Mavado upbeat ahead of Zimbabwe show
By Costa Mano and Kudakwashe Chideme
HARARE- Jamaican dancehall artiste Mavado, who is scheduled to perform in the country this Friday, is upbeat ahead of his debut trip to Zimbabwe. Born David Brookes, the “Gully god” as he has come to be known the world over, posted a video clip on the popular video sharing website – YouTube, confirming the show.
“Boom check it out Zimbabwe, December 16. Crazy crazy ting Gully god in the building, get your a ticket right now, Zimbabwe, December, Gully god,” said Mavado. The 25-second video clip has so far attracted a lot of attention, with over 2 500 hits in the past few days.
Mavado is set to touch down at the Harare International Airport aboard Kenya Airways tomorrow with a huge crowd expected to welcome the sing-jay and his entourage.
He is set to perform at the Harare International Conference Centre on Friday and he comes to Zimbabwe as the most sought after dancehall artiste having seen his star rise since his debut in 2004 with the hit song “Real Mckoy” on the massive Anger Management riddim.
Mavado and his contemporary – Vybz Kartel – have dominated the dancehall charts in recent times with their hits receiving overwhelming rotation on various celebrated radio stations and clubs around the globe.
With rap influences to his dancehall flow “The Gully god” has featured artistes such as Jay-Z, Wycliff, Chipmunk and DJ Khaled. To date, Mavado has two albums to his name – “Gangsta for Life: The Symphony of David Brooks” (2007) and “Mr Brooks . . . A Better Tomorrow” (2009).
His arrival will mark a great coup by Clint Robinson and his C & A Entertainment stable who were behind several acts such as Sean Kingston, Elephant Man and more recently Mr Vegas, who unfortunately did not live up to expectations.
“Our reputation has grown in Jamaica such that we found it easy negotiating to have Mavado perform in Zimbabwe. Some Zimbabwean promoters had a reputation of failing to live up to their word but artistes there now believe if we (C & A Entertainment) want them to perform, it will happen.
“We have developed a brand judging by what happened this year and 2012 will be even bigger,” said Robinson. He said all the necessary payments have been made with the required clearances also in place and all that is left is for Mavado to come and hopefully perform to the level his fame suggests.
“Our concerts are also a platform of promoting local acts just like we did with the Elephant Man-Winky D duel, that clash had a lot of international observers wondering who Winky D is and the “Ninja President” now has international recognition.
“This show will see two ladies, Lady D and Lady Squander battling it out for honours as to who is the queen of the dancehall on the local dancehall scene,” he said. He defended the enlistment of yet another dancehall artiste to perform saying market forces determined who they contracted to perform.
Robinson said he had to dig into his personal savings having failed to attract a sponsor to partner him in all the shows they have had so far. The Herald
