Vybz Kartel the businessman focus on his challenges.

Dancehall Deejay Adidja Palmer known to the world by his stage name, Vybz Kartel, he’s always upping his game. He is currently serving a life sentence for a murder conviction in Jamaica. The conviction date of his trial was on April 3, 2014. Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams is the victim and Kartel and two of his co-conspirator were convicted of killing.Vybz Kartel Music continues to dominate the dancehall, as his defense team plan their next strategy.

It seems as if nothing has change for Kartel in terms of his music. Sure he’s in jail but that don’t seem to stop him. Since his incarceration in 2014, his music continues to soar in the dancehall. Vybz Kartel was crowned the new “King of Dancehall” by Fox 5 TV New York on their morning program. This was not a total surprise given all the attention Kartel’s music was getting.

The Undisputed King

However, Reggae Artist Beenie Man is considered the “King of Dancehall”. Now, Vybz Kartel fans are saying, “Give it up, what have you done lately.” For Beenie Man, to crown Kartel the king was bad. Then they went a step further to call Beenie Man “The Undisputed King” which was pure madness to him.

Yet for Vybz Kartel it’s almost as if nothing has change in the dancehall since he was imprisoned. Comes April 2024, Vybze Kartel will be in prison for 10 years. Even though he was sentenced to 35 years and not eligible for parole until 2049, his popularity has not diminished.

Vybz Kartel Music continues to dominate the dancehall even though he’s sitting in jail. With his strong fan base who identify the messages in your music, Katel remains relivent. The demand for Kartel’s Music and his popularity does not come without his share of doubters and skeptics. Mainly because his lyrical messages are filled with raw and vulgar sexual expressions which are often criticized by many Jamaicans. Kartel came out of the gangster style camp of Bounty Killer and and build a successful career on his own. He started gaining strong notoriety since early 2000.

Early Career

Vybz Kartel did some ghost-writing for other reggae artist after some early career disappointments. Dancehall Deejays who were already in the music business recognized his writing style and unique lyrical twist. They were happy to hire him as a writer. By 2005, he and Boulty Killer went their separate ways. Kartel took the ride alone on his own musical journey. The deejay formed his own record label and was now in charge of his dancehall success or failure. He was now Vybz Kartel, songwriter, dancehall reggae artist and businessman.

Rise to the Top

True success started for Vybz Kartel in 2003 after having a number of hit songs in Jamaica. Some of his early hits includes songs such as “Gun Clown”, “Badman”, “War Organizer” and “Most High”. His rise to the top includes battling other top Jamaican Deejays on stage to gain more notoriety. Battling on stage in front of big audiences has been a tradition in Jamaica’s dancehall culture for decades. The price for loosing a stage battle can be steep on your career and street credibility.

Vybz Kartel chose to battle, one of Jamaica’s roughest dancehall deejays. This DJ goes by the name of Ninjaman AKA “The Dan Gagan, Gold teeth, Gun pan teeth”, a true lyricist. To be truthful, Ninjaman happens to be one of my favorite deejays out of Jamaica. The stage battle got crazy as many of these battle does but at the end, Kartel had arrived. Today, Vybz Kartel Music is a big deal on the music scene. Hip Hop Morgul Drake was photograph  wearing a “Free Worl Boss” tee shirt referring to Kartel.

Collaborations

Naturally, once he started taking over the dancehall, as they say in Jamaica, “Better Mus come” and that it did. Reggae’s iconic sound system “Stone Love” crowned Kartel DJ of the Year in 2022. This tribute was given at their 30th Anniversary showcase. He later got nominated for Reggae Awards. During this time many music artist around the world was reaching out to Vibz Kartel for collaborations. His light was burning bright on the music scene and his talent was in demand for his musical mind.

Collaboration, Dancehall Meets Hip Hop

Vybz Kartel has collaborated with some of the biggest Hip Hop & R&B artists on the planet. He has colorable with Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams, Missy Elliott, Rhinna (Barbados), Busta Rhymes, Eminem, Lil Wayne, and more. During this period in 2012, he co-authored a book with Michael Dawson titled “The Voice Of The Jamaican Ghetto“. The book highlighted a powerful point “Babylon can incarcerate the messenger but not the message” in dealing with social justic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGLwiDPFuaQ

However, several Jamaicans thought the message was delivered by the wrong messenger and therefore could not be taken seriously. However, Youths and the sufferers from the Ghetto feel differently. They living in a “Tribal War and Babylon System”, so the message is loud and clear. The Youths message to the “Worl Boss” is “nuh seh nutin (Don’t say anything, we get it).” Well, Princeton University got it too, the book was endorsed by the prestigious Princeton University and adopted in their libraries.

Endorsements

The endorsement by Princeton University have led to international media coverage and international interest from many countries around the world. However, the book was not welcome with open arms in Jamaica. While some major book stores on the island carried the book, many bookstores mainly uptown Kingston refused it. These stores in uptown Kingston refused to promote this controversial artist. Selling his book could be seen as approval of his negative influence on Jamaican society. Which would tarnish their reputation as well as the country’s.

