Vybz Kartel carried fans into the new year with a bang at the Freedom Street concert. Marking the return of Vybz Kartel, the highly anticipated event saw a massive crowd at the National Stadium in St. Andrew.
The audience was all screams and cheers when various dancehall talents claimed the stage one after the other, including heavyweights such as Queen of Dancehall Spice, Popcaan, Chronic Law, Tommy Lee Sparta, and American rapper Busta Rhymes and veterans such as Lisa Hype, Sheba, and Bounty Killer. The event’s star lineup resulted in the audience belting out the lyrics of popular tracks performed by their favourite artists.
The headlining act, Vybz Kartel, kickstarted the event and expressed his gratitude to God while doing so. The dancehall icon started the night in a sharp three-piece pinstripe suit before changing into a jersey and jeans. He stood tall on the stage and performed for the first time in 13 years. Vybz Kartel reeled out the classics from his huge catalogue, including his Dallaz, Thank You Jah, and Marie.
He also performed a quick rendition of his Locked Up Remix, with fans cheering loudly. During his set, Sheba, Gaza Indu, Rvssian, Jah Vinci, Shawn Storm, Lisa Hype, Spice, Kartel’s sons (Likkle Vybz and Likkle Addi) and multiple others joined him on stage to perform the popular collabs they have. His mentor, Bounty Killer, also joined him on stage, which was a monumental moment at the event.
Female patrons sang and danced contently when songs like Ramping Shop, So Me Like It, and Back Way were performed. Skeng and Tommy Lee gave a vigorous performance, which included their hit song Protocol.
One of the worthy highlights of the event that has many social media users talking is the Comet remix that Spice performed while on the stage with Vybz Kartel. The remix featured her mentioning Dancehall artist Alkaline while indicating that he, “a student,” was not in the same league as Vybz Kartel, the “teacha,” aka the “world boss.”
Another highlight of the night includes Vybz Kartel acknowledging dancehall artist Nhance his son when Nhance’s mother, Sheba, called him on stage. Additionally, Popcaan and Chronic Law’s performance is also a popular subject on the internet.
The Popcaan and Chronic Law had the audience vibing to their hit songs, but they kickstarted their performance with disrespectful remarks aimed at the event organiser Skatta Burrell and CEO of Downsound Entertainment Josef “Joe” Bogdanovich. The rude comments were made due to the entertainers being forced to wait three hours before they could perform.
A clip of the event shows Skatta holding Vybz Kartel’s microphone while Kartel tries to pull it from his hand.
Another hiccup that occurred at the event was a fight that broke out on stage, leading Vybz Kartel to say they were ruining his show. It is unclear what started the altercation, but a few patrons state that it only lasted a few minutes.
Finally, while American superstar Chris Brown was not at the event, he might have been tuned in to the live stream as he gave a shout-out in his Instagram Story last night.
Watch the scenes from Freedom Street below:
