Blaiz Fayah ADD

Review

Album Review: Blaiz Fayah - Shatta Ting

02/21/2025

by Steve Topple

One of France’s finest exports is back with a new album, that showcases a sound he has perhaps become eponymous for, but it’s one that hasn’t so far got the media and industry recognition it deserves, despite getting huge numbers on social media and streaming sites - much like the artist himself.

Shatta Ting, released via Creepy Music, sees Blaiz Fayah embrace the Shatta Dancehall sound he has become recognisable for. The genre emerged out of Martinique in the previous decade as a derivative of Jamaican Dancehall, but with a twist. The Shatta sound is stripped back: bass-heavy, with drums across the traditional Dancehall rhythmic clave, and with a focus on synths and EDM-style additional instrumentation. However, while Fayah has fully embraced the sound across Shatta Ting, he and his team of mainly Martinique-based producers have embellished it well at points: staying true to the genre while providing some interesting twists.

It should be noted that the mixing and mastering was all done by Fayah himself. This is no mean feat, but he has pulled it off extremely well. The sound across Shatta Ting is pitch-perfect, embracing the culture that Shatta emerged from (where the heavy bassline is the focus), but also ensuring that the other instrumental lines have room to breathe in terms of dB levels, compression, and high/low pass. Fayah has created a slick finished product of which the tracks themselves are also often scintillating; it should be noted many have already been released as singles.

The album opens with Shatta Land produced by Gyzmo. It is pure Shatta – with its rasping keys, winding 808, and stuttering drum lines. What’s interesting is the track is little more than this: a truly stripped-back affair that gives Fayah room to weave some complex rhythms. Tight produced by Limitlezz moves the sound forward somewhat – here, still focusing on a stripped-back vibe but with some added interest on the synth horns and some Afrobeats-inspired percussive effects.

The huge hit Money Pull Up featuring Maureen (which also inspired a TikTok dance trend) and produced by DJ Glad sees the sound advance further into EDM-inspired Shatta (think of Vybz Kartel) with the crisp string line running the rhythmic clave as well as some interesting melodic lines, a slightly wound-back 808, and drums that come in prominently later. Maureen is on-point, and it is of little wonder the track blew up.

No Worry produced by Natoxie is a further expansion on the album’s sound, giving us edgier Shatta vibes and with a slick falsetto from Fayah. Then, Gimme This produced by Kybba returns to a stripped-back composition which focuses the ear on Fayah. However, Ghetto Whine produced by Mikado is the first track of Shatta Ting that feels fuller in terms of arrangement: the sound is deeper, the instrumentation filled out, the mixing and mastering focusing on the lower KHz and Fayah channels some Sean Paul across his complex vocal. Whole A Dem featuring Le Jém’ss and produced by Gyzmo is another musically complex piece – with a rapid-fire string section that interplays with both the drums and the synths, while the bass steers proceedings’ Le Jém’ss and Fayah work well together, and the whole thing is slick.

Party On produced by DJ Glad brings the sound back to basics, albeit with some well-placed vocoder across Fayah’s vocal. More produced by Titony sees the first openly Afrobeats-influenced cut of Shatta Ting, with some excellent percussive arrangement and interesting use of strings once more.

Lifestyle produced by DJ Glad is musically fascinating, with its use of just one chord progression juxtaposed with some frantic synths and Fayah’s recognisable falsetto making a return. Wah We Say (Pow Pow) produced by Mafio House then moves Shatta Ting into something grimier with its drum rolls, stark breaks, and shrill snare; all feeling a bit Bashment. Catchy produced by Mafio House is then in stark contrast to this with the focus being on the keys, some Trap buzz rolls on the hi-hats, and plenty of Dub-influenced synths to boot. The beats are interesting, too – swerving from Shatta to something nearer four-to-the-floor at points.

Dem A Pree Me produced by B.Mad is properly unsettling, as dampened drums play with some blue notes across keys and strings, while the bass is ominous, drums almost military and Fayah’s vocal frantic. It’s a cleverly constructed track which is a standout. After Party produced by Genius sees the pace wound down a touch (to match the track’s title), along with some well-arranged dampened keys but all the while being driven by stuttering drums. Fayah smoothes his vocal out slightly, to match the lower BPM, and the whole thing works well.

Propaganda produced by Mad Ting is curious, as soulful vibes along with a jazzy, lilting sax line open the cut – leaving you expecting more of the same – before Shatta kicks in. However, this is no ordinary sound, as the Funky Soul and Jazz influences are clear and work brilliantly. The sax is provided by Fayah’s father nonetheless and is matched by his son’s competent vocal. The narrative is a standout among the bruk out, as well, as Blaiz warns us of the propaganda the system propagates all around us.

Ring Ring produced by Mikado is a complex melting pot of rhythmic ideas from both Fayah and Mikado, that has turned into a jittery, edgy cut that commands attention. Shatta Ting closes with Joke produced by Tribal Kush. The air raid siren, the winding bass, and bubble rhythm keys at first give the feel of something Old Skool Dancehall. But the use of synths and samples is modern, and the composition itself is anything but a root-to-seventh arrangement, with its down-down-down bridge. Fayah is brilliant, and it’s a great closer for the album.

Fayah is also a talented vocalist. He has a pleasing voice that easily swerves between a low and high tenor – often flipping into a well-controlled falsetto – while providing interesting melodies and complex rhythmic arrangements. There’s also real expressive character in his voice – like the greats of Old Skool Dancehall have – which brings each track to life, and his intended audience with it. Predictably, this being Shatta, the lyrical narratives across the album aren’t exactly revolutionary (Shatta Ting is not wanting to bun Babylon). But that was not going to be the point of the album – as it is not the point of the genre. Shatta has in many respects picked up where Old Skool Dancehall left off, in terms of it being all about the bruk out, and Shatta Ting’s lyrical content is no exception: focusing on partying, gyals, and good times. In a world that is literally on fire, this is no bad thing – and Fayah’s lyrical execution fits the musical backdrops, and the genre, perfectly.

Overall, Shatta Ting is a strong body of work from Fayah and the team. Expertly crafted to embody the Shatta sound, the compositions are inventive, the final finish classy, and Fayah’s vocal performances inspired. Shatta has once again arrived – now surely, it’s time for people to notice it’s here.

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