Since his arrest in 2011, dancehall superstar Vybz Kartel has continued to release mega hits and successful albums adored bout locally and internationally. The artist’s influence on Dancehall music has left an impact on the history of the beloved genre, opening gates to the “Free Worl’ Boss” movement among his fans. On April 28, 2023, Adidjah Palmer popularly known as Vybz Kartel will release his eight-track EP titled “Numb”, which puts him back in action.
Kartel was open and honest in an interview with DancehallMag, revealing that his Turkish fiancée Sidem Ozturk, a social worker, is the inspiration for the project. The conversation was organized by his eldest son Likkle Vybz.
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He stated, “The concept numb…The title Numb came from a conversation I was having with my fiancee Sidem. She was telling me that she felt numb without me and the only time she feels whole is when she was playing my music. That’s when the idea hit me to do an all-girls song album with the title numb representative of how the ladies feel without Kartel in their ears.”
Without You, Numb, Vaccine, I Only Wanted You, About Last Night, Playboy Bunny, The Search Is Over, and Home are among the tracks from the album Numb, which was produced by Adidjahiem Records and released by Zojack World Wide (featuring Savage Savo).
Along with the True Religion EP (2022), Dancehall Royalty (2021), Born Fi Dis (2021), and the full-length Of Dons and Divas, which reached No. 6 on the Billboard Reggae Albums list in June 2020, are among his recent releases.
In January 2020, the “Fever” artist released an album titled “To Tanesha”, which was a tribute to his ex-wife Tanesha ‘Shorty’ Johnson.
Kartel believes that his massive yet significant female fans will support him just as much, if not more, for his most recent EP release.
He expresses, “Me expectations is that the females go support it because it was done primarily for them. Vybz Kartel has always been for the ladies and vice versa so, it’s my homage to the Gaza girls.”
When questioned about the distinctiveness of the EP Numb, he added, “The difference between this and other projects is, like I said previously, it’s dedicated to only the females. It’s their gift for the summer.”
It might be difficult on one’s health to spend more than ten years in prison. However, Vybz Kartel emphasized that his growth in the constantly shifting musical scene is driven by his real enthusiasm for what he does.
“Life and a genuine love for what I do (keep me motivated. Music changed my life financially and socially, yes. But, for me It’s always about the love. That’s my motivation,” he noted in his interview with DancehallMag.
While Vybz Kartel gave us a look at the creativity of his new EP Numb, the lyricist had recently collaborated with the rapidly growing Dancehall artist Valiant on the song Time Heals, which has amassed over 310,000 views on YouTube. Kartel claimed that because of their commonalities, he was happy to collaborate with them.
“I like his stuff. He reminds me a little of myself as well in the way he just burst on the scene laying claim to his space and also by way of his work ethic and love for the music. So, I reached out to TJ from TJ Records and got a feature…easy task. After all, I’m the World Boss.”
Since being found guilty in 2014 along with three other co-defendants in reference to the killing of his friend Clive “Lizard” Williams, Kartel has robustly defended his innocence.
The Privy Council, Jamaica’s top court, which has its headquarters in the United Kingdom, rejected a request to provide “fresh evidence” in the protracted legal struggle to overturn his murder conviction in February. The Jamaica Court of Appeal’s judgment from April 2020, which had mainly supported the conviction, is still being challenged in the appeal, although the key arguments have not yet been heard.
Kartel stated that he is still hopeful and is offering his sincere appreciation to his followers as they wait for the result.
“I love you. I see you. I feed off your energy. Thank you for a lifetime of adoration and support. I am forever grateful,” he remarked.
