Yayo by Phyno: A Battle of Talents

Released on the 5th January, the visual for Phyno’s 2014 single, Yayo, was surely a good way to begin the year 2015. Although the video has been well received on YouTube with 481,376 views as at press time, an encouraging figure which explains why he has been enjoying massive airplay on most television stations as well as radio. Directed by Clarence Peters, the 4:39 seconds video opens with a violent scene; shirtless dudes clutching cutlasses, tearing one another apart, fire burning on the street – violence everywhere. Then appears a girl butt naked on whose shiny rump was clearly written Phyno and Yayo. That’s all to this mystery girl. Amidst the chaos, she walks confidently, unafraid and unscarred by the melee around her. She walks straight to Phyno, shaking her naked derrière as she goes. It gets even worse as she gets in front of Phyno who sits on a throne unperturbed by the tumult around him. She begins to dance seductively. I am sure the massiveness and rhythm produced by her backside is what has been driving the most viewing traffic to the video.
The message Phyno is trying to pass through the song and the video, is to affirm himself as the king of the street while others around him battle for street credibility. I wonder who eventually gets to be crowned between himself, Olamide and M.I.
Thumbs up for the use of props like burning tyres, cutlasses, shirtless guys, a throne made of cutlass, the girl’s butt, isolated location, papered and painted walls, smoky floor and multi-coloured painted car.
The first scene was simply X-rated and violent. That’s probably why the video doesn’t get played on most TV stations. Some who play it have edited the video, covering up the girl’s butt. However, stations like Sound City play the unedited video.
Good lighting and appropriate street costumes. Phyno’s attitude and body language while interpreting the lyrics was also on point. Those guys with the cutlasses made the scene look real. Also the scene where that guy crashed the car into the wall was out of this world.
In the last scene with angels, Phyno was probably asking for trouble from other rappers with that. Some of the angels had faces of known Nigerian rappers like Illbliss, Vector, Kel and others. Thankfully he didn’t use lookalike faces of M.I and Olamide else, there would have been some sort of ‘war’. Nice scene there though, all towards proclaiming himself as king of rap in Nigeria.
However, I don’t think violence is what he needs to depict for him to be seen as king of his genre of music. M.I did the Chairman video and there was no violence, Olamide did Sitting on the throne and no one frowned at it. So, why should Phyno portray violence?
Clean video. Clear rap lines.
The video is worth 8/10.
Artiste: Phyno
Running Time: 4:39