David Constantine Brooks, born 30 November 1980 in Kingston and raised in Cassava Piece, one of Jamaica’s more dangerous ghettos. He is considered a dancehall superstar and singer who derived his inspiration from the likes of Bounty Killer and Cutty Ranks. Bounty showed Mavado the ropes and introduced him to the music industry as well as his very own manager, Julian Jones-Griffith. His name was taken from Movado, The Swiss Watch company. It was his manager who changed the spelling. He released his first single “Real McCoy” in 2005 and this ushered his breakthrough onto the dancehall scene. Further establishment for him happened with the follow-up single titled “Weh Dem a Do” Though the charges had been dropped, Mavado was denied entry into the United States after he had been arrested by Jamaican police and charged with illegal possession of a firearm and shooting with intent. He received an award for Best Reggae Act in 2008 for the UK Music of Black Origin (MOBO). Mavado has collaborated or featured with several international artists such as Drake’s Find Your Love, where he appeared as a gangster in the music video in April 2010. He has also done collaborations with Busta Rhymes, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, and several others. In 2011, he formed his record label called Mansion Records. He has since been working on his career and has been doing quite a bit of work with the singles like ” Top Shotta Is Back” released in 2019 on a riddim produced by Chimney Records called The Aircraft Riddim.
