Vybz Kartel - Incarceration Cannot Stop His Local & Global Radio Presence
Vybz Kartel, the Jamaican Dancehall artist, continues to captivate audiences worldwide, dominating the airwaves with his music, despite facing a lengthy prison sentence. Explore the diverse music landscape of Jamaica, from Reggae to Afrobeats, and the impressive growth of emerging talents.
- Ava Irving, Staff Writer
Renowned Jamaican Dancehall artist Vybz Kartel remains a dominant force in the music industry, surpassing over 1,300 fellow homegrown artists vyeing for spins on nationally recognied local radio stations, Community and Global Sound Systems, Online Radio Hubs, and Disapsorian Radio, despite facing a proposed 35-year sentence before parole.
In Jamaica, where a total of 55 terrestrial and online reporting radio stations operate, only seven dedicate a significant portion (at least 75%) of their music programming to Reggae and Dancehall music.
Added to that revelation, in the first quarter of 2023, Afrobeats made a strong presence on the remaining stations, while Religious urban music maintained a consistent presence across most secular oriented radio stations.
Among the secular radio categories, Classical, Blues, and R&B outpaced Hip-Hop and EDM in Q1.
However, AAA hits and solid gold pop singles across all genres continued to dominate the majority of the airwaves in Jamaica.
In addition to Vybz Kartel, popular artists such as Beyoncé, Bad Bunny, Chronixx, Busy Signal, Protoje and Masicka closely followed in terms of local radio popularity.
Furthermore, Valiant, Jahmiel, Chronic Law, and Romain Virgo experienced impressive growth figures during the first quarter of 2023.
It is noteworthy that almost 60% of locally generated radio-related royalties leave the country as outgoing remittances.
To address this issue, Caribbean governments should draw inspiration from the Canadian government and advocate for local radio stations to include a minimum of 60% local artists within their chosen music format.
Jamaica and the wider Caribbean region should not be solely defined by Reggae, Dancehall, or Soca.
The region boasts talented artists from every genre, acting as global ambassadors who often remain unrecognized.
For example, Trinidadian artist Haddaway's hit single "What is Love" has become one of the most recognizable songs since Bob Marley's "One Love" in the early 90s, emphasizing the success of Caribbean stars ouside of traditional Caribbean genres.
