Despite being behind bars since 2011, dancehall deejay Vybz Kartel has continued to make headway on the international market.
Just a few months after his dancehall record Fever charted on the coveted Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop airplay chart, the deejay’s music has seen international success again after a collaboration he did with popular Punjabi folk singer Mangi Mahal was recently featured on the hit TV series Preacher.
The single Balle! Shava!, is now part of the show’s soundtrack, which has exposed the ‘Worl’ Boss’ to its more than three million viewers.
The series is based on Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s popular 1990s comic book franchise of the same name.
Dominic Cooper plays the lead role. He is best known for playing Howard Stark in Captain America: The First Avenger.
For those not familiar with the TV series, Preacher, it has been running on American cable station AMC since May 2016.
The show is now in its second season and has reportedly been renewed for a third next year.
Vybz Kartel, real name Adija Palmer, will get a shot at vindicating himself and walking free come February of next year when his appeal trial kicks off in the Appeal Court in Kingston.
The dancehall star is currently serving a life sentence for a 2014 murder conviction. He will be eligible for parole in 35 years.
Vybz Kartel
Throughout the two-month trial, the defence argued that police officers had tampered with cell phone evidence presented in court and also intimidated one of the defence witnesses.
A member of the jury was also arrested on the same day that the artiste was convicted of murder. He was accused of trying to bribe fellow jurors to return a not-guilty verdict
In August when Fever charted on the Billboard, Kartel’s business partner, Michael Dawson, told THE STAR that the incarcerated deejay, despite his legal woes, remained in high demand in the United States.
“I think people like Drake and Justin Bieber have brought back dancehall into the mainstream, and Vybz Kartel is the best dancehall has right now,” he said. “He will be the most searched-for entertainer. In the States right now, Vybz Kartel is very popular, and mainstream radio has been playing a lot of dancehall music.”