Mavado, Jahshii Team Up For Reflective New Song ‘Tears’: Watch

Mavado and Jahshii have teamed up for a sentimental and reflective tune titled Tears, a song rooted in love, loss, and regret, which premiered yesterday.

Damage Musiq Group and Mansion Records jointly produced the ballad, which highlights both artists at their vocal best. They tap into the depths of their vulnerability, and manage to deliver convincing anecdotes of their experiences that feel less like carefully crafted lyrics, and more like an outpouring of regret to people who can no longer hear them. 

The song does more than tug at strings most Dancehall artists refuse to strum. It also serves as a haunting rejection of the genre’s extreme ideals of emotionless masculinity. That sentiment can quite literally be found in the song’s title, Tears, which is often the first sign of weakness in a man, and even more so in one who is a Dancehall artist. 

Perhaps just as impressive as the vulnerability shown in the song is the fact that Mavado carries a great deal of it. The seasoned Dancehall icon had always shown a capability to be emotionally expressive, but had turned from that path to a more hardcore, clash-worthy one that laid the foundation for his current status as a Dancehall great. Tears, then, is a refreshing reintroduction to that side of the ‘Gully Gad’, and a reminder that this type of music still holds sway, even amongst some hardcore catalogues.

For Jahshii, who has been the new school champion of reflective and introspective music, Tears only serves to further validate his talent as an extremely versatile artist who is swimming against the tide of music unlike this latest creation.

The music video, directed by Now or Never and SWL Entertainment, also keeps pace with the themes explored in the track. At intervals throughout the video, pictures of individuals valuable to both men, most notably a picture of Jahshii and his late friend and producer, Mabreco ‘Tadmar’ Watson, could be observed.

Mavado and Jahshii take moments throughout the video to show camaraderie through their respective reflections, and the display of that plays well to make the song, and the video, a coherent piece where visuals and lyrics tell a moving story.

Press play on the video above.