ROOTS rock reggae band Raging Fyah has turned its social conscience to the issue of bullying.

The single Brave, from the band’s 2014 album Destiny, could become the soundtrack for the issue which affects many both locally and internationally.

“Brave is a slightly different side to the band which is known for its roots reggae sound, but this is just another side the ‘fyah’,” noted band member Delroy ‘Pele’ Hamilton.

“It’s more a ballad, just piano and voices with gospel influences,” he added.

But it is the overall message of Brave which struck a chord with video director Kyle Chin, who introduced the anti-bullying theme to the band when it was time to shoot the video to accompany the single.

“We were all for it. Most people in Jamaica see bullying as a simple thing. But we realise how this can lead to greater psychological effects in later years. It can also move from just bullying of children and grow to affect adults, and countries. So what we want to do is break the cycle of bullying,” said Hamilton.

Director Chin explained how a closer look at the lyrics to ‘Brave’ brought about the concept.

“After thinking more about the meaning of the word ‘Brave’, along with Raging Fyah, we decided to speak about bullying and the cowardice behind that. We wanted to show how one can show courage by breaking the trend, by doing the right thing even when you have been wronged; ‘Don’t be stuck in your ways, just remember, you got to be brave,” said Chin.

The video has been catching on since it was released via the Internet four days ago. Hamilton reports that it has racked up as many as 10,000 views on YouTube, and www.nobullying.com has also picked up the track and video on their website.

“This week is also being observed at Anti-bullying Week in the UK so we are getting somewhere with the message.” he stated.

The video was shot in Jamaica at select locations, such as Room 13 at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts which was the location where the band practised in their formative years.

Meanwhile, Raging Fyah is currently deep into plans for their 2015 tour schedule. The band plans to take Destiny and their other tracks to more markets.

According to Hamilton, the Russian market has been really receptive to their music and their plans for next year include tapping into that interest as well as the wider European market. Raging Fyah also plans to head ‘down under’. Hamilton explained that there is interest coming out of Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia.

“We would of course want to break into the North American market — Canada and the US — and we believe that Brave is the single that will help us to do so in 2015,” said Hamilton.

— Richard Johnson