By Takudzwa Hillary Chiwanza
"Expensive Style!!!" Eyetal Fyah's voice soars on the mic as he utters this chant, which has become the signature mark for this music. It is self-explanatory - Eyetal Fyah has upgraded his lifestyle because he is a hard worker, and his tunes slap hard. As if he wants to bring Jamaica to Harare. He has become one of the most recognisable names within the Helmets movement of dancehall music in Zimbabwe - a distinct element of dancehall from mainstream ZimDancehall.
After having gained a fairly sizable number of fiercely loyal followers, Eyetal Fyah released his album Hieroglyphics last year. For those who have followed MaHelmets for some time, you will easily relate when informed that this album contains some popular Eyetal Fyah tracks such as She Want A Man, Gangsters Deh Yah, Enemy (Hypocrites), Bad Gennah, What Do You Get, among others.
In the album, he touched on a variety of subjects laden with messages for social justice, love and relationships, fake friendships, betrayal, street life, and his worth in the cutthroat game - proving how immensely talented he is not only within the confines of dancehall but music on the overall.
The song Enemy (Hypocrites) in that album is one of the foremost songs, in which he employs the usual motif scattered across the terrains of urban music - that of castigating perceived haters, enemies, fake friends, hypocrites, and the likes. Except Eyetal Fyah's powerful delivery makes expression of this motif very convincing. And he has released a video for that song to bolster and cement his position as one of the leading Helmet artists in Zimbabwe.
The way he presents himself in the video was obviously something he hoped his video director would assent to, or it was the director's idea - a well-groomed, smart, lean and forceful male figure, vindicating his chants, "Expensive style!" The shots and the angles make a valiant attempt to portray Eyetal Fyah in his best capacities.
We love the Zimbabwean flag - an attestation of how dancehall in Jamaica has been domesticated into a local Zimbabwean commodity. Just maybe. We know people like Eyetal, supported by Digital Riley Worldwide (for distribution and marketing purposes) are patriotic to Zimbabwean soil.
And we know they hope to export this brand of dancehall now famously known as MaHelmets among its growing number of fans. The Helmet movement is definitely in its nascent stages but the takeoff is undeniable.
The brand of dancehall Eyetal Fyah, and his peers/competition are pushing deserves more space in the mainstream spaces of Zimbabwean music.
You can watch the video for Enemy (Hypocrites) by Eyetal Fyah via this YouTube link.
You can stream Eyetal Fyah's Hieroglyphics album via Soundcloud, Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, or on Deezer.
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