Gage, Devin Di Dakta Connect On Cautionary Song “Eye For An Eye”: Watch
If Dancehall fans, or even detractors of the genre, were expecting Gage’s response in his verse on the Eye for an Eye track to be about joining up with Devin Di Dakta to go on a vengeful shooting rampage, they had a next guess coming.
Because as the demands continue to come more conscious anti-violence songs out of the Dancehall space, Devin and his Clarendonian Dancehall compatriot in teaming up for a Eye for an Eye, made the track a cautionary tale about putting aside vengeance, which is thought to be the root cause of the majority of murders committed in Jamaica.
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Not only have the two recorded this track, which now trends at No. 7 on YouTube, but based on the captions on the YouTube music video, there is more to come, as Eye For An Eye is the “lead track from their upcoming collaboration project”.
Masterfully composed, the duo lay their voices on a trap-infused riddim. The accompanying video, which was also released on Friday, is in keeping with the theme of the song, superbly tells the tale of a young man who, as a teenager, witnesses his father being shot and killed by a gunman, who ambushes them whilst they are awaiting a taxi at the bus stop. The father begs for his son’s life and tells them to take only his.
Devin who plays the role of the now-adult son of the deceased, goes to Gage, who plays the character of an illegal gun dealer, and demands that he be sold a weapon, aimed at taking out is father’s killer, whose movements are being tracked by his associates.
He relays the story of the fateful morning when his character’s father died and then begin the chorus, which extrapolates from the Book of Leviticus Chapter 24, verses 17 to 20 which calls for, among other things, murderers to be “surely be put to death, and “Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again”.
Brazenly Devin insists that he needs to be “strapped”, and that nobody can tell him what to do.
“Eye for an eye tooth for tooth, nobody can tell me what to do,” he tells Gage.
But Gage, sounding more like a grief counselor than a gunslinger, who rents weapons without question, admonishes him, outlining that what he will be continuing a cycle of death and destruction as just as he avenges the murder of his father, likewise will the son of the murderer will see him as a murder and come after him, in a vicious, never-ending cycle.
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“In case dem nuh tell yuh/mi a guh tell yuh now/cause yuh a guh get yuh yute an yuh a guh find out anyhow/Yuh faada neva protect yuh caw yuh young/Yuh faada protect yuh because you a yuh faada son,” Gage responded his voice gliding on the beat.
“If yuh find di killer/den yuh kill di killer/ yaah go be di killer face in the brain of a killer son,” Gage warned, as he tries to dissuade Devin from making what he described as a “death wish”.
As the conversation continues, Devin gets a text message that tells him where his father’s killer was, and so he insists that he was going to carry out his vengeance plans. But again Gage tries to deter him, singing: “Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, still gonna tell you not to shoot”.
In the end, Devin grabs a pistol and bolts towards the door, resulting in Gage grabbing his own pistol to go after him, ending the epic video which is “to be continued”.
Eye for an Eye also comes at a time when artists like Sean Paul and Mr. Vegas have been clamoring for more artists to collaborate instead of forming cliques or alienating themselves from their colleagues, a situation which is not bringing them anywhere near international stardom.
The duo has been gaining some new fans following the song and video release, as well as numerous comments about the lyrics, imagery, plot and the general execution of the verses and the acting.
“😲 I can’t believe that there’s these quality of music in Jamaica,” Jessy Jess wrote. “Devin D Docta your penmanship and detail is on a next level. If this was in the early part of 2000’s and you were a rapper I swear you would be considered in the top tier… I need to quit the meanstream and listen a bit more of you. Because only fckry sells and hype in this generation!”
For Donte Jordan, the plot was impressive and the song itself could serve as a deterrent for young men, who are on a quest for revenge for wrongs committed against them.
“The story line resonates with a lot of good young youths who are inevitably drawn into a life of crime. We still have to encourage the youths to not take up the law into their own hands,” he wrote.
Others like Kritikal Vulcan and dj_pekus sought to point out that many Dancehall followers had a strong appetite for silly, unwholesome music and demanded that the song be sent up the charts as it was a perfect example of a high-quality work f art.
“When Gage did “dung ena yuh throat” we make it trend. Mek me see what we gonna do with this masterpiece or a just fcu*ery and carelessness we love,” Kritikal Vulcan said.
“Two great artiste!! It gage did sing his part like….”yes brow we ago circle dem and kill dem back” the song would got more views. What a society we living in… Gwaaa do it bad attistes!!!💣💥💥💥💣,” dj_pekus added.