Mad Dog was born Donovan Lawrence in Hanover, on Jamaica’s most western side, but unlike the name he dons, his approach to the business has been anything but mad. It has been orthodox, planned, and carefully executed to bear the fruits of longevity and prosperity in the music business.

The deejay has his roots in Jamaica, but his musical tentacles have already stretched across the Caribbean, bringing within his reach, several markets and various audiences which are quietly warming up to his music and his stage craft. He is a known figure on the recording scene in Barbados, and has performed to favorable reviews on shows across other Caribbean islands.

His early schooling was in Hanover, but he moved between Montego Bay, Jamaica’s second city, and Ocho Rios, arguably Jamaica’s tourism capital. These changes in scenery and environment have allowed the artist to give interesting takes on life, and to find volumes of material for his tracks. He finds lyrics easily for his tunes, feeding his inspiration from keen observation of people, and he prides himself on writing about nothing negative. He deals with life, love, fun, and the positive side of the human reality.

Like many other notable acts from Jamaica, he honed his skills while growing up in church. However, Mad Dog unlike many of his peers, ended up in two different denominations, which saw him going to church on Saturdays and Sundays. He credits the Seventh Day experience with facilitating his ability to perform, though he recalls being very stage shy as a youth. He grew up feeding on several popular tracks at the time, but remembers being especially fond of Stanley and the Turbines. The story-telling and fun nature of this approach to music infected him from early, and it was fuelled by his childhood friend Josiah Bigby, who would hit the streets often, and return to tell him about all the tunes that were popular out there. His friend used to build tunes as well, performing them to his classmates who lapped them up hungrily. Mad Dog saw the attention to be earned by performing and loved it, to the point where he began to build tunes on his own.

His career took off in 1989 with the track “Rock Around The World”, a collaboration with the Swiss based Lucky Winchester. His pride swelled when the track was added to an album and released worldwide. Mad Dog remembers walking with the album to every session he could, just to get it played.

Not wanting to be swallowed up by the waves of complacence, he continued the recordings, but with a notable difference than traditional upcoming acts. He has managed to record, work and promote his talent in other Caribbean countries apart from Jamaica, and most notably Barbados. He has worked and continues to work with various producers in Jamaica, and has extended the work to producers in Barbados as well. The result has been a slew of singles, which have earned him much credit in the dancehalls both in Jamaica and in the eastern Caribbean.

These include over the years Keep On Going (featuring Nick Carter), which ended on a compilation album with Dutty Wine, Hot Wuk, Hot a Road and others.
More recently with Caribbean Records out of Barbados, he has earned more acclaim in the region, with the single Early Morning, a crowd favourite in Jamaica and Barbados. Others singles include In Deh In Deh, Bounce Pon It, Mek Yu Bumper Roll, Fire, Fire and I’m Addicted.

His regional fan base is also growing as evidenced by the shows on which he has performed across the region. These include the famed Reggae Sumfest and Sting in Jamaica (2008), Barbados Wet Fete, the Digicel Beach Show in Barbados (2008); Reggae on the Hill in Barbados, plus other concerts in the Bahamas.

On his approach to the music business, Mad Dog says he doesn’t want to be one dimensional. “You have to check the flavour and find the market where you will get good response,” he notes. “I try to collab with soca to get the soca feeling, and dancehall feeling to cater to the people who love dancehall and love soca. In these markets people look to party; they love good vibes so we connect with them.”

With such a strong work ethic, fans and music industry executives are looking for bigger things from this deejay. He is also looking at maintaining a consistent presence in the business, and to become a regional icon.