Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

Mavado - File

Today we complete our six-part interview series with Mavado, one of the featured acts for the upcoming show, Rendezvous, on May 10. In yesterday's instalment, he spoke about travelling to New York and being denied entry. Today, we pick up on the impact of his lyrics.

Mel: There will be those who say dat yu lyrics help fuel de crime an' de crisis (in Jamaica). How yu respond to dat?

Mavado: Fuel de crime an' de crisis? (In a questioning, near incredulous tone). Hol' on now me don, how my music fe fuel de crime an' de crisis. Me waan some a dese people come explain to me an' tell me ow dat appen, wen de yute dem a dead fe hungry. Hol on deh now. How much per cent outta yute time yu tink a yute ave fe tek fe lissen music? How much per cent? Hundred per cent?

Mel: Nah man, me woulda put it a 10 less dan 10, him haffi go places an do tings.

Mavado: A yute don' ave five per cent a time fe lissen to music. Worse inna dem ya time ya wen people can hardly fin' food an fin' job an' dem ting deh. Yu understand? So wen a man a go come to me an' tell me sey my music a mek yute a war wid yute an' dese tings, im affi explain to me ow dat appen. Yu understand? An dere is no explanation all now.

Yu know wha a go mek crime appen more? Yu see de dance whe dem a lock off two o'clock? An 12 o'clock durin' de week, yu see de people whe deh a de dance gate dem a sell, de 20 people an de 50 people whe string a sell fe sen' dem pickney a school an' fe have suppen? Yu see dem people whe cyan sell nutten now, a dem ting a escalate crime bout yah. Memba me tell yu dat.

Poverty. Yu hear dat. Me a go show yu ow a poverty a escalate crime bout ya. Dem sey every yute lissen to Mavado y'nuh. Dat mean sey Norbrook an' Cherry Garden an' Aylsham an all a dese place, Armour Heights, an de whol' a dese place de yutes dem lissen to Mavado y'nuh. Yu hear people dyin' in dese place? Yu know why? None a dose no affi worry which part dem a get a nex' night dinner, cause dem parents done ave dat provide fe dem. Yu understand? Or dem a work fe provide it fe demself. An dese yutes lissen to Mavado, dem go out an party, dem lissen to Killer, Mavado, Kartel, Beenie, everybody. Buju, everybody dem lissen to. Jus' like everybody else. Yu understand? So ow music fe mek yute a do crime? A music bring people togedda. Memba me tell yu dat.

Mel: Yu see yusself as a role model fe de yute dem?

Mavado: Yeah! Definitely! Yu understand? Dat's why wen we inna de street an de yute dem see we, de yute dem no see we a do nutten. Yu understan. Cause wen de yute dem see we inna de street wat dem see we a do? See we stay so an easy. So if a yute say we a him role model, wen him see we him suppose to stay so an' calm too ... (There is laughter from the other persons. He addresses them for a sentence or two.) A lie me a tell? Tell me if a lie me a tell dog. A lie me a tell? Cause wen yu a role model yute watch how yu move an everyting y'nuh bredren. A yute come see Mavado stay so inna him Range. A yute waan come have Range too. Dat mean im waan work toward havin' a Range. Dat mean we haffi provide work an school an all a dese tings dat de yute dem can work fi have tings more dan fe rob fe get it bredren. See wha me a sey?

(He goes on to speak about the improvement in his performance, the Red Stripe event at Mas Camp where he fell and his chain was taken by someone in the audience, leading to a bottle throwing by someone else and Red Stripe's sponsorship withdrawal).

Mel: Yu consider yusself a deejay or a singer?

Mavado: Deejay or singer? (There is a long pause as he considers). Me consider mesself as a missionary wid music, in which me jus' consider mesself as a man whe jus come fe do music... Yu understand? Cause more time all me mesself, me no know if me sing or me deejay. Me jus' know me jus a do some music. Yu understan'? So me jus' ave mesself as a missionary fe music. In which, right now, yu done see wha a gwaan. So all likkle from dis, we no know wha can appen. We coulda alla gi dem some different music again.

Mel: Wha kin a music you lissen personally?

Mavado: Me is a man whe lissen all kinda music y'nuh me don, cause me jus love music (Before the interview Mavado was singing a Jah Cure. After he sang an Air Supply).

Mel: Yu lissen R&B an ...

Mavado: Yeah man. Sof' music, dancehall music, R&B, y'nuh, Alternative, all a dese music, me jus' like dem. De only music me nah go too too lissen a music whe me no understan'. If me no understand whey u a say me nah go lissen yu. Or if yu a say wha me no like or me no waan hear yu sey an me no feel yu shoulda sey me nah go lissen. But any music oddawise me jus' lissen, cause me love music.

(We talk about the Jay-Z remix of On The Rock).

Mel: Yu feel yusself changin' as a artiste in any way? Yu feel yusself a grow as a artiste in terms of ..

Mavado: Yeah man. Definitely.

Mel: Yu tink yu writing better now?

