Premiere: Jamaica’s Fyah Roiall Fuses Grime With Dancehall On “Nobody”
Written by SOURCE on June 19, 2020
Right now there’s an exciting new sound bubbling up out of Jamaica. Commonly referred to as either ‘grimehall’ or ‘traphall’ the new fusion style combines elements of dancehall, grime and trap, for a melody-rich, club-ready sound. One of the leading lights in this nascent scene is Brandon Wedderburn, better known as Fyah Roiall.
Now signed to Easy Star Records, the rising rapper and singer is currently gearing up for the release of his debut album Underrated (due 19th), but before that arrives he’s just liberated one of the project’s singles, “Nobody”, and some visuals to go with it. A seductive bubbler, “Nobody” is a heartfelt pledge to a new love, eschewing the usual bravado with the promise of something much more meaningful.
Filmed at Kingston dispensary Itopia Life, the visuals — which come from director 300K (whose past credits include work with Popcaan, Koffee and Afro B) — bathe Fyah in soft lighting as he gets close to that special someone and pledges his undying love. Commenting on the video, 300K explained, “A lot of thought went into the project especially because I departed from my usual aesthetic. The colour grade, the composition of the shots and even the aspect ratio. I wanted to create a visual that was left open for interpretation given the twist at the end.”
Speaking with Complex via email, Fyah added, “Overall, the gist of the song is I’m a super private person and if me and yuh a link — and it’s serious — nobody is gonna know until we are absolutely sure. I’m not the kind to show my personal life on social media or in public. So most likely you’re gonna assume there is Nobody — cause it’s nobody’s business — yuh zimmi. But we did take it a little further with a twist on the concept — watch and see if you catch on…”
