After being released from prison after 13 years, Vybz Kartel, the king of Dancehall, is ready to reclaim his throne. The Billboard cover star takes us through a day in his life in Kingston, Jamaica, where he shares his experience of creating “Fever” in jail, how he intends to get his music cleared for streaming, his personal evolution, his thoughts on newer artists in the genre, and more!
Keep watching to see how he plans on dominating the music industry again!
Keep watching to see how he plans on dominating the music industry again!
Category
🎵
MusicTranscript
00:00You can't even feel sorry for yourself, like, I didn't have time to do that, I had kids to feed, I had family to take care of, I had my health issues.
00:11The popular and controversial dancehall artist, Vives Cartel, whose given name is Adesha Farmer.
00:17He's been serving 35 years before he becomes eligible for parole.
00:21I was sitting in this position, you know, with the legs crossed, in my cell, and I was listening to the radio.
00:27Dancehall music icon, Vives Cartel, remains behind bars for nearly 13 years.
00:32He was like, yo, I think this is it, this is it.
00:46This is Vives Cartel, I'm Big Up Billboard, come spend the day with me.
00:58Do you feel like the scene kind of stalled when you went away?
01:03Yes, but it also opened up a portal for the new artists.
01:08I mean, it took a minute because Vives Cartel's presence is so powerful.
01:12Maybe like between 2016, then new artists started coming out one by one, and then the floodgates opened like around 2020.
01:21But yeah, it took a while, so yes.
01:24I heard you recorded one of your biggest songs of the past decade while you were away, Fever.
01:34I've been recording, but initially I figured out how to record using an iPad.
01:41The little small flat ones, you know, the original rectangular ones.
01:46But a lot of times the sound was metallic because the cell didn't have the padding like what a studio has to just kill the sound.
01:55So it bounced all over the place.
01:57Then I figured out that I could use my mattress as a sponge over my head.
02:02So that's when the music started getting clearer.
02:06I got that song from TJ, that rhythm from TJ, me and him producing.
02:10And I was just there because at the time I used to, I mean, don't come for me.
02:15I used to love watch Gossip Girls.
02:17It's a classic show, right? Everyone loves Gossip Girls.
02:20Okay, okay.
02:21We won't judge you.
02:22Okay.
02:23And every time the show started or ended, a voice would say, XOXO, Gossip Girls.
02:29So that's where I got the concept from to start the Fever.
02:33XOXO, my love is very special.
02:36XOXO, my love is very special.
02:41Recording the song line by line, looking outside if anyone is coming.
02:45Two more lines, look outside.
02:47So, but it was crazy, man.
02:49It was necessary at the time to do what I love the most and more than anything in the world.
02:55So that's how that song came about.
02:58Sent the iPad out to TJ and TJ got it mixed by Donwell, the big up Donwell.
03:05And the rest, as they say, that is history.
03:08How long did that entire recording process take?
03:11Probably took a half hour.
03:13Oh, wow.
03:14In a studio, if I was to do that now, it would take maybe five, six minutes.
03:17But there, you know, like I said, then you have to kneel down, wrap the mattress around your head again,
03:23set the earphone, set the, yeah, crazy, man.
03:26So it took about a half hour.
03:28Did you ever get caught?
03:29No, never, bro.
03:31Wow.
03:32Never.
03:33So that was because a lot of time, too, I had people like in other cells.
03:38So if someone was coming, they would knock the grill.
03:41Yes, you know, so someone is coming.
03:43Yeah, yeah, yeah.
03:44So you're gone, gone, gone.
03:45Put it down.
03:46I mean, they found the recording device lots of times,
03:50but they never caught me in the act of recording.
03:53When we released the video and then the numbers started going up, I was like,
03:59because to be honest, I wanted to video Coloring This Life, which is another song on the album.
04:06TJ was like, bro, fever, bad.
04:10Oh, yeah, he was like the way I was, how I was flowing on it.
04:15Tough, thick, dark, broke it, set it.
04:18I said, all right, do whatever, man.
04:21And he shot fever.
04:23And, bro, in a few months, Jesus Christ.
04:26That was a good choice.
04:29How did it feel to know that this was so big, but you couldn't be out with us experiencing it?
04:34I mean, it's, I don't know, man.
04:38It is what it is, because like I said, being in prison, you know,
04:42you can't even feel sorry for yourself.
04:44Like, I didn't have time to do that.
04:46I had kids to feed.
04:48I had family to take care of.
04:50I had my health issues.
