With all eyes on him since his signage with We The Best label in 2011, Mavado has been showing and proving that he definitely is the next big thing since Sean Paul's crossover accolades.
With his yet-to-be-titled major label debut in the pipeline, Mavado is hitting full throttle with his work ethics while standing his ground and not neglecting his core fanbase.
"I definitely feel the responsibility…That's the main reason why I'm working so hard right now because I know I have to be keeping dancehall relevant, keeping dancehall moving," the 'Take It' singjay shared with Marlon Bishop of MTV Iggy in late March.
Now aligned with a powerful hip-hop conglomerate, his fanbase has somewhat divided itself into a love/hate relationship with him. For the lovers, Mavado's new found image and piercingly unforgettable voice soars profoundly and admirably as he destroys all notions of distinctions between deejaying and singing. For the haters he has become the biggest sell-out turning his back on the Cassava Piece 'gully-side'. Yet this seems to be the case of every entertainer today; you simply can't please everyone at the same time. But for the naysayers who believe Mavado has turned his back on them they simply have to listen to the opening lines of his single Gully Side: "Me no gone noweh/ me deh yah same way/ De gangster dey yah pon de gully side/ if yu waan know whe fe fin' me."
With his Karian Sang assisted single Take It making its video debut on Billboard (a first for any dancehall artiste) and it garnering worldwide rave reviews, the track presents itself as a perfect filler to whet fans' appetite for his album.
"We been getting a lot of love for this song. It was number one in England for like eight weeks, and number one in Trinidad for a month. It's on the charts in Europe, on the islands, so things are going real great right now," said Mavado.
More recently, Mavado has appeared on the single 'Gangsta' along with label mates Ace Hood and Vado – sampling Terror Fabulous' 1993 hit single Gangster Anthem - and has a new track coming out shortly called "Rise Up," featuring DJ Khaled and Rick Ross.
In varying interviews, Mavado has also hinted at features with French Montana, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne and Pharrell. There will be a US-oriented mixtape acting as a prelude to the album but no precise date for its release has been set.
With an attempt to carry his fans along with him on his amazing rollercoaster ride to the top of international stardom, 'The Gully Gad' vlogs are now surfacing.
In this episode, he stopped by The Atrium in Atlanta where he gave a well-received performance in front a jam packed audience. He also took cameras into a local radio station, V103, where he discussed his initial meeting with DJ Khaled.
"Me and Khaled been friends and he has always been checking up on me," Mavado explained candidly. "I've known Khaled for so many years… from back in the 90s, Fully Loaded, Reloaded and all of those shows from Tony Matterhorn, Bounty Killer and everybody… So when Khaled reach out and said lets do this we were ready."
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