Exclusive: Vybz Kartel Reveals He Wants to Collaborate with Bob Marley

Dancehall superstar Vybz Kartel revealed he isn’t in a hurry to collaborate with many artists, naming only three reggae legends he’d be open to working with: “Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Bob Marley,” the “Thank You Jah” singer shared in an exclusive interview with World Music Views.

When asked why he didn’t mention any living artists, the 48-year-old King of the Dancehall responded with a laugh, “Me nuh inna nuh rush fi collaborate with nobody.” He added, “When me deh a prison, nobody never did a rush fi collaborate with me.”

However, Kartel did give a shoutout to Diamond-selling rapper Cardi B, saying, “Oh, big up Cardi B straight, you done know, me G, you zimmi.”

Kartel also put to rest the ongoing debate on whether he is bigger than Bob Marley by saying, “no and yes” to the assertions made Hip Hop pundit DJ Akademiks and Skillibeng who both shared that Kartel is the most influential Jamaica artist of all time.

AK, a native Spanish Town Jamaica made the comments during an appearance on Million Dollars Worth Of Game podcast with Wallo and Gillie Da Kid. 

“My favorite artist of all time is a Jamaican artist, I think he is the best artist, there is no other artist on Earth that even comes within a centimeter of him and its Vybz Kartel,” he said.

Kartel however laughed at the notion that he is bigger that Bob but says he understands Akademiks’ perspective. “We have a little inside joke as artist that says no matter how wept out a song bandit go No. 1 con iTunes after a few days a Bob Marley that a look upon we.”

The Fever artist reflected on buying a Bob Marley painting in prison a few days before he was released on July 31. “Me uh have dah machinery the weh Bob did have, member me a my own driver inuh,” Kartel explained.

In the one hour interview with World Music Views, Kartel touched on other topics like the ownership of his music and the value of his catalogue in the streaming era.

“If you a nuh Kartel, or Shaggy or Sean Paul you and guh make money offa streaming, remember streaming a pennies so you nuh have the catalog me sorry for you, you haffi go do sumn on the side, dance Inna one club cake it wicked man. Me glad seh me have a catalog that can command the numbers them.”

As of September 8, 2024, Vybz Kartel has amassed a total of 1.12 billion streams on Spotify, with 839 million as the lead artist and 647 million as a solo performer. His daily streams stand at 780,962, including 687,129 as a lead artist and 518,017 from solo tracks. Kartel’s catalog features 471 tracks, with 423 as the lead artist, 324 as solo performances, and 48 as features.

He is the most successful independent dancehall artist on the platform with his albums King Of The Dancehall (2016) and Pon Di Gaza (2010) surpassing 100 million streams each.

Watch the Vybz Kartel interview on World Music Views above.