Mavado has been relatively quiet in recent times, however, the artiste is still breaking barriers for dancehall/reggae music on the international stage.
Mavado recently collaborated with three musical giants from the hip-hop community for his upcoming single, Rise Up.
The song is produced by Jerry Wonder of The Fugees and features platinum selling artiste Akon and Rick Ross, who is arguably the most sought after contemporary rapper in the United States currently.
The song is a social commentary and sees the trio tackling issues of world concern, and in the process, makes an effort to empower its citizens.
According to Mavado’s manager, Julian Jones-Griffith, the song is already showing progress and the message is fitting with the time.
“It’s been creating a buzz since it was recorded a few months ago. Now is the time for the world to Rise Up. In times like these, where people of all nations and creeds are rising up and fighting for truths and rights, Rise Up is a battle cry,” he said.
The song will be released this week to all radio stations and social media outlets worldwide.
Mavado is currently signed to international record label We The Best/Young Money Records and has already done collaborations with Wycliffe Jean, Akon, Ace Hood, Ludacris, T-Pain among others. However, his latest collaboration marks the first time the artiste has teamed up with rapper Rick Ross.
“They wanna see me fall, that’s why I go so hard,” was Mavado’s response in retaliation to losing his endorsement deal with Reebok.
“Ross heard the song and loved it and jumped on it same time. You know him always a go through some drama, so the song mean something to him too. Ross is a part of the family so we have some other projects we working on also,” Mavado added.
According to the seemingly more mature artiste, the song is a gift of ‘upliftment’ to the world.
“We been talking about this record for so long it seems. It was picked up for a movie but the movie release date was pushed back and we decided we couldn’t wait any longer. We felt the world needed to hear the record, so we giving it as a gift to the streets,” Mavado said.
Mavado is also featured on the remix of Freaks, alongside Nicki Minaj, Wale and Rick Ross. He says the song is quite popular in the US.
“The Freaks remix has already set radio on fire in the US It seems as if everyone loves it more than the original so it’s just more exposure for me, for Jamaica and for dancehall,” Mavado said.
To keep up with the progress of Rise Up, Mavado fans can connect via Twitter @Mavado_Gully @AllianceJamaica as well as his website TheGullyside.com and Soundcloud.com/Mavado_Gully.