In Defense of My Famalay

After a close race yesterday we finally have the results for Road March 2019. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on whether you are a savannah grass sniffer or famalay hugger, the results were “as expected”. In first place was the trio of Skinny, Machel and Bunji followed by president for life of the red man association with 346 plays and 207 plays respectively. Of course, like every year, we get the “soca mafia” wails and cries but this year they have been more deafening and widespread than usual. I eh lying. If social media had a vote, Savannah Grass would have come straight from the mountain and claimed the title. Maybe it’s because of how personal the promotion of the song has been that people took the loss personally. After all, Kes previously revealed the part his late Dad played as inspiration for the song. Like many I agree the song is a classic. The music alone is amazing. The melody is inspiring. I described Savannah Grass as “audio-cocaine” the first week of its release. But that is no reason to disrespect another great song like Famalay and I’m here to show you why.

Do you even Bouyon bro?

One argument thrown season-long frequently by the Savannah sympathizers is that Famalay is a “typical” road march song. No it’s not. NO IT’S NOT (for the people in the back nah boy)! This song is the love child of a blessed union between Soca and Bouyon music. If you don’t know, Bouyon music is the native music of Dominica. The producer Dada Lawrence is a Dominican. So the collab is truly a Caribbean collab. There is no beat that sounds like it. A rolling baseline with a tinge of iron that evokes a riddim section and jab jab though it’s neither. If you not going to put respect on the song, PUT SOME RESPEK ON THE BEAT! I not asking you again.

Ragga Soca is Back

As a Ragga Soca fan, you know how proud I was to hear Bunji and Skinny spitting lyrics on the track? Every road march in recent history has been primarily song as opposed to “chanted”.  Hearing Skinny and Bunji to lyrical stalwarts spit verses while pretty masquaraders wine on the stage is the moment I always dreamed about. I hear plenty Kes supporters saying Famalay don’t have lyrics. Check again partner. With all due respect, your comprehension skills need some WD40. Check out Skinny’s verse

Ah say wo
Is plenty ah we
My crew alone is seventy ah we
De bond dat we have unbreakable
For de long term it’s not temporary
So hands up if yuh love family
Show me yuh hand
If yuh is one ah we
Come follow me
Cus technically
All ah we is we

TALK. DONE!

BUNJI. GARLIN.

To that point, the Garlin get one. As a fan since the early 2000s, I honestly didn’t think it would happen. The most lyrical beast to ever grace our soca shores is in the record books. If you eh glad for that, you is the type that could pee on a lime tree and make it wilt.

COLLABORATION

We’ve never had a trio win Road March before. We’ve never had a collaboration so perfect. It starts with one of the best intros of all time. The beat starts and is INSTANT vibes.  You could loop the intro of the beat and create a sweaty session out of that by itself. After that each soca general drops their tag. Booom Blassssttt, Viking, Huuyyyy, Heeeeyy haaaa. The song so big Machel actually give both tags lol. Followed by… When we roll we doh roll aloneeeeeee.  INSTANT wheelllll.

Then into the chorus famalalaylaylaylaylay. And when it reaches “jumping up together”, each of them doing ad libs. Machel with the low “together” and the high “together” in unison on the chorus.

“We doh see skin, we doh see colour, we see strength, we see power” – fire.

Followed by Bunji with a slipperily catchy flow:

Man even if we fall out
Bredrin we go all out
We would neva
Watch de family dem fall and sprawl out

INSTANT WHEEL!!!

But that’s not even the best part of the song.

Skinny runs in when the beat drops and says “Ah Wo, is plenty ah we, my crew alone is seventy ah we“.

INSTANT WHEEL!!!

After Skinny delivers one of the hardest verses ever spit on a soca track. At least worthy of early Bunji. The best verse ever is still this one. After Skinny cauterizes the track, Bunji (in my opinion), takes him with a flow that floats on the beat like foam on a Maracas wave:

Well let me tell yuh one time
Family is family
And dat different from bloodline
Some say dem is blood
But dem doh want to see de sunshine
Family doh ever fraid
To have yuh back at all time
Tell dem and dem friend

INSTANTTTTT WHEEELLLLL!!!

And to the Machel haters. Is not a Machel song. Two other guys are also on the track…come nah mannn. Better than that! Machel did what he had to do. And if you think the song would have been better without Machel, you smoking weed that harder than paying bills after Ash Wednesday. Machel is the glue in the song, adding ad libs and boosting the chorus.  Is his tenor on the chorus that giving it the vibes. The result is perfection.

BEST VIDEO

Too much to say about this so I’ll just highlight my favorite parts:

1. Nappy’s speech – ting to make men run through a wall
2. The long table with everyone dressed in white
3. The cameos, who made it and who wasn’t dey – Alison daiy you??? Where Iwer???
4. Peter C face when he get pelt with food
5. The blocko in Vincy – puuuuure vibees
6. Those ignorant flambeau men, swear a man nearly burn off Machel beard
7. Bunji scarf – Homie might bring it back

Final Word

The road march song isn’t always the song of the season. My favorite song of the season happens to be Famalay but I acknowledge that more people on my socials seem to have favoured Famalay. On the road however, Famalay generated a bigger response. I have also stated before in somewhat hyperbolic fashion that Road March is flawed. Not flawed as a judge of popularity on the road but in determining what is the best  song for the season. It usually isn’t.

So Savannah Grass not winning Road March doesn’t mean it wasn’t the best song. Aaaand, I would love if we could come up with something to rate the best song throughout the season. Not just on the road. But till then, don’t fix your lips to not show respect to the great Bouyon Soca mix that is Famalay, a song that features the best of Caribbean talent.

WE LIKE AH ARMYYYYYY!!!!!! *Skinny Voice

One more thing:

Thanks for reading. As you’re here, check out my latest album.

Bless!