in concert on March 9, 2024 on the Metronum stage in Toulouse (report available HERE). Shortly before the show, the creator of “Bad” granted us an interview, which you can read in this article.
Média Bisso (M.B) : Hello, thank you for granting us this interview. In a few words, could you introduce yourself ? You, the man, in a few sentences, and you, Blaiz Fayah, the artist, in a few words or qualifiers ?
Blaiz Fayah : I’m Blaiz Fayah, dancehall shatta artist, and that’s quite an introduction! We’ve been around for a while now. As a person, I’d say I’m exceptional (laughs), but I’m hard-working, passionate, hard-working and pretty cool – we have a lot of laughs!
M.B : In fact, you got your start in rap in the 2010s or thereabouts.
Blaiz Fayah : Yeah, I’ve always been into music, even before that. I started with rap, which is a slightly more accessible style, so I mainly learned how to write and structure choruses and verses. I was a little kid, but then you learn, you learn, you learn. You’re talking and when you’re behind a microphone, it’s nothing like that. I learned from all that and then I quickly switched to reggae at first and then dancehall. Basically, I came up with what I was listening to.
M.B : What specifically drew you to dancehall ?
Blaiz Fayah : I’ve always loved it ! What I was doing in music (rap), I wasn’t crazy about. In fact, when I listened to what I was doing, it sounded average, so I went for what I liked, but it took me a long time to get good at it ! It’s not like I just turned up, picked up a riddim and bam, it worked. I got to know my voice, whether I could go up, down, faster, midrange, whatever. So at the beginning, you try to copy Sizzla, Buju Banton, see what you can do with your voice in fact, go up, down and everything. Once I understood my range, I got to know myself. I made a lot of sounds that weren’t good, that were never released, but that were more for me, to get to know myself, and today I’m having a blast on all kinds of riddims.
M.B : What do you think of rap today ?
Blaiz Fayah : Today’s rap is a different kind of rap, we’d say, a turn-up, we’d say, with far fewer demands. I’m not sure. I don’t think it’s anything to criticize, it’s just an evolution of society, of the public, of everything. After that, the thing is, we’re told so many things on the radio, on TV, on whatever, that there are problems here and problems there, so when people listen to music, they don’t necessarily want to hear about problems either, I think. They get a kick out of listening to what they hear, and artists have understood this. Today, rap is played in every club, everywhere, which wasn’t the case before. It’s just an evolution. After that, I can understand people who say ‘rap was better before’, just as there will always be people who say that ‘dancehall was better before’, ‘reggae was better before’, ‘rock was better before’, except that people today will say that rap is better now. It’s just an evolution and you have to accept it.
M.B : You come from a family of musicians, so what was your musical upbringing like ?
Blaiz Fayah : To different types of music. I was brought up on my dad’s saxophone. He worked with a lot of people: Johnny Halliday, Sardou, we used to go backstage when we were kids. He also worked with Kassav for a long time. It was pretty eclectic. What we listened to wasn’t necessarily what he was doing. When rap came along, there was a bit of a generational shock. The music was a lot simpler to create, in the instrus, in all that, whereas my dad’s generation was into much more complex stuff, richer musically we might say. So there was this thing of not understanding the success of the new wave that was arriving. But I was brought up on all kinds of music. But very early on, I discovered dancehall and all that, and let’s just say it brings me something that other music doesn’t. It’s really a feeling, a feeling that I’ve always had. It’s really a feeling, something you feel.
For me, music is a feeling. If you put on a rap sound, even an American rap sound, stuff I used to dig, it does something, but the guys come on instrus! You put on a Kartel (Vybz Kartel), back in the day it was Sizzla, it makes you want to punch the wall, we were punching the wall! As far as I’m concerned, there’s no other music that gives me that kind of feeling. Some people just don’t get it, whereas I got into it very early on.
M.B : Is there a sound that you’ve been listening to over and over again for years that you never tire of ?
Blaiz Fayah : One sound… I really like the feat. Buju Banton with Red Rat “Love Dem Bad” which is very heavy. Big voice vs small voice, I think that influenced me a lot, “Benz Punany” by Kartel I really like. After that, I don’t really have a sound, it depends on the vibe, but it’s true that those are sounds I can put on and that don’t bore me. There are lots of other artists too, and albums like Richie Spice’s, I still kill myself with… there are too many sounds, the guys are really too strong. Each artist really has his own color and each color corresponds to a mood, you know. I think they’ve made timeless sounds.
M.B : You moved to London when you were younger, so you sing in English all the time, why ?
