"Known to the world as Mavado, the singer behind behind the eerie wails of "Anywayyy!" and "Gangsta fi life!" which have recently dominated the airwaves was born David Constantine Brooks in the gully called "Cuba"-a micro-ghetto within Kingston's "Cassava Piece" community, famous to reggae fans from the haunting Augustus Pablo melody of the same name. In an era when dancehall MCs replaced the ranking dreads of Pablo's day, the two main influences on the direction of Brooks' young life were his grandmother and the music of Bounty Killer. "To tell the truth" he explains, "it was me gran'mother that first really bring me inna studio, 'cause she bring me inna church to sing. She always tell me to sing for her and that really give Mavado the courage to get fe love music an' t'ing." But if the sweet sounds of gospel provided the motivation, it was the gruff voice of Bounty Killer that proved to be the more powerful influence. "As a youth, Sanchez an Wayne Wonder are really my two singer dem, Sanchez have the voice of the angel. But me an' my friend always say 'Yo, Killer are the wickedest!' So long as it's Killer, it's just my song, trust me!"" Vp-records