Since his emergence on the Dancehall scene in 2002, Vybz Kartel has always been identified with his long time common-law wife and mother of his sons, Tanesha ‘Shorty’ Johnson. He has sang several songs over the years about her, both glowingly and unpleasantly, but this is the first time he has dedicated an entire album to her.
News broke in 2017 about their split and Kartel has since posted several comments on social media confirming breaking up. The 10 track album features hits ‘Fell Apart’ and ‘Then you & Me’, the latter of which a short film was released a few weeks prior. In June 2018, responding to a user on Instagram, Kartel confirmed the breakup and made it clear in no uncertain terms that he was never getting back with shorty. The user posted a comment saying “Diss shorty and want her back *expletive* fool, get the *expletive* outta here” to which Kartel responded by saying “want back who? *expletive* mi nuh go back way! Leave mi page…”
The album shows the controversial artiste in a different light and in complete contrast to what is typically expected from a Jamaican man, especially a Dancehall artist. Vybz Kartel though, has always been one who goes against the grain and is sometimes accused of doing so to intentionally stir controversy. Since releasing ‘To Tanesha’, social media has been in a frenzy and Vybz Kartel was the number one trending topic on ‘Jamaican’ Twitter, up until publishing this article. Some users even took the opportunity to mock him and likened it to a so-called typical Jamaican man who inflicts emotional wounds on women frequently, but “fell apart” when she moved on.
Kartel who was convicted of murder in 2014, has not shown any signs of slowing down, even though it is illegal to record music in prison. He has released countless hits since 2014 and his popularity has increased all the while being imprisoned.
Call him what you want; murderer, G.O.A.T, overrated, controversial, Vybz Kartel sure knows how to stay in the spotlight.
Written By: Jason McPherson
Mr. Palmer is playing the game and the system. He knows how to keep the tongues of the publoc wagging