Producer Dre Skull Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary Of Vybz Kartel’s ‘Kingston Story’

Vybz_Kartel
Vybz Kartel

Vybz Kartel may be MIA on Instagram currently, but those who know him best are keeping his crowning moments on full display. His longtime collaborator and owner of Mixpak Records, Dre Skull recently celebrated the ten-year anniversary of the suite he produced for the Teacha titled Kingston Story.

At the time of the album’s release in 2011, Vybz Kartel was a free man and a burgeoning force to be reckoned with in Dancehall music. The landmark LP was fueled by an initial single, Yuh Love, a promising hit which prompted the 14 track Vice Records roll out.

Recorded over a year-long period at dancehall producer NotNice’s studio, Kingston Story was met with much fanfare upon its release, hailed by Rolling Stone, The New York Times, as well as in a cover story for The Fader.

dreskull-unruly
Dre Skull

With the Brooklyn based producer as its singular engineer, Kartel set out on an ambitious mission to move away from the island’s singles-based/juggling culture towards a more thorough presentation in terms of form and format. The resulting LP included tracks Half On A Baby, My Crew and a slew of standout arrangements, proving to critics and the industry at large that Kartel’s sound and style had crossover appeal.

The collaboration was also fruitful for Dre Skull, who went on to produce Kartel’s protégé Popcaan’s sophomore album, Forever. By that point, Dre Skull had essentially arrived on the dancehall scene, later teaming up with the likes of Tifa, QQ, Konshens and more on his own juggling mix, as well as other projects. Though he cites a love for “rap, pop and all sorts of stuff”, he’s always held Dancehall in high regard.

“I can’t believe it’s been 10 years!!,” Dre wrote on Instagram two days ago. “Big respect to Kartel for sharing his unbelievable talents and for trusting me with this project. I learned so much making it and it solidified the musical path I’ve been on ever since. I’m forever grateful.”

“Big thanks to everyone who’s listened and all the support it’s received over the years. Should we drop a special 10 year anniversary edition??” he asked.

In 2012, he told Boomshots of the Kingston Story recordings: “I don’t think of myself as a dancehall producer. But I love dancehall. It’s one of the most cutting-edge musical cultures”.

“Even like the use of Auto-Tune, they were at the forefront of that, which was always interesting to me. So I’ve been a big fan”.

He also spoke highly of the exclusive opportunity to voice the prolific Fever deejay.

“I think he’s really versatile and has really interesting wordplay and his melodicism is really impressive. I’m much more impressed now after having worked with him in the studio. I haven’t worked with that many world-class vocalists but I really think he’s gotta be one of the true greats.”

Kingston Story peaked at No. 7 after two weeks on Billboard’s Reggae Albums chart in 2011.

The cover art has also become one of Kartel’s most iconic and widely recognized images, seen as a mural in the popular video game Cyberpunk 2077, and alongside his mentor Bounty Killer in a painting shared on Instagram by the veteran back in February.