04:52So there was no time to be weak or to be like, I'm not out.
04:57You just fought the case and did the right thing.
05:00Yeah.
05:01Yeah.
05:02But it was crazy, though.
05:03It felt being, seeing the song, the impact the song had was amazing.
05:09I said, boom, book, yeah.
05:12You know what I mean?
05:13It's crazy.
05:14But I was just there listening, because me, as I get to youth, I'm used to disappointment.
05:19So I don't get excited too quickly.
05:21Like, it's never over till the fat lady sing, right?
05:24So I waited and waited.
05:26After the conviction was overturned, it took like two months, maybe three months, for us to finally get out.
05:33And I didn't even move.
05:35I was sitting in this position, you know, with the legs crossed, in my cell.
05:39I was listening to the radio.
05:41And then I was also talking to my lawyer on my cell, in my cell.
05:48Get it?
05:49Yes.
05:51That wordplay.
05:52Yeah.
05:53He was like, yo, I think this is it.
05:56And I was like, okay, I'm going to put my clothes on.
05:59And I hung up.
06:00And as immediately as I hung up, it was like an earthquake, because it came over the radio.
06:05And everyone in the prison was listening.
06:09When they hold the bars and shake it, just imagine 2,000 people shaking the bars all over.
06:16It was rumbling.
06:17That's when I knew, like, yeah, this is it.
06:20Put my clothes on, jumped up, boom.
06:22They came for me, packed, and left.
06:26Motherfucker didn't even bring anything.
06:28Yeah.
06:29I left everything.
06:30Yeah, because, you know, you have guys there.
06:32So they gave sneakers and stuff, my TVs.
06:36Just give it away.
06:38And left.
06:39Yeah.
06:40Yeah, man.
06:41That's how when I came out.
06:42If you know, I don't have anything in my hand.
06:44Yeah, I see the videos.
06:46I'm sorry, man.
06:53I'm going to come back, man.
07:01The Vibez Cartel now is just more chill, I would say.
07:06More mature, you know, just more laid back.
07:10The one that went in was a beast.
07:12Yeah.
07:13You know what I mean?
07:14I mean, I'm still a beast musically.
07:16Of course.
07:17But it's just looking back at my personal evolution,
07:23I like who I am now.
07:26But I guess the Vibez Cartel of old was the reason that,
07:32that's what gave me the musical fame and fortune.
07:37So I'm not going to, I don't have any regrets about him,
07:40but I don't want to go back to that cartel.
07:43You know what I mean?
07:44Yeah, I'm good right here.
07:46I don't think the dancehall artists now,
07:50they do what they call trap dancehall.
07:58So I think it's going to take a minute for the ears of the big markets
08:02to get used to it.
08:04But once that happens, I mean, I think it will.
08:07Because remember, music has always been changing.
08:09Yeah.
08:10Back in the day, it was wait the town and tell the people.
08:12And you had Josie Wheel and Lord,
08:17and it changed in the 90s, Bounty Killer,
08:19Vibez Cartel come, my father, and now it's the kids' time.
08:23So once the sound catches on in the mainstream markets,
08:26in the London, the New York, the Toronto,
08:28I think they will have success.
08:31You were nominated for your very first Grammy.
08:35Yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:36How does that feel to earn that kind of recognition
08:38after so many years of groundbreaking music?
08:41I mean, I'm grateful, but I'm not surprised.
08:44Because if I wasn't incarcerated, I would have been nominated.
08:47But I understand why would they want to nominate a dude in prison.
08:52Yeah.
08:53So I get it.
08:54So I know if I wasn't arrested,
08:57based on the amount of songs that I put out
09:00and the trajectory that my career was on,
09:03I would have definitely probably won.
09:05You know what I mean?
09:06So, but I'm very, very grateful, man.
09:14Now that you're back,
09:15what's been the process of collecting all of your older music
09:17and trying to clear them all to get on streaming
09:19so people can experience your full catalog?
09:21I mean, I've been doing it slowly but surely.
09:24So we put out, and that's a good question,
09:28because actually, I'm going to shoot videos
09:32for a lot of those songs as well.
09:34Yeah, because every time I post,
09:36say I make a post and I use a song,
09:38you know, now Instagram, you can put the songs with the pictures.
09:41And in the comments section, people will be like,
09:43Cartel, you need to make videos for these songs.
09:46These are classics, blah, blah, blah.
09:48But a lot of them, I was in prison when they were released.
09:50They were huge.
