Music

If your TikTok FYP frequently feeds you clips of semi-professional dancers, you’ve probably heard a snippet of Blaiz Fayah and Maureen’s intoxicating “Money Pull Up.” “Money pull up/ Action we ah turn it up/ Shatta run di place and guess/ Who ah bring it up?” the French dancehall artist chants over an infectious, percussive beat. 
Hailing from Paris, France, Blaiz Fayah turned his childhood experiences of following his saxophonist father around to zouk gigs in Guadeloupe and Martinique into a bustling dancehall career that’s now birthing international viral hits. According to Luminate, “Money Pull Up” has collected over 1.7 million official on-demand U.S. streams, an impressive number for a song from two rising international stars operating in a relatively niche genre. On TikTok, the official “Money Pull Up” sound plays in over 231,000 posts, including multiple clips from TikTok-Broadway star Charli D’Amelio; the official sound also boasts nearly 30,000 Instagram Reels. 

The track – which infuses its dancehall foundation with Martinican shatta (a subgenre of dancehall pioneered in the French Caribbean)– appears on Fayah’s new album Shatta Ting, his first full-length offering since the conclusion of his Mad Ting trilogy. The new record features several collaborators, including Italian-born basshall artist Kybba and producer Mafio House, who helmed several songs, including “Money Pull Up.” His most collaborative project yet, Shatta Ting also gifted Fayah with the opportunity to play his new music for his biggest dancehall heroes in Jamaica. 

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“When I listen to Shatta Ting, I’m happy. It was important for me to see all these Jamaican artists and producers and engineers embrace the music when I played it for them out there,” he tells Billboard between rehearsals for his forthcoming tour in support of the new album. “For me, going to Jamaica is like when Muslims go to Mecca. I was a bit shy playing the music at first because these guys have been doing this for over 30 years, so when they hear a song, they don’t have a [physical reaction]. But when they said, ‘Bro, you’re a mad artist,’ I felt at ease.” 

Blaiz Fayah’s latest tour kicks off on Feb. 27 in Toulon, France, and will visit concert halls in Nice, Lyon and Luxembourg before concluding on March 29 in Dortmund, Germany. In an illuminating conversation with Billboard, Blaiz Fayah talks about his new Shatta Ting album, the French Caribbean music scene and the merits of TikTok for dancehall’s present and future.

Where are you right now? 

I’m actually in a rehearsal studio in Paris making small details before the first show of the tour. It’s a new show for the new album, so I have to [revamp] everything. On the last tour, we mostly used the same show with a few new songs sometimes. By the end, it was a bit too easy because it was so automatic. I was a bit lazy by the end of the tour. I like a challenge, so for the next tour, I have some pressure on me to remember my blocking and everything.  

Where are you and your family from? What’s your relationship with dancehall? 

I was born in Paris, and we have the French Caribbean as well with Martinique, Guadeloupe, etc. My father was the saxophonist of Kassav’, a big zouk group from the French Caribbean. When I was really young, I used to go to Guadeloupe and Martinique and go to some studio sessions with him. When I grew up, I was assisting in the studio as well. I’ve always been around this culture, listening to reggae and dancehall. I used to listen to Sizzla, Buju Banton, Richie Spice, and all these roots reggae artists. I was digging deep and understanding the story and evolution of the music. I’ve always been like a magnet to this music, not the Jamaican culture.  

I don’t act like I’m a Jamaican, and it’s really important to say that… I remember one time I was writing in Jamaica, and someone told me to say “likkle” instead of “little.” I said, “Bro, I’m not Jamaican!” It’s really important for me to stay myself. I’m not saying “bomboclaat” every two sentences. I really like the energy of the music. I never felt this free listening to anything else; there is no other music that brings me this kind of madness. 

How would you describe shatta? 

Shatta comes from Martinique. It’s a type of riddim with big bass, snares, minimal hi-hats, and, sometimes, no chords. Remixes of Vybz Kartel‘s [vocals] on shatta riddims used to go crazy at every party, same with Aidonia’s voice or Buju’s voice. Martinique still has a thriving dancehall scene and people wanna dance. The shatta riddim makes the people dance. When I play shatta riddims for other artists like Busy Signal and they think it’s fresh, I have to give them their flowers. They started all of this; we’re the result of their influence. 

