The video for Mavado’s “Empty Barrel” crossed one million YouTube views not long after dropping on July 26, and that milestone is doing more than just boosting stream counts. It’s the first release from a relaunched Armzhouse Records, a Spanish Town label that’s been around since 2009 and is now back with serious momentum behind it.
The man steering the ship is producer Everton “Rado” Minott, who returned to Jamaica a few months ago and made rebuilding Armzhouse his first real move.
Choosing Mavado as the label’s comeback artist wasn’t a soft reintroduction, it was a statement, and the numbers on social media suggest it landed the way Rado intended.
What makes this more than a one-song story is the scale of what Armzhouse is apparently gearing up to release. Rado told the Jamaica Observer that new music is coming from Jah Vinchi, Skippa, RajahWild, Nhance, Dovey Magnum, and two newer names, Pelar Excellent and Ice Byrg. “We are gearing up to drop some new musical bombs to entertain the fans, so just keep your ears to the ground,” he said.
The label’s roots in Spanish Town run deep, and Rado has been deliberate about keeping that connection alive.
The plan to work with emerging acts from the area is partly about building a roster, but Rado has framed it as something bigger, giving inner-city youth a real shot at turning musical talent into a career.
Armzhouse has a history that backs up that ambition. When Rado launched the label in 2009, he went straight to the top of the dancehall food chain. My first project was the RR rhythm featuring Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, Mr Vegas, Anthony B, Macka Diamond, and many others,” he recalled. Bounty Killer was the first to record for the label, cutting a track called “Badman in the Building.
That kind of debut would set a high bar for any label, and Rado clearly hasn’t forgotten what it took to get there. “We started with just a passion for dancehall, navigated the constant shifts in the music industry, and stayed focused on supporting authentic talent,” he said. He described the journey as intense but rewarding, adding that “the hurdles only sharpened our direction.”
The question now is how the newer names on the roster will hold up alongside a veteran like Mavado. Dovey Magnum already has a profile, but acts like Pelar Excellent and Ice Byrg are still unknown quantities to most listeners outside of Spanish Town.
Rado’s track record suggests he knows how to develop talent, but the pressure to follow up a million-view video is real.
Mavado’s “Empty Barrel” is still climbing, and the label’s next wave of releases is reportedly close. The full picture of what Armzhouse Records 2.0 actually looks like is still coming into focus.