09:52So I'm going to record, I'm going to video a lot of them,
09:54and I'm going to put them on my streaming,
09:56my YouTube, my Spotify.
09:58That's going to revive them too.
09:59Yes.
10:00They might become hits all over again.
10:02They will, because TikTok has done that for a lot of songs for me.
10:05Yeah.
10:06Like, even on, like, Translator and those songs were...
10:09It's been like Banana had a trend just a couple months ago.
10:11Exactly.
10:12Yeah.
10:13And that song was released in 2004.
10:14Mm-hmm.
10:15And kids dancing to it that are, like, 18,
10:17so the song is older than they are.
10:19Yep.
10:20It's crazy, man.
10:21That's nice.
10:26Actually, I'm in talks right now with a few companies in America.
10:30So what they want me to do is, like, get artists.
10:34They would give me that distribution platform
10:36so I can get the artists, sign them, release the songs,
10:40and get Jamaican dancehall music in a more formatted kind of way.
10:47Yeah, yeah.
10:48Standardize it.
10:49Yeah, because you've got the power to do it.
10:51You're the guy.
10:52Oh, me?
10:53Yeah, you're the guy!
11:01Right now, we are at Jango's.
11:03Know what I mean?
11:04One of the hot restaurants in the area, in Kingston.
11:08It's popping off.
11:09Yeah, and they even keep, like, live events.
11:12So on a Wednesday night, you come here before you come to my event,
11:16it's jam-packed.
11:17Live performances and...
11:19To start off, I want you to just name your top five Jamaican bushels.
11:23OK.
11:24OK.
11:25To start off, I want you to just name your top five Jamaican bushels.
11:29Top five Jamaican dishes?
11:31Mm-hmm.
11:32Rice and peas and chicken.
11:34Rice and curry goat.
11:36Mm, my favorite.
11:37That's white rice.
11:38I mean, callaloo and dumpling, mackerel and dumpling,
11:42and seafood, anything in the sea.
11:45Yeah, they're ready to go.
11:46Yes, yes, yes.
11:47What was the first meal that you had after you got out?
11:50What was it?
11:52Steamed fish.
11:53Steamed fish.
11:54Steamed fish, yes, with okra.
11:56You know that?
11:57Oh, of course with the okra.
11:58Yes.
12:00My mom made it for me, too.
12:02Big up for me.
12:03Your mom made it for you?
12:04So you went home and had that meal?
12:05Yeah, I actually went to her house first before I went anywhere else.
12:09Yeah.
12:10What was that moment seeing your mom as a free man?
12:13I mean, it was a tear-jerking moment, man.
12:15Trust me, tears, man.
12:17Tears of joy.
12:19And in a sense, tears of sadness to know that I missed out on so much,
12:23you know, with my mother and my kids.
12:26But at that moment, it was all about mom.
12:28How would you say Kingston has changed from when you first went in to now that you're here?
12:33Crazy, man.
12:34Like the roads, everything.
12:35The roads look different, a lot of buildings.
12:37Even the other day, my fiancé had to be telling me where to drive.
12:41I'm like, you're from England.
12:43But she's been here two years while I was locked down,
12:46so she got to know the place.
12:48So even on the toll, the highway going to the country,
12:52she had to be driving me down,
12:54you're going the wrong way.
12:56So I had to check on the highway and tell me,
13:00like, Nick, don't go there.
13:02Stop, go here.
13:03Wow.
13:04Yeah, it's crazy, man.
13:05I'm sure your kids did the same thing, too.
13:06They were teaching you all this stuff.
13:07Yes, everything.
13:08It's like you're relearning your own country.
13:10It's fun, though.
13:11I think that's the number one feeling I get from it.
13:14It's like a kid with a new toy, you know?
13:17Yeah, because I'm like, even the other day in New Kingston,
13:20like this area, I literally got lost.
13:23That was crazy.
13:24So when can we expect you to be back in the U.S.?
13:27Are you going to see you on the parkway
13:28for Labor Day Parade in New York next summer?
13:31We're definitely working on it.
13:33As a matter of fact, we put the documents in.
13:36So we're working.
13:37We're waiting, basically,
13:38especially because I'm nominated for the Grammy Awards.
13:41So it would be a good luck for us,
13:45for all of us to be there that were nominated.
13:48You know, Shenzi is already there, but yeah.
13:50Definitely England is where we're going back.
13:53Wireless is here, already booked.
13:56Crazy, right?
