Skillibeng Gives Big Credit To Vybz Kartel, Reveals Collabs With Young M.A, Jahvillani

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Skillibeng

Dancehall fan favorite, Emwah Warmington otherwise known as Skillibeng has revealed that he intends to collaborate with fellow artiste Jahvillani and American rapper Young M.A.  In an interview with Winford Williams on the weekly series On Stage, Skillibeng also talked about the significant influence incarcerated veteran Vybz Kartel has had on his career.

The Mr. Universe deejay appeared on the show on Saturday, repping a Puma sweatshirt and his bandana securely tied in place (i.e., around his neck) to provide the inside scoop about his career and plans for the future.

At the height of that career, Skilli spoke about the inability to perform on a live stage for his fans due to the COVID-19 limitations but has managed to stay fresh and current through social media. With a constant feed of Instagram posts and regular Live sessions, the Torpedo deejay has been keeping his fans on their toes. Most importantly and quite strategic is his frequent and steady release of music.

It might seem easy, but the Morant Bay High oldboy says the secret to the sauce is the flavoring that is his unique style and originality in this modern take on Dancehall music.

Now everyone wants a piece of the sensation, who is signed to EastSyde Records. Already Dancehall artistes Vybz Kartel, TWani, and Jada Kingdom have had their slice of the goodness.  We’ve come to see his feature on Kartel’s Of Dons & Divas album. This was a euphoric moment for Skilli, like many young deejays coming up in the business, Kartel was and still is a huge role model to him.

“As a yute, wha me di really want outta music still ah fi can collaborate with my favorite artiste and be a part of the star life,” he said.

“Big up to Kartel, fi mek me feel da star way deh, you know, from music. Without him, me wouldn’t a really too follow up music certain way… cya Kartel style of music is where Skillibeng era of music build from.”

Skillibeng added that some artistes give props to Kartel, but they do not fully credit the Worl’ Boss for building the foundation on which their music stands. “At the end of the day, really why them man nah want give him the full credit, is because they nuh really capable of wha we doing.”

“Anuh everybody strong enough to build a style, go back to the drawing board, forward back to Dancehall, test it, and it work. Anuh everybody can do that. Anuh everybody can build a strategy. And Vybz Kartel teach we dat.”

Vybz Kartel
Vybz Kartel

It wasn’t just Vybz Kartel who reached out to the St. Thomas native.

Comedian turned artiste TWani remixed his single Honda to feature vocals from Skillibeng just a month ago, which has already raked in 1.2 million views and counting.

Skillibeng said Miss Heavy herself reached out for him to jump on her remix of Shake, which they dropped three weeks ago and is already looking at over 500k views. Jada is a natural talent, he said, and the experience he had working with her was one of the easiest.  They recorded the track in 20 minutes.

He went on to say that he and Koffee have had talks about a collab, “Yah Koffee been interested in a my style a music from a longer time as she did tell me from the earlier stages of mi career,” he said.

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Skillibeng and Koffee

Skillibeng also appeared in her music video for her summertime smash single Lockdown that released a week ago.

What’s even more exciting is an international collaboration with American rapper Young M.A., which Skilli says is already set for release soon. The high-in-demand Dancehall deejay said Claims Record reached out with the opportunity with Young M.A., and it’s expected to be something everyone will be pretty ‘elated’ to see.

M.A went quadruple platinum with her hit single Ooouuu in 2016. The New York-based singer, who has been open about her sexual orientation in her music, remains independent despite the success and released her first studio album, Herstory in the Making, last year.

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Young M.A

Next up, will be a teaming with the 1Government boss man, Jahvillani. Skillibeng said there is new music on the way to feature them both, but fans will just have to wait to see what they bring to the table.

Jahvillani is best known for Clarks Pon Foot, Rubberband, Wileside Government, and Sunday To Sunday

As for an actual on-stage performance from Skillibeng, fans will just have to wait until they can see him in person. The deejay say’s he’s not so fond of the live streaming shows, hence his absence on the recent live broadcast of A Taste of Sumfest over the weekend.

Watch the full interview with Skillibeng on On Stage here –