Bobby Shmurda, DJ Akademiks Demonstrate They’re Vybz Kartel’s Biggest ‘Stans’

Brooklyn rapper Bobby Shmurda and podcast host DJ Akademiks are the self-proclaimed, biggest Vybz Kartel ‘stans’ (super fans) of all time.   On Friday, the two friends, who are both of Jamaican descent, caught up backstage after an Off The Record episode for a random “jewelry check” and to trade hooks from their favorite ‘gun man’ and ‘gyalis’ tunes in the incarcerated Worl’ Boss’ catalog.

In December 2021, Akademiks had contended that Kartel had more influence on Dancehall, than other iconic artists had on their own genres.  For AK, that included Bob Marley, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, and Jay-Z.   In Friday’s behind-the-scenes clip, the Spanish Town-native Akademiks said that while Drake was his favorite Hip Hop artist, his favorite artist of all time, from any genre, was “Vybz Kartel, easy!”

Bobby Shmurda, whose father is Jamaican, couldn’t have agreed more.

Akademiks said the first time he realized Shmurda was “my n-gga” was when he saw him bumping Vybz Kartel tracks on his Instagram Live. Bobby, however, decided to challenge the DJ’s GAZA integrity by letting him spit a few verses.

“What’s your favorite Vybz Kartel? Lemme tell you if you my n-gga,” Shmurda said, before laying down the guidelines, “First of all, we go’ne do badman [then] gyalis. Which is your favorite badman tune?” he asked.

For Akademiks, Kartel’s 2009 release Pass Mi Gun was his pick for best badman track, though wasn’t so keen on the verses. Bobby, however, who wasn’t so keen on the name of the track, instead knew the verses. Once he caught on to which song it was, the ever-animated rapper unleashed an explosive recital of some verses.

When it was Bobby’s turn to name his favorite badman track, he failed to recall the title, but opted to run a notable one-line. “Dem cyaan grow and gwaan bad, dem haffi born bad,” he said.

An excited Akademiks then took the chance to insert another top choice, Brookyn Anthem (2010), which they both agreed was definitely an all-time fav.

The two also agreed on the best ‘gyal tune’ from the Worl’ Boss, which they said was his 2010-release, Love Dem. They had no hitches running through the hook while touching on some very bland-sounding high-pitched vocals.

Watch Bobby Shmurda and DJ Akademiks’ link up BTS on the latest Off The Record episode here: