Vybz Kartel comes through with a powerful remake of one of Peter Tosh’s classic.
Dancehall juggernaut Vybz Kartel dropped his latest single ‘Vampire,’ a cover of Peter Tosh’s classic, in the early hours of Monday morning. Already at a staggering 88K views on YouTube, the roots reggae release sees the Di Teacha as a singjay, sinking his teeth into social ills that have remained largely unchanged. The song samples the Stepping Razor’s 1978 track, citing an oppressive social system and its cutthroat players that “don’t like to see youths prosper.” “A remake of one of the Great Stepping Razors plethora of timeless classics,” the deejay wrote on his Instagram account.
One of dancehall’s most prolific lyricists, Vybz Kartel, rarely remake, sample or cover other artists, making the song even more special as he speaks over the old riffs about an oppressive system. It also comes on the heels of Saturday’s incredibly successful Verzuz Battle between industry giants Bounty Killer and Beenie Man. Capitalizing on the widespread nostalgia, Kartel carries us a bit further down Jamaican music’s memory lane. True to form, adding his own flair, Kartel lashes out at the clergy, judiciary and media for their role in maintaining the suppressive status quo.
“Yuh tun di yute dem inna criminal/Look how di ghetto stay, dat deven fit fi animal/Den yuh use di media demonize di garrison/So when yuh kill di animals it come een like nutten,” Kartel deejay.
“Weh you a do fi di people, every day anodda fairy tale about heaven, yuh no see di people dem a suffer pon earth, dem a pray fi 400 years an dat nuh work,”? the singer laments before an almost identical rendition of Tosh’s original chorus. Fans have started heaping praise on the song, asking for a full reggae album and wondering whether or not the deejay even sleeps. It’s a valid question, with his latest body of work Of Dons & Divas a few weeks shy of its much anticipated release date. The incarcerated artiste has his current sights set on winning a Grammy and becoming a grandpa, so a reggae album would be a delayed treat for fans who rarely see his roots reggae side. For now, they can ‘preorder, preview or presave’ the project from the link in the “?Thickianna?” deejay’s Instagram bio and get a taste of bitter social realities through this new reggae jam while they wait.
The original track by Peter Tosh was released in 1976 and again in 1978 just a week before Tosh’s tragic, unsolved death. He preached openly about ghetto youth oppression and upliftment, a topic on which Vybz Kartel is no stranger or novice with hits like ?Emergency ?and Any Weather.
