Kavelle Christie, STAR Writer

Mavado - file

Dancehall's 'gangster crooner', David 'Mavado' Brooks joined the luminary ranks of Sean Paul and Shaggy after beating the self-crowned 'King of the Dancehall', Beenie Man, and others in the 'Best Reggae' category at the Mobo (Music Of Black Origin) Awards at the Wembley Arena, United Kingdom, on Wednesday.

Other nominees in the category at this year's MOBO Awards were Busy Signal, who recently released his album Loaded; Etana and Tarrus Riley best known for their soulful reggae hits.

A subdued Julian Jones-Griffith, Mavado's manager and booking agent, told THE WEEKEND STAR that although they were unable to attend the ceremony because of schedule constraints: "It's a positive milestone in his career, which is still very young. He's been a dominant force since he stepped on to the scene in '05 and while we don't really place great emphasis on awards, it is a recognition of the hard work he's put in and the impact he continues to have despite the many obstacles he has overcome."

Some of the 'obstacles' Jones-Griffith alludes to are Mavado's seemingly innumerable clashes with the Jamaican law, which briefly caused the United States authorities to withdraw the deejay's visa to the country.

Anti-gay lyrics

The MOBO award, is however, the infamous artiste's first major overseas award, although throughout the years he has scooped the Irie FM awards for Artiste of the Year and Album of the Year and the Stone Love Award for Artiste of the Year.

In previous years, other reggae winners at the awards included Beenie Man, Sean Paul and Shaggy. Conversely, last year Adidjah 'Vybz Kartel' Palmer and Oneil 'Elephant Man' Bryan's nominations at the awards were withdrawn due to homophobic lyrics. The organisers had demanded the pair apologise for the their anti-gay lyrics in their earlier songs after complaints from gay-rights campaigners in the UK.

Mavado's MOBO award seems to herald a new beginning for him on the international landscape. His sophomore album, Mr Brooks, is slated for release later this year. In addition, he will be joining hip-hop legend, Jay-Z in the studio to finish a single both entertainers have been working on for Jay's final Def Jam album, Blueprint 3.

Also according to Jones-Griffith: "He is also about to launch his own 'Gullywear' clothing line and next Saturday is his official return to NY, at Club Amazura in Queens. We're also finalising plans for his birthday bash in Jamaica, Saturday, November 29. I'm also in negotiations for him to star in an upcoming big budget movie."