Dancehall artist Adidja “Vybz Kartel” Palmer was in a positive frame of mind when he introduced his STR8 VYBZ (straight vibes) rum brand, produced and sold by Angostura Ltd., on December 6, four months after being freed from jail in Jamaica.
Palmer has impacted dancehall culture and other artists worldwide, making him a contentious figure.
- Advertisement -
In 2014, he was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of an associate, Clive “Lizard” Williams. He often dropped new songs while incarcerated, and his fans enthusiastically embraced each one. Citing juror misconduct, the Privy Council overturned his conviction in March 2024 and ordered the Jamaican Court of Appeal to determine if a retrial will be held. The Jamaican Court of Appeal refused to retry the case, and Palmer was freed from jail on July 31, 2024.
Speaking at the event held at the Albion Energy Plaza’s Angostura Solera Wines & Spirits shop in Port of Spain, Palmer described T&T as his home away from home.
“It wasn’t a hard decision when (Jamaican dancehall artiste) Teejay said, ‘Teacher, me have some man over Trinidad who want to do a project and mih tink is a good idea.’ And I said, ‘Trinidad? Yeah, man, let’s do it.’ And the rest is history,” he stated.
“When we were working on the rum, people from all over the world were involved. So at any given time, someone was up, so that’s why we nicknamed the rum ‘the Rum That Never Sleeps, ‘ because at every given time, someone was working on the rum., from the label to the design, the distilling of it, the taste, everything, the marketing.”
He expressed, “And trust me, I love working with the Angostura team.”
Palmer reported that two weeks after its November 6 premiere in Jamaica, the rum sold out.
“As we speak now, we’re transporting rum to Jamaica – that’s how Jamaican people love the product.
“Not just because of the hype that Vybz Kartel brings to the product, but also because of the quality of the product. I don’t know if anybody start drinking it yet, but trust me, once you start drinking this rum, you’ll never go back to what you were drinking, I’m telling you.”
They are referred to as Electric, a white rum, Unstoppable, a black rum, Ramping Shop, a dark boosted rum, and Fever, an overproof rum with 63 percent alcohol by volume. Alcohol content for the latter three rums is 40%.
Palmer named each 700 ml rum after one of his singles, and the labels of the bottles feature lines from the songs.
Angostura Solera Wines and Spirits, which has locations in Port of Spain, Marabella, and Angostura House, is the exclusive distributor of them.
Palmer stated that the collaboration with Angostura would last a lifetime and that other items, such as cocktail mixes made with the rums, will be introduced.
“In Jamaica, we have a few, one called Beg You a Touch, and the Ramping Shop is a cocktail in and of itself, because the Ramping Shop (is) mixed with Magnum (Tonic Wine). So we have a series of mixes to promote. Fever is my personal favorite, and if you mix it with Angostura’s Pear Chill, I call it Pear Pressure,” the Fever singer stated.
When asked how the Ramping Shop Rum is improved, he said, “It’s enhanced with…when you and your husband drink it, you will know.”
Palmer is scheduled to perform as the headlining performer on Carnival on February 28 of next year in T&T.
When Promoters One Caribbean Music announced him as an act in November, controversy broke out, with critics questioning why a dancehall performer was picked to play during the busiest time of the Carnival season.
When asked if he would return to T&T for the performance in February, Palmer responded, “No comment.”
In response to a question on what he may say to his critics, “I cannot speak about the show because now I’m just here promoting the Angostura/Vybz Kartel collaboration. No disrespect.”
Palmer said he enjoyed Carnival but declined to answer any further questions concerning the event.
“As a matter of fact, Jamaica Carnival is huge. We love carnival.”
He added, “But I cannot speak about that right now because we’re promoting the STR8 VYBZ Rum to the T&T people, to the Caribbean people, because this is a Caribbean effort. It’s a joint collaboration between Jamaica and Trinidad.”
“So big up the Trinis, big up the yardies, big up the entire Caribbean.”
According to Rahim Mohammed, executive manager of Business Efficiency and Shared Services at Angostura, the firm was selected by Palmer and is now the official co-packer and worldwide master distributor for the brand.
Mohammed stated, “as the leading innovator in the spirits industry, we are extremely excited to manufacture and distribute Kartel’s products.”
He added, “At our factory in Trinidad, we have the capacity to produce up to 400,000 bottles a day. When we started off, he sent his team, quite covertly, to look at our factory, processes, and systems before they approved Angostura as their co-packer.”
From concept to launch, he claimed, the process takes four-six weeks. He remarked, “This is not a normal rum. This rum took contribution and development from parties around the world and when it was conceptualized, we started off with a team from Australia, T&T and Jamaica, and when we got to a certain stage, we had to involve a team from South Africa.”
He continued, “With STR8 VYBZ, you’re getting a premium experience. When you taste it, and you look at the reviews from Kartel himself and the reviews from the public in Jamaica, the quality of the rum is second to none. We held nothing back in the aging of the rum and in the blending of the rum.”
According to Mohammed, another reason Palmer chose Angostura was that it is a publicly traded corporation with a sizable state stake that operates in more than 170 nations throughout the globe. He expressed gratitude to Palmer for recognizing Angostura’s powers and reach.
According to Mohammed, the firm has drawn interest from all around the world since its Jamaican debut. Angostura aspired to sell to Antigua, the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ghana, the Netherlands, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and the United States between now and early January, he added.
“These are serious enquiries. Many of the distributors have already placed their orders and their goods are in production.
“That’s to show you the momentum and the attractiveness of the brand throughout the world, which is truly due to your impact throughout the world, Kartel, through your music and your personality.”
According to Mohammed, Palmer went to the facility on December 5 to meet the employees and have a personal look at the manufacturing capacity. He expressed gratitude to Palmer for his enthusiasm, vision, and inventiveness.
“He’s very easy to work with. We had many concepts, many ideas, we valued his feedback and excitement – he pushed us to work on this project 24/7.
He continued, “We all know Vybz Kartel, one of the most influential and respected names in the dancehall industry. He is a symbol of authenticity and is known for his pioneering impact on the dancehall music scene and influencing various sectors.”
“Now he continues to have that impact within the spirits industry.”
Only 6,000 bottles of the limited-edition rum were made, and Palmer autographed the 200th bottle. According to Mohammed, the bottle will be donated to the Angostura Museum.
“This is our 200th anniversary, so thank you for presenting us with bottle number 200 in commemoration of that. It will create a forever-standing legacy with this arrangement.
“Here’s to the future of STR8 VYBZ, a rum as iconic as the person who created it and the culture where it came from. The rum has been meticulously crafted using the essence of Jamaican dancehall while embracing new, forward-thinking approaches that reflect the spirit of Vybz Kartel.”
In addition, Palmer tasted the Pear Pressure cocktail and signed the 76th bottle of rum, which is his particular number.
“I was out of commission for a while and now I’m back, Trinidad, bigger and better than ever, and we’re working with Angostura with a quality project and the world loves it, Jamaica loves it, so the feeling is amazing.”
At the launch, there was a lot of excitement as visitors and staff from nearby companies gathered around Palmer to shake hands, embrace, take photos, and sign rum bottles.
