It also seemed to rival Buju’s reputation of being the bad man, the gun toter, drug dealer, wife beater, and bigot who has now been convicted on drug charges in the USA.īuju has been sentenced to ten years in prison and frankly I am consistently touting the well used slogan – ‘Free Gargamel’. As he mirrored the great Bantons of dancehall such as Buju Banton, a certain destiny seemed to have been written because Kartel’s productivity at number one hits and significance to the dancehall genre rivalled Buju Banton’s record.
Looking back to the early days, when I think about it, there couldn’t have been any accident in the choice of his first stage name in the moniker Addi Banton. Those things did not find their way into the justice system but the recent charges certainly brought a lot of ire, praise, appeal, and formidable fanaticism on the part of Jamaicans and ‘dancehallites’ at home and abroad in particular. What I will say is that Jamaicans have always said, ‘if it nuh guh so, it guh near suh’, which might explain why he was judged first in the ‘court of public opinion’ that had been receiving accounts of killings, feuds, controversies, beatings, threats, fear, deep deep fear, and traumatic encounters because of the Werl Boss.
Buju banton dancehall trial#
I am much more interested in contributing to a rarer fare, an enterprise that is less attractive, requiring integrity and akin to the Peckian ‘road less travelled.’ All the same, a nuh every ting good fi eat good fi talk’ so I am very aware that the cause of reliving the concluded trial is not productive and neither is pronouncing on the numerous statements about the Werl Boss’ character and alleged notoriety. My account here is not intended as a remembrance or chronological accounting of Kartel’s musical sojourn. Consequently, this post which I have chosen to write had to begin with the personal, the confession and yes, it must highlight what I see as hypocrisy at the heart of many of the commentaries about the Werl Boss and his conviction. If I can’t speak my truth as I write, whether for academic or personal purposes, I am not moved to write. For one who has dabbled in phenomenology, existentialism and the value of the human experience as a metaphysical phenomenon, and knowing well that the act of confession for the purpose of ultimate empowerment, integrity and personal / collective growth is crucial, beginning this post at the personal level is extremely significant. I pay attention to what rocks my spirit and not what’s rocking others. They absolutely rock!! So yes, I have been listening. ‘Rampin Shop’, ‘Clarks’, ‘Dollar Sign’ (Money Pon Mi Mind), ‘Beyonce Wine’, and ‘Weed Smokers’ will always get me dancing. Let me add, that ‘Emergency’ on the Siren Riddim, and ‘Turn and Wine’ on the very infectious DNA Riddim are two of my favourite Kartel tunes.
Buju banton dancehall how to#
It is very true that many of us have forgotten how to build empires, and this is a travesty when postcolonial societies such as Jamaica are badly, and indeed, sadly in need of the commitment, hard work, spirit and leadership required to build empires. The return of the word ’empire’ to common usage in Jamaica because of Kartel’s reference to the Gaza Empire was immediately welcomed. Some appearances over the years for commentary on the Gully / Gaza feud, or other aspects of dancehall that relate to social responsibility can be found, but in the main, I have completely stayed clear of the Werl Boss and his musical empire. This explains why I did not publish the paper I wrote years ago entitled ‘ Gully vs Gaza: Theorizing Violence, Factions and Fandom in Jamaican Dancehall Performance‘, the refusal to associate with the now infamous UWI lecture (I was not in attendance and chose not to offer my book Dancehall: From Slave Ship to Ghetto), and I hesitated to comment in any medium whatsoever on anything related to Vybz Kartel. So here we go.įirst of all, I do not have a practice of spending my energy on anything that my spirit rejects. As I was asked to write about the verdict, asked where are my comments on the Kartel matter, I could only think of this question. But, how does one choose to imbibe and then get a gastronomic forward offa di vomit they flush? This question has taunted me for days. Self-styled the ‘Werl Boss’, Vybz Kartel aka Adidja Palmer, got himself in what my father (a former police officer) would call a ‘shit pot load of trouble’.
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