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Freedom Fyah
The history of Freedom Fyah is very intricate and complex, so to be better understood, I have decided to divide it into chapters.
It was the spring of 2010, when smartphones with internet connectivity had not yet reached the level of popularity they have today. Social networks didn't exist, and those fortunate enough had a fixed internet connection at home (if the telecommunications provider could ensure signal coverage).
On the other hand, social life was much more active in various aspects. I remember that to meet friends, we didn't rely on SMS but rather knew the various gathering spots in our town, where we knew we would always find someone.
Let's talk about the period of my adolescence, a phase where every event that happened to me was experienced with a carefree spirit and openness to new experiences.
From meeting my peers and immediately establishing a connection with them to embarking on journeys to places I would visit for the first time, it was a kind of carpe diem that burned within me intensely and brimming with enthusiasm.
Street Art Exhibition - year 2008
I began to develop an artistic taste, undoubtedly influenced by my studies in high school, but above all by the art of the streets, the movement of Street Art.
I devoured magazines and books to learn the techniques from the most "established" writers of the scene at that time. Names like Bros, Airone, Aris, Joys, Kayone, Nais, Ozmo, Pao, Sea, Rendo, Sonda were the proponents of my representative style.
I was fascinated by their interpretation of a piece of writing, a slogan, a message depicted on the walls of Italian cities such as Milan (with Leoncavallo being an example), Bologna, Rome, and Turin.
All of this led me to draw my tag, which is my artistic name (Boris), on countless sheets of paper in various styles. Over time, I also practiced with the names of my friends.
During that time, my days were divided between high school and leisure time spent with friends, where I developed a love for music, particularly the Reggae genre.
Simultaneously, I was growing out my hair with the goal of achieving dreadlocks (a hairstyle closely associated with Rastafarian culture), which became a symbol, not just a trend, of a world that would never leave me from those days onward. In fact, I was beginning to shape my happiest moments based on the Caribbean rhythms that had always captivated my imagination.
In this continuous exploration of the roots of Jamaican music, I was fortunate to come across the acquaintance of the first member, Luigi Cavalieri (known as Gigi A.K.A.), who came from a hip-hop background but was increasingly delving into the world of reggae, thanks to his cousin (Max Bass, founder of the Easy Reggae Band).
The "flame" became the distinctive symbol of the group, and this element was later incorporated into the creation of the logo as a founding principle.
Indeed, the name Freedom Fyah derives from the concept of "free fire," which aims to encapsulate within the image of the flame a metaphorical fire that blazes within the soul of each individual who rises to bring hope, solidarity, and unity to the world through their artistry.
"To give something of oneself through a work that brings light where darkness persists, where constant struggle weakens bodies and minds, where loneliness and diversity are seen as factors of division rather than harmonious interweaving."
This concept does not have a defined time or space to develop, as it travels in continuous change. Yesterday or tomorrow lose their meaning because the period under consideration is always and only the present.
The path had already been traced; we felt accustomed to the dynamics on which Rastafarian culture was based.
Delving into key elements, such as the Kebra Nagast, the Rastafari Bible, which recounts the journey of the Ark of the Covenant from the Kingdom of Israel to Ethiopia under King Haile Selassie I, our motivation grew. The atmosphere in creating texts or illustrations became mystical.
The pen, in writing, had achieved remarkable fluidity, due to the interplay between words and situations that we were able to connect in a "swaying" melody.
Rastafari Bible Cover - Kebra Nagast
After that summer of that year (2010), Luigi made the decision to move out and live on his own at the age of 19. At the same time, someone who would become the third member of the group, and not any less important, was about to enter our path.
Directly from Senegal, Mbaye Niang, also known as Baba to his friends, is the essential "pawn" in the growth and enrichment of song lyrics with anecdotes linked to African philosophy.
At that moment, my sphere began to expand once again, embracing the Bayefall culture in the early months of 2011.
The Bayefall spirituality led me to discover new perspectives, new dynamics related to the human being that I had approached until then with the "superficiality" of a young man who enjoyed the privilege of living in a land where basic goods are guaranteed.
Later on, Luigi's younger brother, Marco, who was seventeen at the time, helped the group by contributing his first lyrics to songs like "Una Notte" or "Fratelli," songs that became the founding pillars of Freedom Fyah's history.
The first draft was the song "Una Notte," with a hip-hop beat that was very "intimidating and provocative," aiming to describe how everything can change for better or worse in a generic night. In that hypothetical night, ultimatums and compromises are things of the past, and it's time to act as soon as possible because the soul demands it.
