‘Stay away from gangsterism’: freed dancehall star Vybz Kartel on his regrets after 13 years in jail

It took a while for Vybz Kartel to tear himself away from the adoring fans lined up to pose with him for photos. They were happy to endure the blazing Jamaican sun to have a moment with the dancehall star, a global phenomenon who has worked with the likes of Jay-Z and Pharrell Williams.

He finally sat on a bench in a cool corner of the outdoor hotel pool, his son, Likkle Addi, and fiancee, Sidem Öztürk, seated opposite him. The musician has spent most of his 19-year-old son’s life in prison. “Time is precious. Don’t waste it, because you can’t get it back,” Kartel said.

Arrested in 2011 with three other men for the murder of their associate Clive “Lizard” Williams, whose body has never been found, Kartel was sentenced to 35 years in prison, later reduced on appeal to 32 and six months. He has always maintained his innocence, lodging more appeals.

In March, the case was heard in the UK’s privy council, used as Jamaica’s final court of appeal. Lord Lloyd-Jones quashed the original conviction because of bribery attempts by one of the original jurors. The matter was passed back to the court of appeal in Jamaica, where a judge decided that a new trial was not required, and Kartel was released from prison.

Now suffering from Graves’ disease, an autoimmune condition that has visibly affected his appearance, Kartel said his priorities are “God, family and fitness”.

“Since I’ve been free, I’ve made so much money, but I can’t get the time back,” he said, looking at his son. “When I just got arrested, my children were children. Now they’re giving me grandchildren. So I have two grandchildren after 13 years behind bars.”

Born Adidja Palmer, the 48-year-old described growing up in Waterford, an inner-city community in the south-east parish of St Catherine. His father, an electrician at the Jamaica Flour Mill whom he credits for his strong work ethic, believed in the power of education and ensured young Kartel attended primary school and sat the secondary school entrance exam. He secured a place at Calabar high school, which is known for having produced several University of Oxford Rhodes Scholars, but the young aspiring musician was expelled for truancy.

“Calabar was in Kingston, where all the studios were at the time. So it was fascinating to me to see all those big artists of the time: Ninjaman, Shabba Ranks, Buju Banton, Josie Wales, Charlie Chaplin. It was such an amazing time for me, so I literally just kept going every day. By the ninth grade, the principal at Calabar said, ‘We don’t want you back at the school any more’. I didn’t even feel sad because I already knew what I wanted to do in life, which was music. So, for me, it was a done deal.”

But it was after he had been introduced to the DJ Bounty Killer that his career took off.

As Bounty Killer’s protege, Kartel rose to stardom with ­collaborations with Jay-Z and Pharrell.

The musician has no regrets about his career but wishes he had followed guidance from his parents, who tried to keep him in school by securing his admission to the private Tutorial College. Though Kartel left with some O-level subjects, he never graduated from high school.

“My mom was a housewife, an amazing woman. She always tried to embed certain principles in us as children … I wish I had listened to them more,” he said.

“I’ve always said this even before I got arrested – stay in school. As much as possible, get an education because not everyone can pay for a college education, but try to get an education as far as it can take you and stay away from bad energy, from bad ­people, from gangsterism, because, bro, it’s not worth it.

“It may look glamorous, especially if you were raised a certain way and you grew up in the ghetto, but it will cost you, and it cost me, you know what I mean?”

Shaking his head, he added: “I’m one of the lucky ones, and I give thanks every day. I’m grateful for that. Since that day, walking out of prison, hundreds of people on the outside, people ask me what was going through my mind at the time. Too many things. Like, even now, I’m trying to process it.”

Recounting, with a chuckle, how, after his release, he mistakenly told his son he was going to his cell instead of to his bedroom, he described still waking up at four or five in the morning when prison officers would normally conduct searches. He forgets he is no longer in his cell, even “hearing the keys shake”.

Kartel said he now wants to be a source of positivity, supporting his sons in their careers and continuing to mentor other up-and-coming artists.

He believes in the importance of investing in music, considering Jamaica’s proud legacy of creating world-class genres inspired by Afrocentric roots, such as mento, rocksteady, reggae and dancehall. The DJ also said he was impressed with the current generation of Jamaican musicians.

“In prison, I was listening to these kids, and a lot of them are very promising. They have the talent, and I think the major companies abroad, in America, Canada, England, once they come and invest their money, they won’t be disappointed.”

For Kartel, the next big thing is a big concert in Kingston this December, marketed as a historic moment to see the “Worl’ Boss … returning to his throne”.

“Everybody and their mother are coming,” he said.