Words by Jesse Serwer
If Jamaican dancehall and the New York fashion world are colliding in some unexpected way, you can bet Matt Goias has something to do with it. Perhaps the only person in the world equally knowledgeable about, and connected in, both of those arenas, Matt has orchestrated a partnership between Mavado and the Alliance and lady-friendly downtown fashion label Married to the M.O.B (maybe you’ve seen their KAWS-designed bikinis) to produce a special event–with a performance from Mavado, and Max Glazer on the 1s and 2s–to celebrate Fashion’s Night Out and Fashion Week, at the new Yotel in Hell’s Kitchen. Yup, Gully Gad, downtown scenesters and fashion industry types are all gonna be partying. (Maybe Betsy Johnson will show up and do the dutty wine?) To commemorate the event, they have produced a super limited-edition sticker for attendees. Good luck getting your hands on one of these…
As you may have noticed, Mavado is enjoying a stateside resurgence, after the loss of his U.S. visa kept him away from these shores (and US radio, somewhat) for close to two years. The Gully Gad, who plays his first stage show since regaining his visa in June at Massive B/On Da Reggae Tip‘s annual Hammerstein Ballroom fete tonight, is getting crossover spins with his island pop single “Delilah.” And just yesterday, DJ Khaled announced that he’d signed ‘Vado to his We the Best Recordings. Hours later, Funk Flex was already dropping bombs on “Emergency,” a new Khaled tune featuring Mavado and Miami rapper Ace Hood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DACky0BrjdY