Vado (rapper)

Early life

Teyon Winfree was born on March 13, 1985. He was raised in Harlem and grew up on 144th and Lenox. His mother is of Ghanaian, while his father is of African American descent. Winfree first started writing at 16 and was influenced by Ma$e, Cam'ron, and Big L. At age 19, Vado appeared on the public access television show Mad Ciphas. In 2008, he recorded songs with childhood friend Jae Millz. Winfree's first stage name was MOVADO, later shortened to VADO, an acronym which stands for "Violence And Drugs Only."

Career

In March 2009, a mutual friend linked Vado with New York rapper and Dipset leader Cam'ron, who subsequently invited Vado to a recording session they soon-after formed the hip hop duo U.N., which stands for "Us Now". In August of that year, U.N. released their first mixtape Bosses of All Bosses to positive reception. The following year, U.N. released their debut album, Heat in Here Vol. 1 in May through Asylum Records, an imprint of Warner Records. Vado then released his debut solo project, a mixtape titled Slime Flu in October 2010 through Cam'ron's Diplomat Records label, with distribution from independent label E1 Music. That same year, Cam'ron introduced Vado to Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Damon Dash, as Cam'ron and Dash were in talks of U.N. signing to the newly re-launched Roc-A-Fella. Vado signed with Dash's subsidiary record label, BluRoc. The U.N. recording outfit also signed to BluRoc, although they would only release the five-song extended play Blu Tops under the label in February 2012. During this time, many outlets described Vado as a "protégé" or "hype man" of Cam'ron.

In March 2011, Vado signed a solo contract with Interscope Records. However, he released no projects under the label. In the following month of April, U.N. independently released their second album, Gunz n' Butta, which saw a commercial improvement from its predecessor at number 78 on the Billboard 200, also spawning the singles "Speaking in Tungs" and "Hey Muma." In the same month, Vado made a guest appearance on fellow New York rapper Fabolous' mixtape, The S.O.U.L. Tape. In July, Vado made his first mainstream appearance on DJ Khaled's song "Future" alongside Ace Hood, Wale, and Meek Mill, which was included in Khaled's fifth studio album We the Best Forever. In November 2011, he released the sequel to his Slime Flu mixtape. In 2012, Vado announced his departure from Interscope as he felt more comfortable recording music for a regional audience.

On January 22, 2013, Vado released the third installment to his Slime Flu mixtape series. On January 30, 2013, Vado confirmed he signed with DJ Khaled's We the Best Music Group label, an imprint of Republic Records and Cash Money Records. His first major label mixtape, V-Day was released the following month. During the rest of 2013, Vado made guest appearances on the VH1 shows Love & Hip Hop and Black Ink Crew, and was a guest artist on Lil Wayne's Dedication 5 and DJ Khaled's Suffering from Success.

In March 2014, released his debut commercial single, "My Bae" featuring frequent Khaled collaborator Jeremih, produced by the labels in-house producer, Lee on the Beats. In December, he released his follow up commercial single "Look Me In My Eyes" featuring Rick Ross and French Montana and produced by Scott Storch. The single was from his sixth solo mixtape Sinatra, which was released earlier that year in February 2014. Both singles failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100. In 2015, he appeared on Khaled's album I Changed a Lot. After eleven mixtapes with We the Best and a two-year hiatus, he released his mixtape, LongRun: Vol. 2 independently through his own label LongRun in January 2022.

In October 2023, Vado was featured on "Still Believe In Love", a single by American singer Mary J. Blige. On May 1, 2024, Vado confirmed that he signed to Blige's new record label, Beautiful Life Records, in a distribution deal with Larry Jackson's digital distribution imprint, gamma. The singer also confirmed the signage in an interview with radio personality and television show host, Big Tigger.

On April 29, 2025, Vado's close friend, fashion stylist and businesswoman Misa Hylton filed a $5 million lawsuit against Mary J. Blige, for breach of contract and interferences, involving a business deal which regarded him. Hylton claims in the lawsuit that she launched a management company in February 2023 to represent for Vado, who would later sign a contract with Blige's imprint, Beautiful Life Records. Blige later used tactics to coerce the rapper to terminate his management contract with Hylton's company. She furthermore added that Vado completed the recording sessions for a planned album which Blige scrapped, due to him not firing Hylton.

