In a 2011 interview with Rolling Stone, Vybz Kartel compared himself to Jay-Z, saying, “because I am a lyrical prodigy and I am also an astute businessman. I have done things business-wise that no other dancehall deejay has even tried to do.”
At the time, Kartel had just launched his Street Vybz Rum, which was generating sales of $10 million per month. He shared his plans for the future:
“I started Street Vybz Rum, and I have a club in Kingston, The Building. For the future, I am working on a new tonic wine, which will hit the streets by Autumn. Vybz Wear is my clothing line, and it will launch for the summer: belt buckles, limited edition t-shirts, sneakers called ‘Addis,’ dogtags – but we prefer to call them ‘Gaza tags.’ And I also have my cake soap brand – a face soap that lightens the skin and removes blemishes.”
However, his entrepreneurial ventures with Street Vybz Rum and those other products were interrupted after a fallout with his business partner Corey Todd and his incarceration that same year. Reflecting on their partnership while awaiting trial in 2012, Kartel admitted:
“What happened between me and Corey was just a misunderstanding. Truth be told, I really had some negative elements around me that bad-minded me and Corey’s partnership because of its success. At the time, I was too caught up being ‘world boss’ to realize I was destroying one of the realest friendships I ever had. Being in here made me realize that we did achieve greatness together… after all, if it wasn’t for Corey and Kartel, STREET VYBZ woulda never buss in people head and The Building woulda never buck pon a Saturday.”
Now, after being acquitted of murder on July 31, 2024, Kartel is preparing to relaunch Street Vybz Rum as its main proprietor. Speaking to World Music Views, he revealed:
“Me rum a come out soon, Street Vybz. That a the only label Street Vybz, that me a deal with,” emphasizing his independence as an artist outside the traditional record label system.
“Street Vybz a come back, and you know me have me tobacco products and thing, the Fire Vybz, so a dem thing deh we a work pon. And you know we always a make money offa merchandising and them thing deh, so me nuh inna nuh rush fi sign right now,” Kartel reiterated.
No official date has been set but a source confirmed with WMV that the rum is set to launch in October, ahead of Kartel’s highly anticipated “Freedom Street” concert. (Following the publication of this article Kartel’s producer TJ of TJ Records (Fever) reached out to WMV via Instagram to say the new rum will be launched under a new name with new branding and “new everything”.)
Reportedly paid several million USD by Joe Bogdanovich, heir to the StarKist tuna fortune and CEO of Downsound Records, Kartel’s New Year’s Eve concert at Jamaica’s National Stadium will mark his first performance in 13 years. With tickets priced as high as US$12,500, it promises to be a monumental event before Kartel jets off to the British Virgin Islands, Barbados, and Africa to headline more shows.
The “Fever” deejay also told WMV that while he’s being courted by concert companies in North America, he’s holding out for the right deal, stating he won’t sign unless the offer meets his ideal figure of $30 million.
“Big promoters from farrin saying, ‘I can get back your visa,’ but me a say, yah hear me, independence a the way, yah man. If them nuh come with a 20-30 million come gi me, it nuh make nuh sense because me can make that in a few stage show. Me can do a year or two years hard work and walk away with a 30 million same way, so me nah go rush,” Kartel told World Music Views.