Driven by the belief in changing things through positive energy, generated by the courage to confront all the whys that the choice will bring to light, supported by the fact that we have become one with a culture (focused on nature and the human being) that illuminates our path.
The fear of failing the "mission" could not be entertained; the warrior spirit had reached its fullest maturity. Like a lion confronting the dark shadows, fueled by its untamed inner flame.
Here we find the explicit meaning of the "freedom fire" discussed earlier.
The song is the only one written by all three members and is the most representative of that era.
Along with its creation, we began to have what we would now call visibility. At the time, it was a way of delivering the message to people without calculating profits (without false modesty).
At this point, it was necessary to write or rather, describe the one who had to face this "night" and expose the figure of this resilient hero to the "pillory" of society. With this preamble, the song "Soldi non ha" came to life.
In structuring the opening lines, the intention was to take the listener on a one-on-one journey with the narrator, involving their thoughts in primary themes such as freedom, human values, and intense faith (not necessarily religious).
And then, in the second verse, we move on to defining what is lacking among people nowadays, linking the image of God to the supreme need but distancing it from any doctrine.
In this way, emphasizing the lack of benevolence towards one another, with an explosion of the spirit above every material constraint.
In the last verse, it emphasizes the fact of having eyes fixed upon oneself in a not exactly fulfilling way, driven by the choice to advocate for this path with strength and determination even towards those who deemed it futile.
In parallel, "Fratelli" was released, a song that follows in the footsteps of "Soldi non ha" but differs in being more autobiographical.
Gigi narrates what the Freedom Fyah are willing to give for their "fratelli," who are all those who suffer at the hands of Babylon (the more common name for the city of Babel, known as a place of perdition and confusion), intertwining it with intonations derived from Jamaican style and Wolof (Senegalese language).
The lyrics themselves are a tribute to coming together, especially in the toughest times.
The title was taken from a quote by Martin Luther King, where he emphasized the fact that we have learned to fly like birds, to swim like fish, but we have not learned to live as BROTHERS.
Calaka, on the other hand, is a version in Calabrian dialect, very similar to "Soldi non ha" in addressing the narrative themes, but it is also a tribute to the ancestral origins of the group's family descent.
The predominant element and common thread of the early songs is always the fire, as the track says, it never "sputters" (translated: it never goes out).
With "Capelli Sciupati" (Damaged Hair), there is no longer any semblance to consider except for the author's own life. The door to his mindset is wide open, and even more so is the explicit depiction of his struggles, stemming from his work.
He manages to find the resources in the pursuit of a non-fleeting glory that helps him not succumb to weariness, to effort, emphasizing the meaning of hunger.
Hunger is like a balance that must keep mind and body in equal measure, in order to perform at their best in different situations to face.
With this last text, the group entered a phase of implosion. The young age, the lack of equipment, and the era before the development of the current internet were factors that led the group to dedicate less time to music.
As time passed (years), it seemed that the magic, the mystique of writing a text, had faded away. Motivations were scarce due to a disorientation of ideas.
The return of Baba to Senegal, Luigi's decision to seek a change of scenery in Barcelona, and finally my own decision to embark on a journey to Australia, almost definitively extinguished the idea of keeping that contemplated flame alive.
Geelong - Glimpses of the bay
Until, upon my return from the fascinating continent of kangaroos, I decided to reignite the spirit that had characterized us in the past years. I went to visit Luigi in Spain for New Year's Eve 2019, and a few months later, Mentira was born.
After spending a solid ten months on the other side of the world, I felt the need to return and pursue a project connected to visual and musical art.
I call it a necessity because that's exactly what it was and still is—the need to express myself, which led me to invest a significant portion of my savings in top-notch technologies to support my creativity.
For six months, I worked on a farm that exported potatoes not only in Australia but also throughout Korea. The work hours were exhausting, and along with the fatigue, it amplified the flow of my reflections and evaluations.
This led me to embrace the decision to return once the experience was over and dedicate my energy to putting the pieces back together to further enhance my graphic techniques.
It was a kind of spiritual awakening, where the path to follow is called happiness.
After landing at Malpensa on August 8, 2018, I took the first steps towards my project. All of this pushed me to get to know young boys and girls with open personalities, enthusiastic about collaborating with me.
The collective Studio Fyah (mentioned in the Mixtape project of the same name) was born as an experiment in collaborations between graphics, music, and above all, socialization.
After my "vacation" in Catalonia with Luigi, we started reviving the intrinsic spirit of Freedom Fyah together. The process is not the simplest, due to the rust we feel, but gradually ideas come and with them the desire to experiment.
Based on these foundations, Mentira was born, a song dedicated to his ex-partner, which, after a seven-year relationship, came to a stormy end.