Blaiz Fayah : I came to London singing in French, and I saw that nobody was doing the math. So I said ‘I’ve got to switch’, and I’ve been working, working, working. The truth is, I had to make around thirty sounds, projects, mixtapes and so on, before they could be listened to without you thinking ‘that guy’s from there or there or there’, and it was a gamble that paid off, because today, sounds have no borders, you travel everywhere, you visit lots of countries. Without that, I’d never have had this openness. Let’s just say that with English, there are no more barriers, and that’s cool.
M.B : You’re even known in South America.
Blaiz Fayah : Yeah, Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile, Mexico. We’re doing Costa Rica at the end of April, which will be the 5th time I’ve been there. Colombia, we’ve been there 4 times. Chile and Mexico, we’ve only been there once, but we should be going back normally. Then there’s Europe. Right now, we’re going to London next week.
M.B : You’ll be doing the Eurockéennes (in Belfort) too.
Blaiz Fayah : Yeah, the Eurockéennes too. Well, it’s still ‘France’, but the funny thing is that it went off in a lot of countries before it really came here. Let’s just say it worked a bit in France, but now they’re really starting to put a face to the sounds.
M.B : More in the West Indies perhaps?
Blaiz Fayah : Yeah, it was the West Indies that really got me going in the early days, with the “police academy” and all that. Even the “Slow Whine” sound at the time, and in fact that was the beginning. When I had that break, I released sounds, sounds, sounds. I’ve got sounds that came out around that time, around 2017, that are still relevant today, because it’s kind of timeless stuff, as I was saying earlier. You make people dance, you have fun. Especially now that shatta has come back strong for a while, it’s opening up all the way and, as a result, if the sound is good, it’s good, you know. It’s not sounds that you tell yourself mark this style or that year. Especially with Tik Tok and the dance crazes, it sometimes gives new impetus, and for me, that’s what happened with one of the sounds, “Best Gal”, and the thing doesn’t die, so that’s cool.
M.B : Would you be willing to do feats with artists from worlds other than your own? For example, I know you like Arsenic and Booba, who did a sound with Capleton called “Liberation Time”.
Blaiz Fayah : Yeah, the old-timers ! You’ll have to see, you’ll have to meditate. But when you think about business, in all transparency, a feat with Booba is always interesting, you know ! Arsenic, it’s more a respect that I’m going to have and I don’t see myself doing a sound with them, because it would be more complicated in the 2 universes.
M.B: With Neg’Marrons ?
Blaiz Fayah : Yeah, yeah, that would be possible. It’s not something I’ve ever considered, but yeah. There are some big feats that have worked. You’re talking about Neg’Marrons, the Neg’Marrons x Vegas feat, that’s incredible. Even when I go to other countries, sometimes they play it. So what they’ve done is really strong.
M.B : Since 2020, you’ve been releasing your “Mad Ting” EPs. You’re now on the 3rd. Is this a trilogy ?
Blaiz Fayah : Yeah, let’s stop ! At the very beginning, ‘Mad Ting’ was a gimmick I had in my sounds. I was looking for a name for the project 3, 4 years ago now, and I said ‘go ahead, it’s going to be called Mad Ting’. The ‘Mad Ting’ sound isn’t even in the 1st project, that’s the funny thing. It’s more in the way the project is conceived. It’s not a project that’s conceived as it is. It’s more a compilation of sounds. Only ‘Mad Ting 3’ is really conceived as an album, where we started to think about it, we thought about it live. It was done a bit differently. It also taught me how to make a project, because before I used to make lots of sounds and then we’d compile them, you know. But this was something else. This time, I said to myself, we’re going to change for the next one.
M.B. : On your latest album, the track “Follow” goes into Soca/Kompa, would you like to open up your universe?
Blaiz Fayah : Actually, when we did the “10/10” with DJ Glad, I wanted a shatta sound like dab, with bass, percussion and all that, and instead of putting something special behind it, I wanted them to put a guitar behind it. In fact, we did it, and it worked really well, people really liked it, and we made the video and everything. I wanted to make a 2nd one for the last album, which isn’t in the same vibe but sounds more live, because in fact, with all the stages we’re doing now and the festivals, I told myself it was going to be a live sound. And indeed, it’s a live sound that works well, but it’s not a streamed sound, listened to or played at parties like “10/10” used to be, you see. But live, it works. That’s why I was telling you that the conception of the latest project was really designed for one thing or another, with “this is better for live use, this is for parties, etc”. I don’t want to distort what I do, but I do want to bring in some spices, change the vibe a bit, look for other things. That’s what I’ve done on the next album, which is coming out, where I’ve looked for other things too. We’re doing classic stuff too, straight ahead, you might say, but there’ll be other stuff. It’s not really risky, but I’m just having fun. I’m having fun doing what I’m doing, and I’m enjoying it. I try to put what I like into what I do, and then that gives me this kind of sound.
M.B : So you’re telling us that you’ve got a new album to be released, right ?
