Shatta Wale Says A Vybz Kartel Visit To Ghana Would Be Like ‘The Next Coming Of Jesus Christ’

Ghanian dancehall artist Shatta Wale eagerly anticipates the day his idol Vybz Kartel will finally be a free man. So much so, he likened a visit from the Worl’ Boss to the “next coming of Jesus Christ”.

The African deejay and afrobeats proponent has seen a sizable increase in sales and recognition since being featured on Beyoncé’s Black is King lead single, Already. The Mansa Musa Money man however has been a musical mainstay in his homeland for years and talked coping with COVID, upcoming projects, and meeting the “Gaza King” in a recent On Stage interview.

When questioned on Kartel’s impact on the continent, an enthused Shatta Wale responded, “Vybz Kartel is the President in Africa you know. That’s the President, I can tell you this for a fact, that when Vybz Kartel comes to Africa, it’s gonna be the next coming of Jesus Christ, I’m telling you cause the love this man has in Africa is too much.

Continuing to heap praises, Wale added, “Through Vybz Kartel people have been artists, people have gotten employment in Africa. Through Vybz Kartel people have changed a certain way of life and wanna be serious in life. We all saw where Vybz grew up from and how God lifted him to a level and where he’s even gotten to. We’re still proud of him and I can tell you, if Vybz Kartel steps in Africa today, Jamaicans are gonna hear a different story.”

According to the emcee Kartel’s influence is so great that even one of his earliest protégés, Tommy Lee Sparta, also has a following in the African state. Wale mentioned to host Winford Williams that a “clique of Spartans” in Ghana emulates the dark deejay and his sinister style. Adding that both Sizzla and Capleton have huge markets in Africa as well, he touched on the chart-topping 2020 compilation Tropical House Cruises To Jamaica that he appears on with several of his personal heroes.

Wale says that he felt the experience was “a calling, a blessing and stepping stone” to prove to the world that he could adequately market and represent the genre. Thanking the album’s executive producer, Sean Contractor Edwards of the Contractor Music Group, Wale said he was proud to be seen as a gatekeeper for the broadening musical horizons in his homeland. 

“I might be a Ghanian, but because I love dancehall I believe most people in Jamaica are like my brothers and sisters, I believe in connecting and teaching them what is good back home. I want to teach the next generation how to make money through this chance God has given us. That is what I really want to preach out there. I am connecting to the people that were lost in Africa and I have to bring them back home for us to have a party.”