Mavado

• Genre: Dancehall
• Hometown: Kingston
• Mavado Website

About

This Jamaican dancehall DJ has enjoyed his fair share of controversy in his short career. He's engaged in a long-running feud with Vybz Kartel, which has resulted in a veritable avalanche of witty dis tracks. He's had numerous run-ins with Jamaican authorities, and he's seen shows canceled in Britain, visas denied in the U.S. and performance bans in the Caribbean. Perhaps all the drama is no surprise, given that Bounty Killer is the man's musical idol and mentor. (Killer gave Mavado, born David Brooks, a helping hand when he first entered the music industry.) But under the rough exterior lies a nice guy who fell in love with music at his grandmother's side in church every Sunday. Sure, he's singing about the gangsta life now, but this is no "Shake Dat Thing"-style dancehall: Mavado exudes a powerful sense of justice and engages in some intense storytelling, which has helped earn him numerous accolades and awards.

- Sarah Bardeen