(UPDATE: footage of Kartel x Mavado, thanks to Mavado’s manager Julian via DJ Rampage)

(UPDATE 2: you can watch more clips on Alliance’s Youtube, which doesnt allow embedding, no idea why…hello?)

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Peace as a contagion? That’d be nice, wouldn’t it?

A week after the Young Jeezy x Gucci Mane x DJ Drama on-air truce in Atlanta, another long-running feud has been publicly resolved….My boy DJ Ness hit me early in the morning last night’s (this morning’s) West Kingston Jamboree, when Mavado called up his arch-rival Vybz Kartel for an onstage declaration of unity. According to reports, the truce was facilitated by Carlos “Dudus” Coke (note: he’s not exactly “the president” as I was led to believe, but…um…actually a local heavy, accused of drug trafficking, and more) along with Mavado’s Gully Crew, Kartel’s Gaza crew, and more. Mavado’s manager Julian Jones-Griffith tweeted “Big up d President, a him mek it apn. ( That’s a good look) crowd loved it also 20k stron”. Now this isn’t the first time, “community forces” have brought Mavado and Kartel together for a public show of peace (a la Game and 50’s reluctant hug in 2005) but hopefully it’ll stick this go ’round.

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(photo of Mavado and Vybz Kartel onstage, via Crumbs/LivUpRecords

After the jump, more photos…also Ness breaks down some of the Mavado vs Kartel beef history (which resulted in numerous altercations and diss-songs ranging from “MoFraudo” to “Battyman Kartel.” Yikes!)

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(photo via Crumbs/LivUpRecords)

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(“Gully and Gaza shaking hands in Unity. Big man ting dat.” via Showcase NYC)

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(“The crowd Went crazy with the back and forth performances. They looked genuinely happy . Bless.” via Showcase NYC)

This recent Source.com post gives the background leading up to this morning’s concert, and DJ Ness also sent me his overview of the multi-layered beef. But what’s missing from this account is: the beef is all an offshoot of an older beef, Bounty Killer vs. Beenie Man. Mavado and Kartel were under Bounty Killer. But Kartel was friendly with Beenie and even went to Beenie’s wedding to Bounty Killer’s ex-girlfriend….

Here’s what Ness says:

Mavado & Kartel came up under Bounty Killer & were all in the same camp, the Alliance… Round late 2006 Kartel left the camp.. Eventually Kartel & Mavado started fueding & its been going on for some time…

Around this time, Mavado started blowing up like crazy thanks in part to commercial hits stateside & in Jamaica… Kartel was banging out just as many hits in Jamaica, but they didn’t translate into hits on commercial radio stateside… But I feel this just helped his underdog status… This has been going on for prolly like 2 or 3 yrs I wanna say…? I’m not too sure…

Late last year they had a clash/battle onstage at Sting 2008 & it was nutz cuz they both agreed to go head to head onstage to settle the score as to who was the better artist. It’s still up for debate who actually won… Although I personally think Kartel won but that’s just me… & it was so ill to watch cuz you have to give them both props for putting their image on the line & leaving it up to the people to decide who was the better artist…There was soo much security on stage… They’re trying to outperform one another with lyrics of their own songs… As a music fan, it’s one of the most amazing & intruiging things I’ve ever seen onstage in my life especially since modern day rap artist I don’t think would ever have the ballz to put their name on the line for the public to decide on a stage like that… Mavado comes out in all black with an undertaker like mask & a few minutes later Kartel comes out in an army outfit & the crowd looses it!!! You don’t even have to understand wtf they’re saying… Just watching the crowd react to them cutting each other off & watching all the activity onstage is jus beyond description & make no mistake the crowd was ina fkn frenzy…

Imagine Jay Z & Nas agreeing to a battle at the peak of their beef onstage for the people to decide the clear winner!? That shit was sick… The thing is this… Mavado is more known as a “singer” with hood lyrics… While Kartel is known as a lyricist… So that’s where the comparison gets tricky…But hopefully that gives you a lil snapshot of how this all came about… Granted I’m sure I’m missing a few key pieces here & there… But that’s the jist of it…& why it so iLL that its over for now…