Dancehall singer Wayne Wonder is urging young people to learn from Vybz Kartel’s experience and avoid a similar path. Speaking to DancehallMag from the UK, the No Letting Go singer expressed his happiness over Kartel’s acquittal and hopes it will serve as a cautionary tale for his fans.
“It’s (his freedom) is a great thing because yuh lock up da talent deh (and) him done do 13 years already,” he said. “Yuh cyaa waste yuh talent, suh, we a look pon di music. From yuh see the whole excitement about Vybz Kartel yuh know.”
“The message dat him send out and deh di youths dem fi keep away from crime a di right message him send to dem. Mi hope dem listen, ‘cause dem always listen to him. If him can put some positive tings pon di youths dem, it’s amazing.”
On Wednesday, Kartel and his co-accused Shawn ‘Storm’ Campbell and Andre St. John, while Kahira Jones were acquitted of the 2011 murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams.
Meanwhile, Wayne Wonder has been busy touring Asia and Europe. In mid-June, he shared the stage with Buju Banton in Panama. The reunion of these two music icons delighted fans, especially after Wonder disclosed a couple of years ago that they had grown apart.
“Me and the deejay good man,” he told DancehallMag. “Yuh done know seh wi reach a stage where we’re solo acts with solo careers that’s why yuh nuh see mi pon shows with him. A suh it guh sometimes. We were always solo acts, but over the years we collaborated on some of the riddims. Everything bless man.”
Addressing his previous comments about their relationship deteriorating, Wonder explained that he was speaking from a place of temporary emotion.
“Him a do him ting, and me a do my ting, basically,” he said. “Wi seh certain tings in di past, and wi just pass dem ting deh. Both of us are good. I wish him nothing but the best, and I know him wish me the best too.”
Wonder revealed that he would have joined Buju Banton’s “Long Walk to Freedom” concerts in New York if prior commitments hadn’t prevented it.
The Jamaican star has undeniably played a significant role in sustaining the country’s musical culture worldwide. When asked about the secret to his success, Wonder simply replied, “Yuh have to live it and love it enuh. Music is like a jealous girl, suh yuh haffi treat har good, and yuh know if yuh treat a girl good, she will treat yuh back good. That’s how I look at my music.”