Blaiz Fayah : Yeah ! I’ve got another project that’s almost finished, by the way! It’s going to come out in early 2025, so I’m a bit ahead of schedule, which is cool. We’ll be releasing the singles very soon. We’re going to work single by single. I wanted to have a bit of time and not be rushed like with the last project (Mad Ting 3). With the last project, I learnt about deadlines, we had problems with clips that had to be turned around, and on top of that there were stages, plus we had to go out there… So you’re a bit tired, you know. So I didn’t want to get involved in that. I had some time, and when we stopped the scenes and everything, I went off to Martinique for a seminar with Glad, Mafio and everyone else. We got off to a good start there, and I made a lot of sounds there, which I’d already done before I left too. The album is 95% ready, you see. Right now, I just need to touch up the mixes and masters, and then we’re good. At least, at some point, I could ease off a bit or move on to other projects, but not really, otherwise you lose the flame a bit.
M.B : Speaking of other projects, do you have any other passions? You like clothes, don’t you ?
Blaiz Fayah : Yeah, I like clothes… But what are my other passions ? Well, frankly, I get up in the morning and go to the studio and I feel like sometimes that’s all I do, but I love my life. Frankly, I love my life too much. I think it’s a luxury, I’m privileged, let’s face it. I’ve got friends who work in more boring jobs. I live from my passion.
My hobbies include soccer, but I stopped playing in the Five and so on, because with the concerts, an injury and something… it happened to me 2 years ago and now I don’t take any more risks. But I was very into soccer and music. I didn’t make it in soccer, so I’m staying in music (laughs).
M.B : Any plans for collabs or a brand?
Blaiz Fayah : No, not for the moment. I’ve been contacted by Cartier, but that’s not true (laughs). We’re going to develop our merchandise, so that’s cool because we haven’t really thought about it until now, and we’re going to develop that. I’m very much in my own world, in my own corner, making my own sounds, doing my own thing. If things happen, they happen. We’re developing things, you know, and if one day we’re contacted, why not. But, I’m not looking for stuff or wanting to do ‘like’.
I’m in my own world, and if things come, they come. It’s like my sound, I’ve never stopped making sound and today I have the same rate of production as when I was unknown. I tell myself that if things have to happen, they will.
M.B : You’re still working with the same people, aren’t you ?
Blaiz Fayah : Yeah, always with the same people ! Earlier, we were talking about Glad, Mafio, these guys I’ve been working with since 2016. There’s a lot of them. There’s Natoxie, I used to get riddims from him, longtime ago, even if it’s been a long time since we did something with Natoxie. But in my repertoire, the guys who send me riddims are guys I’ve known for years, and we’ve created a real color, so I don’t want to distort that. I’m not going to try out other guys now. Because I already think they’re very good, so why should I go looking for other guys? I’ve got what I need. What’s more, we’ve developed a relationship that’s no longer just ‘music’, it’s family now. So, even in terms of sounds, we can say things to each other: “I like this, I don’t like that, what do you think? Even sounds they’re not on, I’ll send them my whole album to find out what they think. That’s cool. It makes for a small but serious and trustworthy entourage. Besides, they’re good, very very good, so I don’t want to change.
M.B : 2025, a new album, which won’t be “Mad Ting 4”.
Blaiz Fayah : No, not “Mad Ting 4”, I’m going to stop “Mad Ting” for a while (laughs), but why not start again with time, because without meaning to, we’ve created a real thing. At festivals, you see “Mad Ting” t-shirts, and that’s what’s cool. Like I said, I didn’t set out to do it, it’s just the way things are and I think, for me at least, that’s the best way of doing things.
M.B : Any last words or thoughts ?
Blaiz Fayah : Believe in yourself ! Believe in what you do ! Have fun ! Do what you love and it will surely pay off. In 2016, I said I’d stop singing. I stopped singing, then I made a sound like this and today we’re selling out in Toulouse !
We’re doing La Cigale in 2 weeks, we’re selling out La Cigale, we’re selling out London next week, we’ve sold out London ! we’re doing countries all year round, even though I’d originally said I’d stop because it wasn’t taking. So just don’t calculate ! Make sound, paint or whatever you want and then go ahead with the project, at least you won’t have any regrets ! MAD TING !
M.B : Thank you very much! And enjoy your concert !
Thanks to Blaiz Fayah for his time, kindness and interesting answers. Thanks to Talowa Productions for the contact and trust, with a special big up to Zoé !
BLAIZ FAYAH continues his tour of France and will be at Eurockéennes de Belfort on July 5, 2024. To get your tickets, click HERE, and to keep up to date with this passionate artist, check out his Instagram account. We’ve put together a playlist – available HERE – featuring the sounds of Blaiz Fayah and the artists mentioned in the interview. Let’s go & enjoy !
Photo and video credits : @damiendoumergue
