On the eve of Jamaica’s celebration of Emancipation Day (August 1), Vybz Kartel and his co-accused were set free Wednesday, after the Court of Appeal ruled against mounting a retrial in the case involving the murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams.
The men had been incarcerated since 2011, but they were sentenced to life in prison in 2014.
During his period of incarceration, Kartel maintained a steady profile on the charts, airplay, and within the dancehall space with several hit songs.
Among the hits he scored while behind bars are Fever, Don’t Come Back, Mhmm Hmm, Can’t Say No, Colouring This Life, Any Weather, Loodi (with Shenseea), Money Me a Look, Party, and Thickiana.
His latest hit, AR 15, is currently making the runs on social media platform TikTok. It is featured on his latest EP Come Party with Me.
To date, the 48-year-old Kartel has scored nine entries on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart, all since he was incarcerated.
In the summer of 2011, Kingston Story peaked at #7, while Vybz Kartel’s
Roots & Culture: The Voice of the Ghetto Incarcerated – But Not Silenced stalled at #6 two years later.
Also in 2013, Kartel Forever: Trilogy raced to #11, Reggae Love Songs and Other Things topped out at #7 in 2014, Viking (Vybz is King) hit #3 in 2015, and Of Dons and Divas got as high as #6 in 2020.
Kartel’s highest placement to date on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart is the #2 peak of
King of the Dancehall in 2016.
Born Fi Dis (Prelude) is his last charting effort, which made it to #9 in 2021.
On the Billboard singles charts, Fever is his most successful song, which reached #23 on the Rap Airplay chart and #36 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay in 2017.
Fever was certified gold (500,000 units) in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2020, while the British Phonographic Industry issued a silver certification in February 2023, commemorating 200,000 units in sales and streaming equivalent.
