Marvin Sparks

So, I revisited Mavado's debut album, Gangster for Life: The Symphony of David Brooks, this week. Released seven years ago this month (how fast has time gone?), the album is exactly what it says it is - a quintessential biographical gangster album. One of my favourite albums of all time. One of the greatest dancehall albums of all time. In fact, there hasn't been a dancehall album this good ever since.  I'm not sure this is certified and celebrated the way it should be. This is probably due to dancehall not being an album-driven genre, but also because we're a silent culture when it comes to celebrating classic music moments. At the top of the album, the narrator announces "This CD is rated G for Gangster, it' audio contains graphic lyrics manifested and inspired by authentic ghetto experiences. Served with infectious melodies." Really and truly, I can end this post here. That is exactly what this album is. Gangster lifestyle anthems, introspective gangs

Please note: this will go off on tangents. Work with me though. Firstly, I don't give too much of a damn like everybody else about American approval, but for what it's worth, this is a step in an interesting direction. A) Jimmy Fallon is a big American chat show and B) Chronixx has no rights being on there when you evaluate his stature in the grand scheme of things. Now let's get into the hype. Chronixx DELIVERED!!! He performs his most popular song in America (based on the #2 US reggae iTunes chart position), "Here Comes Trouble". When he kicked into Jesse Royal's " Modern Day Judas ", gun finger in the sky. Chucked in a little of Jah 9's " Reverence " too. I'm guessing the success of "Rude" opened the door for something like this to happen, and having a popular song, good social media numbers, touring schedule and credible press talking about you will clock these things into your favour. Plus, people in the rig