When you hear [Kartel’s] “Benz Punany,” there is no kick drum, only bassline, that’s a choice to make the music stronger. When you hear [Charly Black and J Capri’s] “Wine & Kotch,” it’s the same thing. Jamaica has been doing this for 10-15 years; Martinique just put their own vibe on it. We don’t go as hard lyrically as some Jamaican dancehall artists because it’s not the same culture, but it’s still party music. 

How did “Money Pull Up” come together? When did you start to realize that it was growing into a big hit? 

I was in Martinique with Mafio House, who wrote the arrangement for the song, listening to “Benz Punany” again. I wanted to combine Gaza-type strings [in reference to Kartel’s Gaza production camp] with a shatta bassline and percussion. 15 minutes later, the first version of the riddim was done. Initially, I wanted Boy Boy on the track because it had a bit of a Trinidadian vibe, but [plans fell through]. 

I ended up being in the studio in Paris with Maureen, played her the riddim, and she loved it. We wrote and recorded the song immediately, and I sent the track to one producer to clean it up and make it feel less like a demo. But after four weeks, I still had nothing, so I gave the track to Mafio. Three hours later, we had a finished cut of the song. 

The label liked the song, but they wanted something easier for people to latch onto. I was like, “If we do what is working now, then we’re not leading our thing. It’s too easy.” Sometimes, I make choices, and the stars are not on the same line at that moment, but I’m not ashamed about it. They agreed to put some money into the video, and within one month, Spotify streams started hitting 500,000 per day. I’m so happy, because I believed in the song ever since I heard the first note of the riddim. And I’m happy, I followed the Gaza influence and made a real collaboration [with Maureen]. 

How has TikTok and the dance community helped dancehall’s global presence? 

TikTok is a really, really good thing because I can see the impact. But it’s a really, really bad thing because a lot of people make songs for TikTok. I think that’s a trap. “Money Pull Up” is my biggest hit [so far], and I never expected it to be big on TikTok. If you make songs for TikTok, you’re on the wrong path for hits. 

TikTok can also be kind of unfair to dancers because phones do so much of the work, and onstage, they look completely different. I see some of these TikTok dancers, and there is no attitude. The result on the app is crazy, but they move too small for the stage. Even the crowds know when a dancer is there because she’s sexy and beautiful, over the dancers who working and taking lessons every day of the week. TikTok can be a good thing because everybody can be a star or go viral quickly — but you have to be careful of the way TikTok influences how you create. 

This is your first album since the Mad Ting trilogy ended. Where did you want to go musically and conceptually after the trilogy? 

I started working on Shatta Ting about a year and a half ago. I had a writing camp in Martinique and kept half of the songs we wrote there. It was the first time I recorded songs like that. I really enjoyed creating [in collaboration], and I took some risks on some of those songs – but those aren’t on Shatta Ting because I wanted something easier for people to listen to.  

I also feel that it’s time to put the “shatta” name in people’s heads; that’s why there are more proper shatta riddims on this project. There is less risk, but nobody listens to me for slow songs or songs about the world. When people listen to me, they just want to have fun. 

Did the writing camp approach change anything else about how you normally make albums? 

This was the first time I made a bunch of songs and then chose a few from the pack for the album. I’m not an artist who records a bunch of songs for an album and throws half of them away. I like quality over quantity. I have 8-10 songs from those sessions that I’ve put to the side. The BPM is also a bit higher on Shatta Ting than my other projects, so the tour will be more dynamic. 

What else do you have planned this year? 

We have a big tour for Shatta Ting, of course. I have another writing camp with Kybba in April, and we’re going to make a joint project. After that, I’ve just re-signed for two other albums. I have a better deal now because I’ve created my own label. Shatta Ting is a co-production with my label, Mad Ting Records, and Creepy Music, which works with X-Ray Productions. Now, I own 50% of my publishing. That kind of thing can happen when you have some strings, and the strings come from songs like “Money Pull Up.” When you have good numbers, then you can negotiate these things. 

Companies like Universal and Sony approached me, but nowadays, we don’t really need them. They’re more like a bank. I prefer a small label with money; I really feel better than when I call someone, and a person [at the label] answers. It’s important to feel like we’re working on the same wavelength. We’re not here only for money. Another big thing is that I can do what I want creatively. The label tells me nothing. I have some parts of the deal that I must respect, but I’m free in the creation, so I’m really happy.