Vybz Kartel First Song

[Gene Cryder]

Kartels singles include "Romping Shop" (2009), "Dancehall Hero" (2010), and "Summer Time" (2011). Having collaborated with a number of hip hop and R&B artists such as Major Lazer, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Digga D, Missy Elliot, Unknown T and Alison Hinds.[7] He has also been credited as an inspiration for the dancehall-infused work of a number of Western artists, including Drake, who has cited Kartel as being one of his "biggest inspirations".[6][8]

In 2014, Kartel was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his associate Clive "Lizard" Williams. The conviction was quashed on March 14, 2024 by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, who cited juror misconduct and declared that the Jamaican Court of Appeal had to decide if a retrial would take place, the decision of which will take place starting on June 10.[9][10][11] Kartel often released new music despite his imprisonment, having released over 50 new songs in 2016 alone.[6] His hit song "Fever" was certified gold in June 2020.[12]

Palmer started his career as a teenager in 1993 with his first recording "Love Fat Woman", which he released on Alvin Reid's label "One Heart" using the moniker "Adi Banton", an homage to Buju Banton.[13] Palmer was later part of the three-member group "Vybz kartel", keeping the name for himself after the group split up. While still a member of the group, he claims to have written nearly 30 songs, including "Gal Clown".[14] He eventually became a protege of Bounty Killer.

Kartel rose to prominence in 2003 after having a string of hit songs in Jamaica. The year culminated in a pre-planned on-stage clash with Ninjaman at the annual dancehall festival Sting, held in Kartel's hometown of Portmore. The clash turned violent when Kartel's crewmembers, as well as Kartel himself, threw punches and assaulted Ninjaman onstage.[15] While Kartel's manager initially blamed Ninjaman,[15] Kartel himself quickly apologised to Ninjaman and festival organizers for the fracas.[16] Four days after the incident, the two artists appeared before the press to announce a settlement of their differences and to end any animosity.[17]

From the beginning through the midst of his ongoing career, Kartel released a number of albums through the UK-based label Greensleeves Records, such as Up 2 Di Time, More Up 2 Di Time, and J.M.T.. He established his own label, Adidjahiem/Notnice Records, with his business partner and producer Ainsley "Notnice" Morris.[18] After splitting with Bounty Killer-led Alliance in 2006, Kartel joined the Portmore Empire, a group of dancehall DJs and singers from his Portmore neighbourhood that he signed to his newly founded Adidjahiem/Notnice Records. The members included Popcaan,[19] Tommy Lee and Jah Vinci.

In 2008, Corey Todd, an American businessman, signed Vybz Kartel to an endorsement deal for Vybz Rum. The relationship between Todd and Kartel developed into a business partnership. Together they launched Daggerin Condom and Street Vybz Rum. Todd then purchased Jamaica's most popular dancehall nightclub, Asylum, which became the home to their weekly event called Street Vybz Thursday.[20][21]Street Vybz Rum production was stopped in 2011 because of a disagreement between Kartel and Todd. However, the collaboration resumed in 2012 as the two settled their differences, and despite Kartel's ongoing incarceration.[22]

A public feud between Kartel and former collaborator Mavado arose towards the end of 2006, stemming from Vybz's much-publicised departure from the dancehall conglomerate group The Alliance. The feud resulted in numerous diss tracks released, in which each artist dissed the other and their associates over popular dancehall rhythms.[25] In a police-overseen press conference in March 2007, both Mavado and Vybz Kartel publicly announced an end to hostilities and apologized to fans.[26] However, by the summer of 2008, tensions flared with a renewal of "diss tracks" from each artist, and a lyrical clash between the two at Sting 2008 left mixed views as to the "winner".[27][28]

Most of 2009 saw a continuation of the public feud, which dominated Jamaican media and, to a certain extent, Jamaican culture, with the two artists' factions, Gaza (Kartel) and Gully (Mavado), being adopted by Jamaican youth, in some cases leading to street violence.[29][30] On 8 December 2009, Kartel and Mavado met with Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding in an attempt to end the feud, which had by that time fueled mob attacks in some of the inner-city neighbourhoods of Kingston.[31] The two had performed together on-stage the previous night in a sign of goodwill at the West Kingston Jamboree, a concert promoted by drug lord[32] Christopher "Dudus" Coke.[25] After the truce in December 2009, the two artists were scheduled to perform a unity concert in March 2010 in Barbados, which was later cancelled by Barbadian Prime Minister David Thompson.[33]

