VYBZ KARTEL: "I Guess I have To Fly!"

Interview by Nadine Reid for The Germaican Observer (Leipzig/Germany)
Photos by Konrad Roscher for germaica.net

Nadine talked with Vybz Kartel about Girls, School and one incident last December.

Germaican Observer: The lyrics you write, is it things that you see happen around you...?
Vybz Kartel: Yeh, it depends on the mood I'm in, for example I'll be in the studio and I hear a riddim and I'll catch a 'vibes' and the first thing that comes to mind is the melody and then you start thinking about what kind of words you gonna say in the melody... otherwise if I'm at home writing then I can say anything, me and my friends just vibing I just freestyle and say things that I see on the spot.

G.O.: You like to sing about the girls and sometimes if you really listen to the lyrics you might feel offended as a woman, how do you feel about it knowing that you have a daughter or don't you think the women take it seriously?
V.K.: Well, yuh see music is art and art is the expression and an artiste has a right to express how he feels to let the people worldwide see his experiences whether they be first hand or second hand... so music is just art I just deejay what I experience whether it be first hand or second hand... and sex really plays a great role in everbodys life regardless of their culture, skincolour, nation or language. I'm a person who studies sex and studies circumstances and situations surrounding sex and I build my songs according... most females I have met love my songs incidentally, so I guess I ain't saying nothing wrong.

G.O.: Do you actually practice what you sing in your songs?
V.K.: Yes I do, and most people do so that's why the songs are so popular because how people log on to music they have to feel what you are saying, they have to already experience that or they want to experience it, that's how people love their music... if someone hears Vybz Kartel tune about sex and they are doing what I'm singing about in the song they are gonna love it and if they want to do what I'm singing about they're gonna love it too.

G.O.: Were you a problem child?
V.K.: Where school was concerned it wasn't a problem it was just otherwise like I was a child who always wanted to be on the road and that was a cause of concern for my parents and that's where we really had altercations, but otherwise academically it was good until I got expelled in high school but even though I got expelled my father knew my potential so he just enrolled me in another school.

G.O.: So what was it that you wanted to do when you left school, did you already decide that you wanted to be a deejay?
V.K.: Well that was what eventually led to my expeltion from Calabar High School when I found my career... in high school I found that I wanted to be a deejay and I took it semi-professionally and started leaving school to go to studios and yuh know wha I mean so I knew that I wanted to be an artist from in high school so I just set out to accomplish that.

G.O.: Going back to the situation at Sting last year with Ninjaman what was going through your head when all of that was happening, did he 'diss' you?
V.K.: Well yuh know di good that men do live after dem, but di evil that men do live after dem too so a dat... but right now we wanna flip di script so we don't really dwell on bad memories we were very much apologetic in the whole incident surrounding it and the people saw the cause of it and right now Vybz Kartel is the hottest thing around.

G.O.: You were arrested and they wanted to charge you for murder, were you afraid that you would go to prison?
V.K.: No I wasn't because we had faith in the system and we have our lawyers and our lawyers are well accomplished and internationally reknown lawyers.

G.O.: When you were released people were outside cheering and saying "up to the time!", how did that make you feel?
V.K.: Well it was just a normal procedure, anybody who was released from any kind of captivity knows what I'm talking about, so any release is good and I knew that I was gonna be released as I said before because of the faith in the system.

G.O.: Are you really afraid of flying?
V.K.: Well actually I was...

G.O.: So what happened?
D.F.: Yuh have to just change because yuh have kids to feed and a career to establish and there is crazy money out there to make so yuh can't swim across the ocean so I guess I have to fly!

G.O.: Speaking about money, there are promoters especially here in Europe who say that the fees that the popular deejays charge are outrageous, do you think that the fees that you charge are o.k?
V.K.: No it couldn't be outrageous beacuse Jamaica is a third world country and the music so powerful and it has gone beyond borders and gone beyond class and taking over the world, so why not pay for the music that you love so much... if I go into a store and I see a Nike and I want that Nike I'm gonna pay whatever price beacuse I want that, nobody is forcing anything on you if you don't wanna pay it don't pay it.

G.O.: Do you think that they should legalize the smoking of Ganja in Jamaica?
V.K.: It depends if you are an established cultivator of the herb I don't think you would want that because it would just be taken over by the commercial market like the Cigarette Company and they are gonna set certain standards and certain rules... for me personally I don't care this is Jamaica...

G.O.: You're gonna perform in Germany for the first time do you plan to probably do a tour or other shows too?
V.K.: Maybe I would because Europe is a great place, it's very historical the architecture I love it, the vibe of the people I love it, it's very diverse so what the hell I would.

G.O.: How do you deal with the girls coming on to you?
V.K.: I just drink a lot of strong drink, aphrodisiac and I get my rest that is the best way to deal with girls.

G.O.: You voiced a song ("If U Man Nah Sow No Seed") on a riddim called "Messer Banzani", did you like the riddim?
V.K.: I did... it's different and difference is good, variety is the spice of life and one has to stretch his nusic beyond borders and... fusion is good!

Germaican Observer: Well thank you very much, really enjoyed the interview and I hope to see you when you come here.
Vybz Kartel: Same here, come is good so I'll see you when I come.

for more interviews please visit The Germaican Observer