Mavado’s ‘Special’ brand of dancehall justice
Mavado’s ‘Special’ brand of dancehall justice
Bailed-out bankers should be thankful that the Jamaican dancehall singer Mavado doesn’t run U.S. economic policy. On his latest single, “So Special,” one of the rare dancehall records to spend time on recent Billboard Hot 100 R&B/Hip-Hop charts, he paints himself as an avenging angel of the poor and dispossessed. “Fire it ’til wet pon dat / you betta help poor people” he wails over a minimalist stutter-step beat. “Every dirty work, Jah shall show dem a sign,” perhaps one where the “special” is of the .45 variety he mentions in the song.