Mavado (singer)
David Constantine Brooks (born 30 November 1980),[1] better known by his stage name Mavado, is a Jamaican dancehall singer, who is signed to We the Best Music Group and formerly to Cash Money Records.
Mavado | |
|---|---|
Mavado in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | David Constantine Brooks[1] |
| Also known as | Gully God |
| Born | 30 November 1980[1] Kingston, Jamaica[1] |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels |
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Biography
David Constantine Brooks was raised in Kingston, Jamaica's Cassava Piece community.[1] He cites the music of Bounty Killer as an early influence.[1] Bounty took him under his wing to show him the ropes of the music industry and introduced him to his manager, Julian Jones-Griffith.[2] He decided to name himself "Mavado" after the Swiss watch company Movado, with his manager altering the spelling.[3]
In 2005, Mavado had his breakthrough with his first single, "Real McKoy".[3] He further established himself with the follow-up record "Weh Dem a Do", on the Red Bull & Guinness riddim, that had the distinction of hitting Billboard. After a string of hits in 2005 and 2006,[citation needed] Mavado released the album Gangsta for Life: The Symphony of David Brooks 10 July 2007 on VP Records.[4] The single "Dying" from the album was featured heavily on New York's WQHT (Hot 97) R&B/hip-hop radio station.[2]
That same year brought Mavado off-stage controversy, as he was detained by Jamaican police.[2][3] While in police custody, the singer claims he was thrown through a glass window, slicing three fingers in the process, which were reattached at a local hospital. Police claimed Mavado escaped from custody while at the hospital.[2] He was later arrested and charged with shooting with intent and illegal possession of firearm in relation to an event occurring 27 July 2007.[5] Mavado was released two days later on a $3000 bail[6] and was subsequently refused entry into the United States.[3]
Mavado did not sign the Reggae Compassionate Act and has been criticised for anti-gay lyrics (in such songs as ''Batty Bwoy Termination'' where the lyrics say "Battyboy must die, Lesbian must die, Sodomite must die"), as well as alleged promotion of gun violence. The issue caused him to be banned at times from several Caribbean countries.[7][8][9][10]
In March 2008, Mavado was featured performing a rendition of his song "Real McKoy" for Grand Theft Auto IV Trailer #4 "Everyone's a Rat". "Real McKoy", along with "Last Night" (both from the album Gangsta for Life), were also featured in the game on the radio station "Massive B Radio".[11] Mavado was also featured on the G-Unit track 'Let It Go' along with Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks for the album: T·O·S (Terminate on Sight) in 2008. He was the only non-G-Unit feature on the album. In 2008 Mavado was given the UK MOBO Award for Best Reggae Act.
In April 2010, Mavado starred in a music video as a gangster in Drake's song "Find Your Love" for Drake's album Thank Me Later. Mavado formed his own label, Mansion Records, in 2011, which debuted with the single "Delilah".[12] Along with Bounty Killer, he has cited 2Pac as a childhood idol, comparing the late rapper's life to his own.[2]
In 2011, Mavado recorded with U.K. grime artist Chipmunk on the track "Every Gyal".[13] On 1 September 2011, Mavado appeared on the Angie Martinez show on New York's Hot 97 radio station to announce that he had signed a deal with DJ Khaled's record label We the Best Music Group. Mavado released three singles "Emergency" featuring Ace Hood, Soulja girl and "Survivor" featuring Akon on We the Best Music Group.
