Teyon Isiah Winfree[2] (born March 13, 1975), better known by his stage name Vado (backronym for Violence And Drugs Only),[3] is an American rapper.
As a solo act, Vado signed with DJ Khaled's We the Best Music Group, an imprint of Cash Money and Republic Records in 2013 to release his debut commercial single, "My Bae" (featuring Jeremih) the following year.
Despite failing to chart, Vado guest appeared on Khaled's studio albums We the Best Forever (2011), Suffering from Success (2013), and I Changed a Lot (2015); he continued releasing mixtapes for We the Best until parting ways with the label in 2020.
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.
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.
[11] 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 December, he released his follow up commercial single "Look Me In My Eyes" featuring Rick Ross and French Montana and produced by Scott Storch.
[21] The singer also confirmed the signage in an interview with radio personality and television show host, Big Tigger.