Discography

Collaborative albums

Mixtapes

Singles

As featured artist

Guest appearances

References

References

1. (3 April 2018). "Vado".
2. "ACE Repertory".
3. "Vado Talks "Large in the Streets" and the Diplomats Reunion".
4. "Vado drops new video for drill track "This Thing of Ours"".
5. (11 March 2014). "Vado Drops First Single from Debut Album, "My Bae"".
6. Blanco, Alvin. (October 2009). "Show & Prove: Vado". [[XXL Magazine]].
7. Blanco, Alvin. (October 2009). "Show & Prove: Vado". [[XXL Magazine]].
8. Horowitz, Steven J.. (2011-08-12). "Vado Discusses "Slime Flu 2," "Killa Season 2" & "Boss Of All Bosses 3". HipHop DX.
9. "Cam'ron / Vado / McKenzie Eddy: Blu Tops EP".
10. "Vado's a 'rising star', playing MHOW, releasing LP w/ Cam'ron".
11. "Vado Signs with Interscope Records".
12. (2011-11-25). "Vado - Slime Flu 2 // Free Mixtape @". Datpiff.com.
13. Horowitz, Steven J.. (2013-01-08). "Vado Explains Why He Left Interscope Records". HipHop DX.
14. Iandoli, Kathy. (2013-01-14). "Mixtape Release Dates: Consequence, Big K.R.I.T., B-Real, Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y". HipHop DX.
15. Horowitz, Steven J.. (2013-01-30). "Vado Confirms Signing To DJ Khaled's We The Best Imprint". HipHop DX.
16. "Listen To Vado's New Single "Look Me In My Eyes" Featuring Rick Ross & French Montana". [[Complex (magazine).
17. (14 February 2014). "Vado Says Cam'Ron is Traumatized over Relationship with Juelz Santana - the Source".
18. (October 27, 2023). "Still Believe In Love".
19. Jones, Okla. (October 27, 2023). "Best New Music This Week: Mary J. Blige, Baby Tate, Brent Faiyaz And More".
20. Folk, Antwane. (October 27, 2023). "Mary J. Blige Shares New Song 'Still Believe in Love' Featuring Vado".
21. "Mary J. Blige Talks New Beats, New Boo, And New Boots".
22. "💎Mary J Blige On Signing Vado To Her Label. #bigtigga".
23. "Mary J. Blige Sued For $5 Million By Her Former Stylist Misa Hylton".
24. "Cam'ron - Boss Of All Bosses: Gangsta Grillz Hosted by Dj Drama // Free Mixtape @". Datpiff.com.
25. (2010-10-12). "iTunes - Music - Slime Flu by Vado". [[iTunes]].
26. "Cam'ron - Boss Of All Bosses 2 Hosted by Dj Drama // Free Mixtape @". Datpiff.com.
27. "Cam'ron & Vado - Boss Of All Bosses 2.5 Hosted by Dj Drama // Free Mixtape @". Datpiff.com.
28. "Cam'ron & Vado - Boss Of All Bosses 2.8: Road To 3.0 Hosted by Cam'ron // Free Mixtape @". Datpiff.com.
29. (2011-12-15). "iTunes - Music - Boss of All Bosses 3 by DJ Drama, Cam'ron & Vado". [[iTunes]].
30. (2012-05-11). "Mixtape: Cam'ron & Vado "#UNLostFiles"". Complex.
31. (2013-01-22). "Vado - Slime Flu 3 // Free Mixtape @". Datpiff.com.
32. (2013-02-15). "Vado - V-Day EP // Free Mixtape @". Datpiff.com.
33. "Watch DJ Khaled Promo His New Single, "No New Friends," With a Movie". complex.com.
34. "Vado - Sinatra Hosted by We The Best Music". datpiff.com.
35. "Vado - V-Day Ep II Hosted by We The Best". datpiff.com.
36. "Vado - Slime Flu 5 Hosted by We The Best". datpiff.com.
37. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs : Page 1". Billboard.
38. (2013-01-23). "DJ Kay Slay - Grown Man Hip Hop Part 2 (Sleepin' With The Enemy) // Free Mixtape @". Datpiff.com.
39. (April 13, 2013). "New Mixtape: Funkmaster Flex 'Who You Mad At? Me Or Yourself?'". Vibe.
40. Ryon, Sean. (2013-10-06). "DJ Khaled "Suffering From Success" Release Date, Cover Art, Tracklisting". HipHop DX.
41. "Ace Hood - Starvation 3". LiveMixtapes.
42. Big Homie. (January 24, 2014). "New Mixtape: DJ Kay Slay The Rise Of The City". RapRadar.
43. Rose Lilah. (May 8, 2014). "DJ Kay Slay - The Last Hip-Hop Disciple". HowNewHipHop.
44. (18 June 2015). "New Music: Cassidy Ft. Fred Money, Vado, JR Writer, Red Cafe, Papoose, Maino, Uncle Murda, Fat Trel, Fred The Godson, Chubby Jag, Drag-On, Dave East & Compton Menace "MMM (Remix)"". rapradar.com.