In May 2012 he was convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and malicious destruction of property after a driving incident, and was fined a total of $100,000.[14] An appeal against the sentence was unsuccessful.[14] In 2012, it was announced that Mavado would feature in a "Shottas 2" a sequel to the Shottas movie, which had starred Ky-Mani Marley and Spragga Benz.[15]
In 2016, Mavado's song "Progress" on the Mineral Boss Records produced "Money Boss Riddim" was featured in DJ Khaled's Major Key album. The album was nominated for the 2017 Grammy Awards on the "best rap" album category. In 2017, Mavado, Alkaline and Jahmiel formed a camp known as MVP, which Mavado claimed to be the "biggest thing" in dancehall at that time.[16]
In 2018, Mavado collaborated with Sean Paul for an inspirational song called "I'm Sanctify".[17] In 2019, Mavado released a song called "Top Shotta Is Back" On a Riddim called The Aircraft Riddim produced by Chimney Records.[18]
In 2020, Mavado recorded and released a Drake diss song called "Enemy Line".[19]
Discography
Albums
Singles
As lead artist
- "Weh Dem Ah Do" (2007)
- "Real McKoy" (2007)
- "Lost Dem" (2011)
- "Do Road" (2011)
- "Take It" featuring Karian Sang (2012)
- "Give It All to Me" featuring Nicki Minaj (2013)
- "Million Dollar Man" (2013)
- "Tie Yuh" (2014)
- "Ben Ova" (2014)
- "My Pan " (2014)
- "Ain't Going Back Broke" featuring Future and Ace Hood (2015)
- "Ghetto Bible" (2015)
- "My League" (2015)
- "Big League" (2016)
- "Progress" (2016)
- "Mama" (2017)
- "Red Rose" (2017)
- "Dress to Impress" (2018)
- "Enemies" (2018)
- "I'm Sanctify" featuring Sean Paul (2018)
- "Father God" (2018)
- "Enemy Lines" (2020)
As featured artist
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| FR [20] | |||
| 2008 | "Caribbean Connection" (Lil' Kim featuring Wyclef Jean and Mavado) | — | — |
| 2012 | "One by One" (Laza Morgan featuring Mavado) | 34 | |
| "Who Wan Test" (Nino Brown featuring Mavado and Junior Reid) | — | We Don't See Em 3 | |
| 2013 | "Lighters Up" (Snoop Lion featuring Popcaan and Mavado) | — | Reincarnated |
| "Gangsta" (Vado ft. Mavado & Ace Hood) | — | — | |
| 2014 | "Lady Patra" (Iggy Azalea featuring Mavado) | — | The New Classic |
| 2016 | "Progress" (DJ Khaled featuring Mavado) | — | Major Key |
| "Saugod" (Ramriddlz featuring Mavado) | — | — | |
| "Legendary" (Chinx featuring Mavado & French Montana) | — | Legends Never Die | |
| 2017 | "God Knows"[21] (Kalash featuring Mavado) | 95 | Mwaka Moon |
| 2018 | "Coming from Afar"[22] (Matisyahu featuring Mavado) | — | — |
| 2019 | "Hot Gyal"[23] (XXXTentacion featuring Mavado) | — | Bad Vibes Forever |
External links
- Mavado discography at Discogs
References
- ^ a b c d e f Jeffries, David. "Mavado | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Mavado: Life After Death. Billboard. Retrieved 2011-3-8.
- ^ a b c d Cooke, Mel. Mavado: dancehall lovers/haters' fantasy. . Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Jamaica Gleaner. 27 April 2008. Retrieved 2011-3-8. - ^ Cole, Debra. Mavado - "Gangsta For Life: The Symphony of David Brooks". YardFlex. 6 June 2007. Retrieved 2011-3-8.
- ^ Cops seek Mavado, Kartel 13 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Jamaica Star. 10 January 2010. Retrieved 2011-3-8.
- ^ Patrica Meschino (5 April 2008). "Controversial Jamaican singer faces the music". Reuters. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "Who Is Mavado And What Is He Doing Now?". Shadowproof. 18 June 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ^ "Sveriges kvalitetssajt för nyheter". SvD.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ^ Alexander, Gail (1 June 2011). "Banned Mavado gets 'one-off' show in T&T". Trinidad and Tobago Guardian. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ^ "Guyana lifts ban on Jamaican reggae artist Mavado". Caribbean360. 11 September 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ^ Is Mavado Richer Than Vybz Kartel?. Hype Life Magazine, 27 October 2008 . Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ Brooks, Sadeke (17 May 2011). . Jamaica Star. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
- ^ Sparks, Marvin (13 April 2011). "Chipmunk feat. Mavado – "Every Gyal"". Soul Culture. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
- ^ a b "Mavado loses conviction appeal 19 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine", Jamaica Observer, 19 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013
- ^ Online, Jamaica Star. "Mavado to star in Shottas 2 - Entertainment - Jamaica Star - April 24, 2012". old.jamaica-star.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ "Mavado Says MVP Is Biggest Thing in Dancehall". The Tropixs. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
- ^ "Sean Paul, Mavado cry for peace through 'I'm Sanctify'". jamaica-star.com. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
- ^ "Mavado Declares War With New Track 'Top Shotta Is Back': Listen". dancehallmag.com. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ "Mavado Accuses Drake of Appropriating Dancehall on New Song "Enemy Line"". Complex. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ Hung, Steffen. "lescharts.com - Discographie Mavado". lescharts.com.
- ^ "Mwaka Moon by Kalash on iTunes". iTunes. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
- ^ Cummings-Grady, MacKenzie. "Billboard.com - Matisyahu Releases Energetic New Single 'Coming From Afar' Featuring Mavado". Billboard. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- ^ "Watch XXXTentacion's "Hot Gyal" Featuring Mavado And Tory Lanez". 13 December 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2020.