While Michael Dawson and Vybz Kartel were receiving invitations from several international universities to lecture, Jamaica took a pass. A prominent voice on the topic is Professor Carolyn Cooper. She teaches Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus in Kingston Jamaica. Professor Cooper says, “He has become an example of an attempt to rid itself of a negative element.” Professor Cooper went on to say, “As strange as it may sound, I hope you do not enjoy this book and it disturbs you. I hope after reading you realized there is something wrong with Jamaica that needs to be fixed. I hope you will never look at a ghetto person the same again.”

Professor Carolyn Cooper

Professor Cooper hosted Vybz Kartel on the Kingston Campus in 2011.
The goal was to better understand of the dancehall culture and what the ghetto youths were thinking. From that exchange, Professor Cooper received plenty of negative press. Many Jamaicans viewed the session as giving a platform to Kartel who they see as the problem. However, Professor Cooper knows there are real problems in ghettos and it not going away. The professor decided the best way to solve any problem is to face it and have a discussion.

Public Judge and Jurors

With rising fame and fortune, comes public judge, jurors and persecution. Reggae Star Vybz Kartel and other celebrity knows that public scrutiny comes with the territory of being rich and famous. Vybz Kartel states, “He is already working on a follow-up to his book”, “The Voice Of The Jamaican Ghetto.”

The saga continues with Vybz Kartel and his controversial lyrical who did not help his case. Many saw his dancehall deejay style as cocky and outrageous. Now that he has been convicted of murder, Mr. Palmer may have confirmed the people’s fear. He has always taken on his critics with his self promotion as “World Boss“, which irritates some people. 

Persons were overheard after his conviction saying, “Yuh Retch yuh, mek mi si yu get weh dis time. (You are smart, let me see you get away this time). The sentiment of uptown Kingston was “You si weh wi a seh, the Bwoy was up to nuh good”. (You see what we were saying, the boy was up to no good).” Vybz Kartel who is from Portmore, St. Catherine, there are lots of well-wishers and supporters rooting for him. These supporters from Portmore aka Gaza are rooting for the Worl Boss.

Awards

Vybz Kartel Music have taken him on a great ride. He has been nominated for several music awards including VIBE, Source, and UK MOBO Awards. His collaboration with Reggae Artist Wayne Marshall and the video for “New Millennium/Why” aired on international TV including MTV.

As Kartel became more successful, the rifts between him and other reggae artist including Mavado grew wider. The separation got to the point where the youths from various schools took sides with Mavado or Vybz Kartel. The youths supporting Mavado considered their school “Gully” while the youths supporting Vybz Kartel saw their school as “Gaza”.

Rivalry between Kartel and Mavado

The disagreement between him and Mavado have carried over into other Caribbean islands which led to some violence. Artists with a strong fan base, have experienced this kind of disagreement in the past. This rif can trickle down to their fan base. Their disagreement was similar to the “East Coast -vs- West Coast”. The rivalry between the late Biggie Smalls and the late Tupac Shakur. Vybz Kartel and Mavado’s influence on certain youths around world has been significant. In 2009 the Jamaican Government called a meeting between Kartel and Mavado and asked them to stop the war.

Since the meeting with the government, both artists have made strides to move away from the war lyrics. Vybz Kartel lyrics started focusing on the ladies while Mavado lyrics are more focus on uplifting people. Even though both artist go astray from time to time, they  listen to reasons for the betterment of the youths.

Business

The business side of the music for Kartel has been good. With the hot music tracks and lyrics, you have to understand the business side. That business side requires knowledge of the music business. It requires great timing market and a strong base camp that can push the music while building the brand. There is no question that success in the music business comes with having a strong sense of the business. The payoff is even greater when you have an artist that connects with their fan base.

Vybz Kartel formed his own label Adidjahiem/Notnice Records along with his partner and producer Ainsley “Notnice” Morris. Then in 2008, he and another business partner came up with their own liquor called  “Street Vybz Rum”. He has a shoe line name “Addi” as well as a soap line “Cake Soap”. Vybz Kartel hosted his own reality show  “Teachea’s Pet”, with major sponsor(s). He started “Daggering Condoms” his own condom line and in 2010 he announced his partnership in “Media Vybz” website.

Vybz Kartel’s business will need good management now that he’s in prison. While complications are a natural part of business, it’s always good to have someone who is familiar with the business. One can imagine that Kartel should have some ease knowing that his lady Tanesha ‘Shorty’ Johnson is in charge. Ms Johnson who operates the label “Short Boss Muzik” along with his producers. Together they ensure Vybz Kartel Music gets out to his fan base. As a result, that keeps Vybz Kartek in the spotlight for as long as there is a demand.

The Next Chapter Unfolds

As the next chapter unfolds in the life of Vybz Kartel, no one can predict the future. Kartel asked for calm as the word got to him that members of the media were getting death threats. Vybz Kartel issued a statement saying, “I hold no ill-well to anyone who was involved in my trial”. He urged his supporters to stay calm and respect the judicial system and the media.