In 2009 his song featuring Jamaican deejay Spice, "Romping Shop", debuted on the Billboard Top 100 Singles chart,[34] and "Dollar Sign" was in regular rotation on urban radio stations in the US.[35]His 2010 single "Clarks" was one of his biggest international successes, remaining in the top three reggae singles and gaining the most radio plays in North America for 40 weeks.[36] "Clarks" was also featured on the TV series So You Think You Can Dance Canada,[37] and on a CNN segment on dancehall dance.[38] When his singles "Clarks", "Clarks 2 (Clarks Again)" and "Clarks 3 (Wear Weh Yuh Have)" in 2010, its sales numbers and prices in Jamaica increased considerably.[39] In 2011, he released his own shoe line, named Addi's, as well as his own line of "cake soap", a type of soap primarily used for clothes. Cake soap is less commonly utilised for skincare, to treat skin conditions such as acne. However, Kartel's brand was intended for the purpose of skin lightening or bleaching.[40][41][42]

MTV's Vice Guide to Dancehall featured Kartel at his weekly dance party, Street Vybz Thursday.[43] Vybz Kartel has also hosted his own reality television show "Teacha's Pet" on CVM Jamaica broadcast channel, the first reality television show hosted by a dancehall artist in Jamaica. The premise of "Teacha's Pet" found 20 women living in a Kingston house vying for the artist's affection; the show's lascivious content elicited condemnation of its sponsor, telecommunications company LIME. The show came to a halt with the artist's arrest on murder charges in September 2011.[44]

On 29 September 2011, Kartel was arrested by police for cannabis possession. Jamaica's Major Investigation Taskforce (MIT) later charged him with the murder of Jamaican businessman Barrington Burton, conspiracy and illegal possession of a firearm.[45] While in prison in 2012, his book The Voice Of The Jamaican Ghetto: Incarcerated but not Silenced, co-written with business associate Michael Dawson, was published.[46]

Though Kartel was granted bail for the Burton murder on 23 March 2012, for JMD$3,000,000, he remained in prison in connection with a second murder, of Clive 'Lizard' Williams, of Waterford, St Catherine.[47] He was charged, along with two others including Vanessa "Gaza Slim" Saddler, with perverting the course of justice, after Saddler allegedly claimed that Williams had robbed her in order to mislead the police into believing that he was still alive.[48] Kartel's trial was originally scheduled for 21 January 2013, but had to be postponed due to a lack of jurors, and was rescheduled for 11 July.[49]

Since his incarceration in 2011, Vybz Kartel has been releasing new music prolifically. Jamaican prison officials have denied allowing him recording privileges, and Kartel has refused to state the exact source of the recordings, whereas the lyrical content includes current events.[57]

In 2016, while in prison, Kartel released his most internationally successful album, King of the Dancehall, which peaked at number 2 on the US Billboard Reggae Charts. The album included the single "Fever" which topped various local music charts and became his most successful on streaming websites.[6]

In January 2020, Kartel released a 10-track album, To Tanesha, which was dedicated to his ex-girlfriend and mother of his three children, Tanesha Johnson. They co-produced the album with their respective record labels: Short Boss Muzik and Vybz Kartel Muzik.[60] On 26 June 2020, Kartel released his fifteenth studio album, Of Dons & Divas.[61] He also appeared on Busta Rhymes' 2020 album Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God.

Exactly six years later on 3 April 2020, a three-member panel of judges in the Jamaican Court of Appeal reaffirmed Kartel's conviction.[62] On 17 April 2020, the Court of Appeal reduced Kartel's parole eligibility to 32 years and 6 months, citing Justice Campbell's failure to consider time the singer had spent in jail while awaiting trial in 2014. Kartel would now be eligible for parole in 2046.[63]

On March 14, 2024, Kartel's conviction was quashed by the UK Privy Council due to juror misconduct, requiring the Jamaican Court of Appeal to decide if a retrial will take place.[9][10] The court of appeal opened its hearing on June 10, with the end date set for June 14.[64] The court adjourned on June 14 without reaching a verdict, setting another hearing for June 18.[65] On June 18 the court reserved judgement once again, promising to make a ruling by the end of July. The court also declared that the case was a top priority in light of concerns about Kartel's health.[66]

