By Rawle Toney
Dancehall star Mavado said on Thursday night that his lyrics were a response to what he saw around him and the only way they would change was when society changed.
Speaking to reporters at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport just after he arrived in the country, he also urged fans not to act out what he sang because he himself was not going out there and doing anyone anything. He was only doing music.
Word of the 28-year-old Jamaican, born David Brooks, coming to Guyana caused heated public debate on if he should be allowed to perform. But Mavado said his lyrics don’t really belong to him, they come from what is happening in society.
“Only way for my lyrics to change in the future is for the government and for the people to change,” Mavado said.
“So long’s hardship is there, so long’s gangsters living there, so long’s you have anything there that not should be there, then I’ll be singing about it because me, as Mavado, I just sing about what’s going on. I don’t sing about what’s not going on.
“I consider myself a musical transporter who transports music all over the world, even if it’s good music, bad music or music for the girls. I don’t think that you should let music determine your life or what you wanna be tomorrow. I think that music is just enjoyment – so not because I come on stage and seh ‘marrow would fly high’ that mean you have to mek marrow fly cause at the end of the day, me ago deh home with my kids and you ago be in jail. Because I’m not going out there and doing someone something, I’m only doing music.”
Asked about the fact that he had been banned from coming to Guyana, Mavado said, “I know that someday it [the ban] would have to lift because nothing is forever. Only thing that last forever is salvation so right now I’m here in Guyana and I’m ready to step on stage and give the people what they want, which is music.”
‘Mavado’ or the ‘Gully God’ was blacklisted along with Rodney ‘Bounty Killer’ Price by the Government of Guyana just a few days before he was scheduled to appear in Linden for the town week celebration last year April.
Mavado’s ban has now been lifted. He is set to perform tonight at the National Park.
Several Caricom countries have barred the Dancehall artiste citing that his lyrics advocate violence. But when quizzed about this Mavado said that like everything in life, cynicism will also follow music.
“Music is music and negativity will always be there because once you have positive you are always going to have negative but it’s up to like me now as an artiste and as a person to just keep strong. I’ve been always doing music like ‘Overcome’, like what I’m trying to do right now and overcome all these banning and everything” Mavado said.
Gully and Gaza
The ‘Gully’ versus ‘Gaza’ feud came into being when Mavado and his foe Vybz Kartel began a lyrical war which saw the two DJ’s, who are called the Notorious BIG and Tupac Shakur of Dancehall music, meeting at the ‘Sting’ stage show last December to settle their grievances.
However, their fans have taken it to another level. The Gully/Gaza saga has grown bigger than Jamaica where violence erupted in several communities which represent either crew. Thanks to their songs, it stretched to the entire Caribbean and Guyana of course is not an exception.
It has gone so far that in several communities the emblem and writings of ‘the Gully side’ or ‘Gaza zone/strip’ are painted by their followers. The clash has reached so far that the authorities in Jamaica had charged the two artistes for their violent lyrics against each other.
The Scene asked Mavado about the beef and he simply said that it’s a lyrical war which was escalated by their fans.
“Well Mavado, seh ‘Gully’ and you know Vybz Kartel, he is ‘Gaza’ but how you saying Gully and Gaza and you don’t see Kartel and Mavado a fight and so it comes like a joke,” Mavado said. “Gully and Gaza is just about music and we need the fans to understand that and let the artiste them prove them skills. So I don’t think we should fight and all these things. It’s bad for business and I’m a businessman.”
He went on to state: “At the end of the day, we as artiste have to show the love and I mean we have to make the people see the love because we can’t seh we a show the love and the people don’t see it.
“The people need to see the love… if Mavado acting like me wan do Kartel something and if Kartel acting like him really wan do Mavado something then it gon be bad for both of us then this whole music ting ago just mash down and this is like our work and I don’t think Kartel would really like for that to happen just likewise Mavado.”
He said that since Sting, things have sort of settled between himself and Kartel and he is focusing on his career.
“Me and Kartel from dis whole Sting ting seh we nah go back inna any more conflict cause Mavado try to just rest it and everything because I know that I got like better and brighter tings to deal with. My future is very bright for me and mah Gully squad and for the music. So I’m more thinking on the future and my artiste career and my friends’ career and I’m also thinking about the people and the kids in school that have this whole Gaza and Gully thing going.”
Mavado over the last few months has delivered several chart topping hits. The latest single which was released this month is “Can’t Tek we Life”.
The song was produced by Stephen ‘Di Genius’ McGregor and speaks of his hardship in the Gully side of Jamaica and the ills which he has encountered in the music business.
Another song soon to be released is “Watch you Step” on the Survivor Riddim, which talks about how some people use iniquity to reach up or take you down in life.
