Devin Di Dakta Says He Wanted To Be In Vybz Kartel’s Portmore Empire

For many years, dancehall artist Devin Di Dakta had his eyes set on joining Vybz Kartel’s Portmore/Gaza Empire. 

In fact, he was tailoring his songs to complement the musical aesthetic of the once-formidable clique. 

“When time mi just a do music enuh, at one point, mi waan deh inna Gaza…” the Grammy nominee recently told Teatime With Shelly-Ann Curran. “Mi just waan go inna Gaza fi go clash. That was mi only goal; mi never care bout nothing else.”

It wasn’t until the ‘World Boss’ was locked up in 2011 and convicted of murder in 2014 that Devin’s dream died. 

“When Kartel go prison, mi actually start write other songs…” he shared. “When time him go prison yah now…mi seh, alright, it look like Gaza thing might done, but mi still hold on cause faith and hope.”

Vybz Kartel’s once-formidable Portmore/Gaza Empire.

Devin, whose given name is Anthony Clarke, has long hailed Kartel as a major musical influence. He started pursuing a musical career as a teenager, winning the Tastee Talent Trail Competition at 16 years old. Within three years, he won the Magnum Kings & Queens of Dancehall competition. By then, Kartel was serving his first year of a lifelong sentence, which has since been overturned by the UK’s Privy Council. 

His Portmore Empire featured artists like Blak Ryno, Popcaan, Jah Vinci, Vanessa Bling, Gaza Kim, Gaza Indu, Lisa Hyper, Deva Bratt, Merrital Family, Shawn Storm and producer Notnice. The clique had dancehall in a chokehold in the 2010s, eventually fading away with claims of an abusive work environment and disloyalty among members. 

Despite the stained pages of Kartel’s colour book of a life, Devin’s adulation remains. 

“Teacha a mi artist forever and ever. Mi nuh think that can change because mi nuh think you can disregard whatever him do inna the past weh influence me.”

These days, the When I’m Gone artist is in a different creative zone, steering clear of the releases of his peers, even those he reveres. 

“Which part mi deh as a person, mi nuh listen whole heap a dancehall music like that cause mi just a try focus pon mi sound,” he shared. “One of the thing weh mi notice with music, it easy fi you recreate something weh somebody else did have, so mi nuh waan go put out a song and it go sound like something weh a gwaan now inna dancehall and a man go seh mi thief him lyrics or melody. So, mi just try mi best fi stay away from it.”

Devin’s latest releases include XX Chromosomes, Gypsy Love and Badman (Remix) with Suku Ward and Bay-C.