A controversial figure and a superstar in his homeland of Jamaica, Vybz Kartel was hailed as one of the leading new artists to emerge from the dancehall scene following the release of his 2003 debut album, Up 2 Di Time. Born and raised in the Waterford district of Jamaica, Kartel was only 12 when he released his first single, "Fat Women," under the name Adi Banton. In 1996, he formed Vibes Cartel with his friends Mr. Lee and Escobar, but the group quickly dissolved. Vybz would keep the group's name in altered form and became a solo artist; he soon became the protg of popular dancehall singer Bounty Killer. Kartel began writing for artists on Bounty's Alliance management roster, including the Killer himself, along with the Scare Dem Crew featuring Elephant Man.

Vybz broke out on his own in 2002 with a string of solo hits including "Guns Like Mine," "Badman," and "Most High," along with some collaborative hits with reggae singer Wayne Marshall. Being crowned 2002 deejay of the year at the Stone Love Sound System's 30th anniversary party meant the singer had officially arrived amongst the Jamaican dancehall community, but a year later he would break on a worldwide level, releasing his debut Up 2 Di Time to wide acclaim while making headlines thanks to an on-stage clash with Ninjaman during the Sting festival in Kartel's hometown of Portmore. The planned clash was highly anticipated, but when members of Kartel's crew assaulted Ninjaman on-stage, chaos took over with numerous arrests and the future of Sting coming into question, forcing Kartel to make a public apology while announcing a truce with Ninjaman during a press conference held four days after Sting. If all the gun talk and curse words in the man's songs hadn't already labeled him a possibly "dangerous" artist, the Ninjaman incident surely did.

More Up 2 Di TimeMore Up 2 Di Time would land in 2004, the same year that Vybz was nominated for a MOBO award in the U.K., although that was quickly withdrawn along with those of Beenie Man and Sizzla over concerns with lyrics representing homophobia. The J.M.T. album dropped in 2005, but that year would see as many headlines as hits as Kartel and Bounty fell out, trading insults in the Jamaican press as accusations of stolen girlfriends, baby fathers, and bogus songwriting credits flew. Kartel would be out of the Killer-led Alliance a year later, immediately joining forces with one of Bounty's biggest enemies, Beenie Man. He then released a series of diss tracks aimed at Bounty Killer's new protg, Mavado, and it only took a moment before the Jamaican media were entranced.

Guns Don't Kill People...Lazers Do The next few years would be filled with diss tracks and gossip as young dancehall fans chose sides, declaring themselves Gaza if their allegiance was with Kartel, and Gully if they sided with Mavado. A truce was announced in late 2007, but things escalated during 2008, and in 2009 Vybz released his "Live We Living" single as a call for peace. He also stepped outside his usual genre that year, and partnered with electro producer Diplo for a track on the Major Lazer album Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do. Back home, fans had become so divided into Gaza and Gully camps that gang violence had come into play, prompting Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding to call both artists to the capital for a peace meeting. A peace concert featuring the two artists and promoted by Christopher Coke -- aka "Dudus," the drug lord whose capture later in 2010 would make headlines worldwide thanks to a three-day police standoff -- was planned for early that next year, but was canceled by the country's Minister of Culture.

Pon di Gaza 2.0 That year's "Clarks" single became a huge hit for Kartel, spawning two more follow-up singles about the shoe brand that would also climb the charts, while the 2010 album Pon Di Gaza 2.0 produced the hits "Ramping Shop" and "Life Sweet." In 2011 Vybz would release the Kingston Story album with Brooklyn house music producer Dre Skull handling the beats. Kartel was arrested in September of that year and charged with the murder of Barrington "Bosie" Burton, a music promoter based in the St. Catherine suburb of Portmore. In America, the Vice label issued a deluxe version of Kingston Story in 2012, and even though Vybz made bail on the Burton murder charge, he remained jailed based on new charges in connection with the murder of alleged gang member Clive "Lizard" Williams. In early 2014 he was sentenced to life imprisonment, yet new music, including the 2016 album King of the Dancehall, continued to hit the streets. [Biography by David Jeffries]

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