Latest Release
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- 12 AUG 2024
- 1 Song
- King of the Dancehall · 2016
- Stronger We Get · 2010
- Adidjaheim Records Presents Introducing Vanessa Bling As Gaza Slim (feat. Vybz Kartel) · 2011
- Summer Time - Single · 2011
- Street Vybz Riddim - EP · 2022
- Romping Shop (feat. Spice) - Single · 2010
- Kingston Story (Deluxe Edition) · 2011
- Beg You (Remastered) - Single · 2023
- Kingston Story · 2011
- Dancehall Hero Raw: Deluxe · 2010
Essential Albums
- Portmore’s finest dancehall chanter, Vybz Kartel, has produced some of the most authentically vibrant, sometimes dangerous-sounding music to emerge from the mainstream of Jamaican dancehall in some time. Kingston Story represents something of a stylistic departure for Kartel. Where his previous full-lengths have been compiled from an eclectic hodge-podge of dancehall-proven singles, Kingston Story is a concerted collaboration with a single producer, Dre Skull, who’s famous for dabbling in everything from indie-electro to hip-hop to hardcore dancehall. Consequently, Kingston Story boasts a more consistent sound than any of Kartel’s previous albums, but it’s also miles removed from the gritty, lo-fi riddims over which Kartel made his name. Yet he certainly sounds good paired with Dre Skull’s glossy, electro-flecked dancehall. Singles like “Yuh Love” and “Go Go Wine” have all of the openhearted crossover appeal of Kartel’s earlier concessions to the pop market, like 2011’s breezy anthem “Summertime.”
- 2023
- 2023
- 2023
- 2023
Artist Playlists
- This dancehall king sings about euphoric love with Auto-Tuned glee.
- 2017
More To Hear
- The Chicago artist FaceTimes to talk Signed to the Streets 3.
- Vybz Kartel remix of "Run Up" and live mix from Burning Man.
- Oliver broadcasts from OVO Fest. The Weeknd checks in.
- Oliver broadcasts from OVO Fest. The Weeknd checks in.
About Vybz Kartel
As wickedly talented as he is controversial, Vybz Kartel has worked hard to ensure that Jamaican music remained the lifeblood of so much hip-hop and R&B. The fact that he’s continued to do it from behind prison bars is one of the many twists in a tumultuous saga that began in 1976, when the dancehall star was born Adidja Azim Palmer in Jamaica. After taking his more famous handle from the name of his early group, Vybz Cartel, and writing for Bounty Killer, Kartel scored many hits of his own through the 2000s. He developed a reputation both for formidably fierce lyrical battles with rivals like Mavado and songs about sex and romance like “Romping Shop”, a steamy 2010 duet with Spice. With his Auto-Tune-enhanced vocals and genius for hooks, Kartel put his own stamp on the hottest of riddims. But as Kartel’s appearances on tracks such as Rihanna’s “What’s My Name” and Major Lazer’s “Pon de Floor” boosted his international profile, his troubles at home in Jamaica intensified, leading to his life imprisonment for a 2014 murder conviction. Rather than end his story, Kartel’s incarceration has done little to impede his productivity or his skills, judging by his masterful 2016 album King of the Dancehall, his thrilling collaborations with Busta Rhymes and his countless fresh disses for his musical rivals.
- HOMETOWN
- Portmore, Jamaica
- BORN
- 7 January 1976
- GENRE
- Modern Dancehall