Reggae Singer Black Fyah Survives ‘Ghetto Pain’

When a scuba diver comes up from the deep too quickly, the rapid decrease in pressure can give them a case of “the bends” or decompression sickness — or barotrauma. Bubbles of gas sometimes build up in the diver’s body, causing pain and other potentially fatal effects.

Reggae singer Black Fyah is no stranger to this affliction. It is a hazard of his job, a hazard that has claimed the lives of his closest colleagues, crippled him for over one year and even claimed the life of his beloved brother.

“The bends ah one wicked ting, it can cripple you and even kill you,” Black Fyah said. “The sea is dangerous and beautiful inna one entity.”

“My brother died from decompression sickness, the bends, is a ting weh go inna yu blood line, is like air in your system and lock off the blood from flow through the body. It can cause minor strokes, it can cripple you up, bend you up, mek yu look disabled,” he said.

Black Fyah himself was crippled by the ‘bends’ and he still carries a noticeable limp today.

“The bends weh mi ketch, mi get a hard lick, ah just Jah give me the strength,mi foot caan touch ground, mi penis have in a big hose in it, it cause infection, mi balls swell up big , she haffi use hot water and ice fi deal with it,” he said.

He checked out of the hospital early and returned to his Port Henderson road fishing community to recover. And over the course of 18 months, Black Fyah nursed himself back to health with the help of his spiritual advisor and his family and friends.

“Doctors sign up say mi write off, dem say mi caan walk back, no feelings in my body,” he recounted.

He had just sung his most popular song, On My Way, and his career was on the rise when he had the mishap in 2020.

“Mi have to go Cane River, Salt River and the minerals twice , mi go Hellshire go bury miself under the sand nine morning straight spiritually and pray to the sun when it ah raise to take the nitrogen out of my system. Mi bredda, Jermaine was there, the man who help me walk back, but later on, they died by the same ting, “ he said.

He loves the sea because of the feeling of euphoria and freedom it generates in his soul. But he knows the dangers a bit too intimately as he has lost over ten family members and friends to the treacherous sea over the years.

“Police go on operation, him no come back, gangsta go pon ops, him no come back, babymother go have her baby, she don’t mek it, is a life journey. Death no care about nobody, sometimes yu see signs and wonders, but yu nah listen, yu get the warning, it come in front of your face and yu play blind game and is just a judgement,” he said.

He wrote a song called ‘Where Are You?’ based on his experiences and which was released a few months ago along with visuals.

“My brother Jermaine got the bends in the middle of the night and was heading back to the shore. He had shown signs of decompression sickness before, but did not need the warning… is just a black man journey,” he said.

Black Fyah is now promoting a new single, Ghetto Pain, which he released with a video two months ago, via the 9Miles Records label.

“Ghetto Pain is picking up traction in the streets, it was added to rotation on IRIE, Hitz and Suncity Radio, so it’s a great look,” he said.