Jamaican dancehall artist, Vybz Kartel, has described the experiences he went through while recording his songs in prison as “stressful”.
Vybz Kartel explained that the process was “Crazy”, revealing that he recorded tracks, including the popular hit “Fever”, with a phone and improvised soundproofing with mattresses.
“It was crazy because, in my cell, we had mattresses so I had to kneel in concrete and put a mattress in front of me and also wrap it around my head. I had two phones that had earpieces that played the beats, and the other was what I used to record the vocals. I had the other prisoners outside watching if the officers were coming, and then record the next verses. It was stressful, but it had to be done.”
Vybz Kartel
Vybz Kartel added that the phones he used for his recording were always seized from him.
“But I never got caught recording because the other prisoners were there looking out for me. But I always get searched, and they find cell phones and recording devices.”
Vybz Kartel
Moreover, he shared the story of how he met his current Turkish girlfriend, Sidem Öztürk, on Instagram while serving his prison sentence.
The dancehall artist explained that he came across his girlfriend’s profile while scrolling through the comments section of a post he made.
“Yeah, I met her on July 25, 2015, and I’ll never forget it. In prison, I was very active on Instagram because, you know, you have time. I was going through my comment section and saw this girl who always liked my pictures, so out of curiosity, I went to her page… At that time, I was also going through a lot with my baby mama.”
Vybz Kartel
The artist explained that Sidem confessed she had been looking for him, but due to the prevalence of fake Vybz Kartel pages, she initially found him through his baby mama’s account.
The musician also revealed his plans to settle down with Sidem Öztürk this year.
“She’s at my hotel right now with my mother. We’re getting married this year. I need some Turkish children who will talk to me and I won’t understand.”
Vybz Kartel
Vybz Kartel on Skin Bleaching
The dancehall superstar revealed that he will never bleach his skin again.
Vybz Kartel spoke about no longer wanting to change his complexion. He also explained that his decision to bleach his skin in the past was linked to his views on self-love.
“I mean, in hindsight, it definitely had to do with self-love, but on the other hand, while I was doing it, my mind wasn’t telling me that. My mind was telling me, ‘I am doing this to show my tattoos because I got a lot of tattoos. But looking back, it was just as a Black man, sometimes we have those issues but I would never bleach again though.”
Vybz Kartel
The Jamaican star described himself now as “fully melanated.”
Kartel is set to make his first headline US concert appearance in over 20 years this weekend at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York.
Kartel also shared that he is still suffering from Graves’ Disease – an autoimmune condition where the immune system produces antibodies that cause the thyroid to produce too much thyroid hormone.
He said: “Sometimes it makes my eyes puffy and initially I use to lose a lot of weight too because it makes you sweat.”
Last year, Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, and his co-accused have been freed from prison after the Jamaica Court of Appeal ruled against retrying them for the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams.
Speaking on his life after his release, Kartel said: “I’m all about positivity right now, I’ve been given a new lease on life, and I’m not going to waste that time.”
“I’m not going to waste that time and play the fool. I think my story inspired a lot of people, you know. You can overcome.”
Vybz Kartel
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