Oswald Priest, known as Mad Lion, is a dancehall musician and rapper. He frequently collaborates with fellow hip hop artist KRS-One — most recently on a DVD promoting the Temple of Hiphop. Weaving a seamless blend of reggae and hip hop, Lion created one of the most influential sounds of the past two decades.[citation needed] The recipient of the 1994 Source award as Reggae Artist of the Year, he has inspired similar-sounding recordings by such artists as Ini Kamoze, Capleton, and Rayvon.

A native of London, Mad Lion was raised in Jamaica. Shortly after moving to the Bronx, New York, he met reggae performer Super Cat at Super Power Records. At Super Cat's suggestion, he adopted his professional name, an acronym for Musical Assassin Delivering Lyrical Intelligence Over Nations. Mad Lion's earliest success came in the mid-1980s when he applied his hip hop rhythms to Shabba Ranks' hit single "Jam". He later appeared, along with Queen Latifah, on Salt-N-Pepa's 1997 album Brand New.