Just two days after his release from the Tower Street Adult Correction Facilty, Vybz Kartel is already dominating the charts in Jamaica and across the Caribbean. His latest compilation album “First Week Out” released July 31, the same day he was acquitted for murder by the Jamaican Court Of Appeal is charting No. 1 in 19 countries on Apple Music including Jamaica.
The 12-track set distributed by 21 Hapilos Compilations features mostly old songs with a 19-second intro by Squash, which is the No. 2 track in Jamaica on Apple Music, making it the shortest song to chart in the top two in the country.
“Me brave bout yah, me nah sign to nuh slave owner me have me own brand,” Kartel deejays, asserting his independence on “The Menace.” On the track, he also takes jabs at former members of Jamaica’s Director of Public Prosecution who prosecuted the murder case that found him guilty in 2011. “The Menace” is currently No. 1 in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands on Apple Music. “Terror By Night” is also charting in 19 countries, including No. 3 in Jamaica.
“Unstoppable,” first released on the Vybz Is King album in 2015, has surged to a new peak of No. 6 on Apple Music Jamaica. The collaborative track “Skillful” from the album with Squash is at No. 7, and “Adiadking” has climbed to No. 9. Additionally, “Giant” featuring Squash is at No. 11, and track 8, “Victorious,” which sings “so nuh gyal p***y cyah mek we clown out,” is positioned at No. 15, while “Win” is at No. 18. His top streaming song, “Fever,” rounds out his songs in the top 20 at No. 19.
In total sixteen Vybz Kartel projects are now charting on Apple Music Jamaica Albums Chart with “To Tanesha” at #5, “Kingston Story” at #10, “More Up 2 di Time” at #11, “Party With Me” at #12, “Jmt” at #14, “Viking (Vybz Is King)” at #21, “King of the Dancehall” at #29, “Dancehall Hero (Deluxe) [Edited]” at #32, “Pon Di Gaza” at #34, “Gaza 4 Life” at #35, “Born Fi Dis (Prelude)” at #51, and “The Gaza Don” at #52. Additionally, “True Religion” is at #76.