13:58What song are you most excited to perform live
14:00that you haven't gotten a chance to do in so many years?
14:02Fever.
14:03Fever, easy.
14:04Hands down.
14:05Yes, hands down.
14:06Fever.
14:07But like I said, man,
14:08the biggest problem we have in this concert
14:11is choosing the songs.
14:13Because think about this.
14:14I have a catalogue that I've never performed before,
14:17which is the catalogue from present.
14:27Billboard, we're here at the National Stadium.
14:31Let's go!
14:40Yeah, Billboard.
14:41This is Vibes Cartel again,
14:43and we're at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica
14:47for the biggest show in a decade.
14:50And Billboard has all access.
14:53The all.
14:58I mean, Freedom Street is about Vibes Cartel's journey
15:02for the past 13 years,
15:04which will culminate with the big event
15:07on the 31st of December.
15:09I mean, hence the name Freedom Street.
15:11The concept is really coming out of prison,
15:14the road to that freedom,
15:17and just to celebrate the fans.
15:20Going into a new year, a free man.
15:23You know what I mean?
15:24Not just me, but everyone that's going to be here.
15:26Been planning it since before I actually walked out of jail.
15:30Wow.
15:31Yeah, man, it's crazy.
15:32Will this be your first performance in the stadium?
15:35No, but it'll be my first performance
15:37since being released anywhere.
15:40My first performance in 13 years,
15:43which is going to be crazy.
15:45Well, the amount of people involved in the production
15:48is probably half of Kingston.
15:54And everybody else will come see it.
15:56And everybody else will come.
15:58So, you know what I mean?
15:59So, Freedom Street, on a financial level,
16:04it's feeding a lot of people too.
16:06You know, so it's a good thing.
16:08It's bringing a lot of revenue into the country.
16:10It's bringing a lot of revenue,
16:12especially into the country from foreign.
16:15We just sacrificed like a thousand songs
16:18and closed our eyes and just like,
16:21yo, get rid of those.
16:23So, we're down to like three hours now.
16:26But that's just like my performance.
16:29But with the cameo appearances,
16:31even today, Massika was telling me,
16:33I'm coming to the show.
16:34So, with the cameo appearances,
16:36looks like it's going to be a four-hour set.
16:39Yeah, because we have,
16:40everybody and their mom wants to come.
16:42And I have no problem with that anyway
16:44because it's New Year's.
16:46So, let's ring it in in a star-studded manner.
16:51Sure, why not?
16:52My sons are going to be there.
16:54You know the line of the Hindu,
16:56the Slender, Pop Khan, everyone.
16:59Tommy Lee, all of my musical sons and daughters.
17:02And you know, Bounty Killer, Massika,
17:05Busta Rhymes, Shatawale.
17:07And we're working on a few prominent names
17:11which will remain unnamed.
17:14The sky's the limit because I mean,
17:16come on, Jamaica gave the world
17:18five genres, world-class.
17:20Reggae, rocksteady, ska, mento, dancehall.
17:23We had a hand in creating hip-hop, reggaeton.
17:27Two hands in creating hip-hop.
17:29Two hands in creating hip-hop.
17:30So, we're not short of talent.
17:32Yes.
17:33Definitely, but like you said,
17:35the world has changed.
17:37And sometimes, you know what I mean,
17:38you've got to change the times.
17:40The entire Caribbean and New York.
17:42Why I specifically chose New York
17:44is because, you know, that's New York.
17:47That's Jamaica, outside of Jamaica.
17:50So, yeah, the entire Caribbean
17:53because they're my people, and New York.
18:01New York, New York, New York.
18:04Hear that?
18:06Yup, and speaking of New York,
18:07Cardi B was singing your praises
18:09and defending you after people
18:10were trying to come for you
18:11when those first pictures were released
18:13when you came out of prison.
18:14Would you ever help on a song with Cardi B?
18:15Oh, I love Cardi.
18:16Yeah, we got a song coming out next year.
18:18Oh, yeah?
18:19Yeah, crazy.
18:20Okay, tell us about that song.
18:21Not a goddamn thing.
18:24I'm joking.
18:25No, I'm joking, I'm joking.
18:26Big up Cardi, big up the Walbrows.
18:31Who is the new King of Dancehall?
18:47This is Vibez Cartel,
18:48and it has been a pleasure
18:50spending the day with Billboard.
19:01Me a tell you something,
19:02I beg you, walk up.
19:19To miss, you can't afford.
19:21Duh.
19:22Oh.
19:23I'm out.