Vybz Kartel is taunting his detractors in a new post revealing the most-streamed dancehall artists of the year.
Throughout his 12-year incarceration, Vybz Kartel has defied all odds by maintaining his status as dancehall royalty, never falling off and keeping up just fine with the other artists of the genre who are not confined to a cell. The dancehall mogul has managed to stay ahead of the game despite his limitations and still remains one of the most listened to in the 2020s decade.
Taking to Instagram to commemorate this fact, the Jamaican music superstar shared a post unveiling the most-streamed dancehall artists on Spotify for 2023. Vybz Kartel takes the No. 3 spot after international dancehall juggernaut Sean Paul and former apprentice, OVO-signed dancehall star Popcaan, respectively. As the list goes on, Shenseea claims the fourth position, followed by UK-native Stefflon Don.
The next half of the top 10 is led by veteran dancehall artist Charly Black, who manages to nab this very respectable position despite his lack of new releases – it is a true testament to the sheer magnitude of his mainstay international hits that have become classics in some territories. The Grammy Kid comes through as the 7th most streamed, and she is poetically followed by Grammy-nominated Queen of Dancehall, Spice, and the King of Dancehall, Beenie Man. Young dancehall trailblazer Skillibeng deservingly wraps up the tally at No. 10.
While many are scrutinizing the validity of the list as they question some of the artists’ eligibility for the category, Vybz Kartel is more focused on who didn’t make the cut. In the caption, the dancehall mogul wrote, “Di man weh him say bigga dan Kartel, a weh him a stream? In a literal stream? Or a pond? ..or a river?” For those fans who haven’t connected the dots, Kartel’s caption comes off as cryptic and intriguing. Meanwhile, others are having a laugh over the seemingly not-so-subtle jab at dancehall artist Flexx.
The former Gully-side artist, who was a member of Mavado’s music fraternity many years ago, recently did an interview where he compared and contrasted the careers of Mavado and Vybz Kartel and made some bold statements about who the “bigger” artist was. “Mek me tell you this bro and me a tell you this without no apology, Mavado is the bigger artiste by far, far, fur, fur, fur,” Flexx declared in a recent interview.
Flexx then tried to give some supporting reasons to justify his statement, as he claimed that Mavado was more known internationally and had more Billboard hits. “How much song Kartel get pon the billboard from him a do music?” Flexx questioned before answering for himself. “Alright let’s say this more than 5(songs), real Billboard chart when Billboard was Billboard, weh dem a do, more Yankees know Mavado more than Vybz Kartel internationally,” he said.
The dancehall artist went on to posit that Mavado’s music was more long-lasting making for an even more debatable claim. “It’s just the truth, Kartel, giant, legend, big artiste, lyricist right around, but he is not bigger than Mavado, Mavado songs them last longer in dancehall,” Flexx added.
Elsewhere in the interview, Flexx asserted that it was Mavado who won the infamous 2008 Sting clash between him and the Gaza leader. According to the former Gully artist, it was Mavado who got cheers, while Vybz Kartel was booed by the Sting crowd. “Yeah singer(Mavado) sing one song two time but a waa different part inna the same song, and the crowd did a rae tae tae, that a the only mishap weh gwaan wid singer, but him nuh lose, him never get boo a Kartel get boo, and after Kartel get boo a singer start get all the forward them,” Flexx relayed.
Meanwhile, Vybz Kartel appears to have had the last laugh as this Spotify chart uncovers the top artists whom dancehall fans are really giving the time of day. Fans and artists alike took to the comment section to voice their opinions on the matter and crack jokes about the dancehall star’s caption. Check out Kartel’s post and its interactions below.
