Starting off with a prayer to welcome him into a 'better tomorrow', dancehall singjay Mavado shows his growth, his street smarts and spirituality in his sophomore album.
In 2007, Mavado made his debut into the world of music with his Gangsta for Life: The Symphony of David Brooks, a composition of songs showing the singjay's roots and struggles. Now, two years later, in his recently released 17-track album, Mavado moves beyond the gun, sex and violence - discovering that his real strength lies in somewhat inspirational songs.
Biblical theme
Often striking eerie, haunting notes in songs such as Every Situation, Don't Worryand Jailhouse, Mavado makes no attempt at crossing over and watering down his lyrics to suit the world of commercial sales. Instead, he seems to focus more on his spirituality, which is evident in the intro David's Psalm, which features Dudley 'Grincha' Excell and Yanique Moodie in a passage that immediately grabs one's attention.
The biblical theme is continued in the one-minute interlude entitled Welcome To The Armegedeon, where the war/death vibe begins in songs such as Gangsta Don't Play and the popular Real Killer (No Chorus). Other topics aren't left out, with sex-filled songs such as Which Gal and the socially conscious Jailhouse.With explicit lyrics, the album presents a duality of rawness and praise-like songs.
A flawless array
Having worked with a variety of top producers, from Baby G, to TJ Records, Shane Brown, DASECA who brought him to fame and Stephen 'Di Genius' McGregor who produced the majority of the album, Mr Brooks ... A Better Tomorrow is, without a doubt, a flawless array of dancehall sounds. Singing more than deejaying, Mavado showcases his melodious voice well, which adds to the potency of the songs.
One of the few downfalls on an otherwise good effort is that out of 17 tracks, only two can be considered new for the Jamaican audience, a number of whom would have already had most of the songs on their list of favourites. Only to an international audience would some of the tracks be unfamiliar and wouldn't be seen as a collector's item. More original work needed to be saved strictly for the album and not for airplay weeks and months before.
Overall Mr Brooks ... A Better Tomorrow chronicles the journey of one of dancehall's fastest-rising stars, showing a variety of musical faces to a complex persona.
Track Listing:
1) David's Psalm,featuring Dudley 'Grincha' Excell and Yanique Moodie
2) Every Situation
3) On The Rock
4) So Blessed
5) So Special
6) Life Of A G
7) Welcome To The Armegedeon, featuring Dudley 'Grincha' Excell and Yanique Moodie
8) Gangster Don't Play
9) Real Killer (No Chorus)
10) Chiney K
11) Jailhouse
12) Don't Worry
13) Money Changer
14) Money
15) In Di Car Back
16) Which Gal
17) Overcome