Mavado: Well, fe tell yu de trute, to see tru every work. Ere is a man a buil' ouse ova de years. Wen im start at one stage to a nex' stage to a nex stage yu ago better. If yu write book yu ago better afta a while. Yu get fe experience more, yu realise more tings y'nuh. Yu start focus more an all a dese tings. So derefore as day goes by, me do de work, den jus' betta meds, yu understan'?

Mel: Ow yu did come up wid (the lyrics) squeeze har nipple like de trigger of a gun?

Mavado: Squeeze har breast. (laughs). Hear waapen man. Everyweh me go as a yute, as a artiste, wen me go so bam an go break big, ooman ... More time me go do me show dem all ova de worl', me show mostly full a woman dan even man. More time people woulden' even know dese tings, like all wen me go America y'nuh, cause my show dem ram y'nuh, wen me go America an all dese places, all a de front a me stage y'nuh, a hundreds a ooman. Line off right row. A fight fe come up pon de stage an dem ting deh. An more time some girl come hug me. Yu know dem girl ave a way fe hug me an squeeze up pon yu. An more time we ave some girl a sey (he starts laughing as he speaks) "squeeze me like ow yu squeeze de trigga a yu gun nuh?" Yeah! So we sey "wow, a dat dem a sey"? Arright! Cause dem a tell we fe sey dese tings, see it? (Hearty laughter all around.) Yeah man!

(After a long pause, the mood changes with the next question.)

Mel: A song like Dying, seen, yu tink bout dat ting a lot? De dyin part of tings?

Mavado: Yu see in life, yu haffi tink about good an yu haffi tink bout bad. Cause life an de worl' base up offa good an' bad. Yu understan'? An if yu tink bout life yu haffi tink bout deat' too. From yu born an' yu grow people start tell yu from yu live yu haffi dead one day. Y'nuh. Not sayin' dat yu a introduce death, say 'yow come me ready fe dead, come now'. Yu understand? But yu haffi tink bout da part deh a life, cause it deh deh. Yu understand? So even wen a man hear me come an sey Dying, an dem ting deh, a jus a way, a way how we know sey yeah. Yu see music, wen yu a do music yu haffi mek it real y'nuh. Yu understand. An yu haffi talk bout de real tings wha a appen. An we ave whole heap a fren whe we los'. Nuff fren' an family whe we los'. See it. An we no feget dem, no true dem gone we feget bout dem. We still remember dem. An my way fe show dem remembrance more time, me always do it inna de music. Yu understand? So Dying a jus one a dem song deh whe me express meself den. Jus' like wen me sey (breaks into song) "Mama even if dem kill meÉ" Yu understan'? A jus to de amount a tings wha a appen an people jus' waan draw we dung an waan pull we dung an people jus waan get rid a we more time an dem ting deh. Yu see it. So me jus haffi mek me modda know sey Mommy straight up, right now, if any one a dese tings appen jus no bodda worry, cause yu done know ow' it go. De greates' ting is dat me know me set certain tings fe yu. Yu see it. Which is yu cyaa tell Mama don' cry fe har son wen him gone, but jus' still a tell Mommy sey yow no cry but we know yu ago cry. Yu understan'. So a jus desso it deh. Mmmm.

(We speak bout his growing up a hoping for better, getting his children and how it changed his focus and made him work harder, as well as when younger youths come up in the future. "A so music go. Yu nah go hear bout Mavado every day," he says. He breaks to return a call to his sister)

Mel: Yu feel if you were singing some R&B song an' some cultural song, yu feel yu woulda get de break whey u get?

Mavado: Hear wha mek yu get de break. When yu sing wha people waan hear. Yu see when yu sing wha de people dem waan hear..., dem sey 'yeah', a dis me like y'nuh. A dat gi yu de break. Cause music is a cycle y'nuh. Now me a sing bout gangsta dis an gangsta dat. Yeah? Wha, yu feel like me can sing bout gangsta dis an gangsta dat all de day a my life? Cause de people nah go hear bout gangsta dis an gangsta dat all de day a dem life. It ago reach a time wen dem waan hear back some nice song again an some dis an some dat. Yu understan'? An den me still haffi go deh deh an sing some nice song too. Cause desso it deh. Yu understan'? Mmmm.

Mel: Wen all de music an all de albums mek an all de show dem done an everyting, how yu want to be remembered?

Mavado: (Pause, then chuckles). Me a go memba whe me fe memba man. (Laughter all around).

Mel: Me nah talk ...

Mavado: (Laughs again knowingly) Yeah man.

Mel: How you want people to remember you? Wat you want your place in Jamaican music to be?

Mavado: (After a long pause) Me waan my ting come set as (he pauses again) one a de genius dem y'nuh, whe come done a great work inna dancehall. In spite a all a de gangsta music an everyting, we still come do work whe great same way. An bring de music to even anadda level, cause, we bring it to anadda level same way. Cause we know yu ave de worl' a talk bout it. An wen dem talk bout Mavado, whe dem sey im come from? No Jamaica? Cassava Piece?