Dancehall star Vybz Kartel has voiced his support for OVO superstar Drake, who was recently targeted in the diss track “Not Like Us” during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime performance.
In an upcoming Drink Champs interview with DJ EFN and N.O.R.E., Kartel was asked to choose between Drake and Kendrick. Without hesitation, the World Boss responded, “Drake.”
He elaborated, “Drake is big in Jamaica too, man.” The Canadian rapper has been the most-streamed artist in Jamaica on Spotify for four consecutive years, with Kartel ranking second last year.
“Drake has that commercial flavor, and he’s like the Hip-Hop Michael Jackson,” Kartel added. “Plus, he did a lot for Popcaan and he reps the culture.”
Popcaan, Kartel’s protégé, signed a multi-album deal with Drake’s OVO Sound and Warner Records in 2016. However, that same year, while Kartel was incarcerated, fellow Dancehall artist Mr. Vegas criticized Drake for not properly crediting Dancehall artists on VIEWS. Vegas called him “fake” for using Beenie Man as an “intro artist” on Controllaand removing Popcaan from the track. He also pointed out that Popcaan’s Luh Yuh Bad was sampled on Too Good without clear recognition. Although some Dancehall artists were credited in the album’s liner notes, Vegas argued their names should have been more visible. He highlighted how mainstream artists like Drake and Rihanna benefit from Dancehall while Jamaican artists struggle for international recognition.
Now, nine years later, Kartel sees things differently, stating, “Drake reps Jamaica’s culture—to the point where people started calling him a culture vulture. But we don’t feel that way, not in Jamaica.”
The full Drink Champs episode with Vybz Kartel is set to air this Saturday on YouTube.
