Vybz Kartel‘s mega hit single “Fever” continues to make strides on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.
This week, “Fever” jumps to No. 36 up from 40 on the chart and is showing no signs of slowing down. The song was released over a year ago and has been one of the biggest singles in dancehall over the past year. The music video alone racked up over 21 million views on YouTube, and the song is showing strong streaming growth on Spotify and Apple Music.
It’s not clear yet if “Fever” will trigger a growth in sales for Vybz Kartel’s last album King of The Dancehall which was also one of the top hardcore dancehall albums last year. Kartel’s longtime business partner Michael Dawson says that right now the incarcerated deejay is the best that dancehall has to offer and that is why he is winning. Some dancehall fans may say that he has seen a decline in popularity over the last couple of months while other dancehall newcomers like Alkaline and Tommy Lee Sparta has seen a surge in their popularity.
Vybz Kartel is anxiously awaiting his appeal trial set for February 2018. That new trial will likely be his final attempt to secure his freedom following his controversial murder conviction in 2014. If he loses this case, he will spend the rest of his life behind bars for the murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams. Kartel and his three co-convicts Kahira Jones, Andre St John, and protege Shawn “Storm” Campbell are all maintaining their innocence despite a mountain of evidence presented by the prosecution. Their legal team argued during the trial that cops tampered with the evidence presented and also intimidated witnesses in the case.
The last time that Vybz Kartel dominated dancehall with a Billboard charting single was with “Romping Shop” and “Clarks” back in 2009-2010. We will be watching “Fever” closely on the chart to see how far it will go.
