Vybz Kartel has clapped back at a recent statements by Jamaica’s Children’s Advocate Diahann Gordon Harrison, in which she indicated that a study conducted by her department among children who were either charged or accused formally of having committed criminal offenses, had revealed that he, Vybz Kartel was their “undisputed role model.”
The Children’s Advocate who is also Jamaica’s national rapporteur on trafficking in persons had said she was deeply disturbed by the findings while speaking at the recent ‘Save Our Boys, Save Our Nation’ prayer breakfast, which was staged by the Caribbean Conference of Seventh-day Christians at the Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston.
“This is the person they saw as the be-all and end-all of what you need to strive to be like,” Gordon Harrison had said, adding that the type of lyrics written and voiced by Kartel, was unwholesome and undesirable and was unfit to be consumed by children.
“Certainly as a parent, that’s not the kind of music my children would be exposed to – not if I have anything to do with it,” she had said.
But on Monday, Vybz Kartel, whose real name is Adijah Palmer, shot back at the state official. He repudiated her claims that he was somehow culpable for juvenile delinquency on the island in a video clip from an interview he had done years before his 2014 conviction for the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams and subsequent life sentence, which sees him serving 35 years in the St. Catherine District prison before he can qualify for parole.
The video was captioned: “Scapegoat Mentality: Pathetic how Vybz Kartel has been labeled as the main protagonist of crime and violence in our society. Well, he’s been incarcerated and for more than five years (Old Government and New Government inna power) and the crime rate has been the worst ever…but he said it long ago so Mr. Bbylon and oonu gyalfren dem weh oonu nuh stop sen out… Seeit yah inna oonu earz drums.”
Kartel has repeatedly declared unequivocally over the years that he does not consider himself as a role model for children and that any parent who uses him as a role model for their children has already “failed as a parent”.
“We can’t do nothing more than just deejay and just watch wi head, yuh nuh. A dat mi a tell yuh. Caw crime nuh realy stem from artiste… crime stem from the social and economic living condition of the people crime stem from di political culture of Jamaica we get so out a hand dat not even di politician demself can manage it. A dem ting deh crime stem from,” Kartel say in the clip.
Gaza fans rolled out in support of the sentiments expressed by Kartel. One male fan in concurring with the artiste, said it was a failure of government policies that put the country in such a precarious position as it relates to crime.
“Until the social and economic conditions of the country drastically improves, we will always be plagued with crime,” he said.
“The government fail us and they don’t really want to fix the issues at hand because keeping us in poverty will continue to benefit their political agenda. We just have to educate ourselves #knowledgeispower,” he added.
Another fan said politicians continue to be disingenuous by using artistes as scapegoats for a lot of the mayhem taking place on the island.
“The politicians try to paint the picture to the Jamaican society like its artist that stem the crime and violence, or are responsible for the crimes going on in the garrison community when its they themselves are the biggest criminals…but dem cyah trick we. We have a prophet name vybz kartel!” he said.
