Vybz Kartel, Sheba Collab Soundtracks ‘Jamaica Vs Bahamas’ Beef On TikTok
It’s been near impossible to scroll through Caribbean TikTok over the last three weeks without hearing Vybz Kartel and Sheba’s 2010 hit Gaza Man Mi Name.
Though she’s been preoccupied with transitioning into acting, Sheba is relishing in the song finding new audiences 13 years later. Reflecting on the story behind the track (produced by Kartel on the Teasa riddim), Sheba said she wasn’t the intended female act.
“Fun fact: the original female on this track was Timberlee, then Addi seh him hear supn ina mi voice weh just sell the song, so, it was transferred to me to deliver,” the singjay revealed in an Instagram Story on Monday. “It was a banger then in 2010 & come a trend in 2023, so, guess he was right. Big up Timberlee any weh she deh sed way.”
Timberlee is most known for the sassy Ward 21 production, Bubble Like Soup, released in 2007. Sheba, formerly called Gaza Sheba, made her musical entry two years later as part of Kartel’s formidable Portmore Empire enclave. Gaza Man Mi Name marked their first big collaboration, and is now the soundtrack to the ongoing ‘Jamaica versus Bahamas’ online beef.
The song was refixed by Bahamian DJ Selector Cordy, who first shared it on TikTok on August 6. With a simple yet fun dance challenge attached, the song took off in the Bahamian TikTok space and eventually saw Jamaicans joining in.
Somewhere along the friendly exchange of videos came a few accounts that sought to compare the infrastructure and living conditions between the nations, which turned the fun into fuss.
The trend continues following Chris Brown’s concert in Kingston on Sunday, with Jamaicans roasting Bahamians for not attracting such a megastar. Staying out of the drama are figures like Valiant, who continue to do the dance challenge for fun.
The refixed song has been used in more than 22,000 videos. Besides Gaza Mi Name, Sheba and Kartel’s chemistry spawned Like Christmas, You and Him Deh and Xmas Wish. She’s also nabbed solo notables like Pree Mi, Lucky and 3Some, but put music on the backburner in 2021 to pursue her passion for theatre and film.
At the time, she spent several months networking in Los Angeles, California, connecting with talent agencies to market her voice acting skills. She was interested in casting for cartoons and animated productions because of her mastery of different accents and voices, but nothing materialised.
Given name Tasheba Campbell, the entertainer often held the roles of main writer, coordinator and lead actress in productions in high school (then Spanish Town Comprehensive High School in St. Catherine). Even after getting her break in music, she contacted local theatre companies to pursue her dream of becoming an actress, but eventually yielded to the jealous schedule of her music career.
Her legacy supersedes her own career as her son, N’Hance, has taken up the music mantle.