Bounty Killer Reminds Vybz Kartel of What he Did 24 Years Ago: Kartel Responds

Bounty Killer Reminds Vybz Kartel of What He Did 24 Years Ago

More than two decades after helping introduce a young Vybz Kartel to the Dancehall world, Bounty Killer looked back at the early days of one of Jamaica’s most influential musical careers.

The memory was especially significant because the relationship between the two artists has gone through almost every chapter imaginable — mentorship, collaboration, success, separation, lyrical conflict and, eventually, renewed respect.

For fans who know Vybz Kartel as the global Dancehall star he became, it is easy to forget that his professional journey began when he was still a young artist looking for the right opportunity.

Before Vybz Kartel Became a Household Name

Vybz Kartel, born Adidja Palmer, had already been working on his craft before he became one of Dancehall’s biggest names. But the connection with Bounty Killer became an important turning point.

Kartel himself has credited Bounty with helping open the door for him professionally. In a 2011 interview with the Jamaica Observer, Kartel recalled that his professional music career took off around 2000 and said the opportunity was made possible through his mentor, Bounty Killer.

The story of their first connection goes back even further.

According to Bounty Killer’s own recollection, Dancehall producer and manager Rohan Butler brought him a cassette featuring the young Kartel in 1999. Bounty said the recordings immediately stood out because of Kartel’s lyrics, rhymes, metaphors and writing ability.

The talent was obvious, but Bounty also recognized that the young deejay still needed development.

That distinction is important.

Bounty was not simply giving Kartel a microphone and sending him onto a stage. He was helping a young artist develop the performance skills needed to turn strong writing into a professional Dancehall career.

The Young Deejay Who Had the Lyrics

Bounty later explained that Kartel’s vocal ability was not yet fully developed, but his writing was already different.

In a 2023 interview, Bounty described Kartel’s writing technique, wordplay, rhyming structure and style as unusual. He said that when he first heard the young artist, he knew his mind was different from the average aspiring deejay.

That assessment helps explain why Bounty continued working with him despite the early limitations.

Rather than focusing only on what Kartel could not yet do, Bounty recognized what he could become.

He connected the young artist with producers including Jazzwad, Snow Cone, Dave Kelly and Jeremy Harding, while also helping him navigate the recording environment.

Bounty recalled that Computer Paul was among the first major producers to record Kartel, with the early version of “Black Power” eventually becoming a Bounty Killer song because of concerns about Kartel’s vocal maturity at the time.

It was part of a process that would eventually help transform Kartel from a talented youngster into a major recording artist.

“Gyal Clown” Became a Major Early Moment

One of the most important early recordings connecting the two artists was “Gyal Clown.”

Bounty remembered the collaboration with producer Jazzwad as Kartel’s first official local hit. The song helped demonstrate that the young deejay could move beyond being known primarily for his writing and begin establishing himself with audiences.

That period also helped introduce Dancehall fans to the artist who would eventually become known worldwide as Vybz Kartel.

Even the name was part of the evolution.

Bounty recalled that the young artist was originally spelling his name “Vibes Cartel.” Because other artists were using the word “Cartel,” Bounty said he encouraged a different spelling — “Vybz Kartel.”

The name stuck.

From Protégé to Alliance Member

As Kartel’s career developed, his relationship with Bounty became part of the larger Alliance movement.

The Alliance was one of the most important artist collectives in Jamaican Dancehall during the early 2000s. It provided a platform for several artists who would later become major names, including Vybz Kartel, Mavado, Busy Signal, Wayne Marshall and others.

Bounty’s role as a mentor became one of the defining parts of his own legacy.

In fact, his influence was not limited to Kartel. Over the years, Bounty helped provide opportunities and exposure to numerous young artists, and his contribution to artist development was recognized by the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association in 2018.

With Kartel, however, the relationship eventually became much more complicated.

When the Student Became His Own Force

By the middle of the 2000s, Vybz Kartel was no longer simply Bounty Killer’s protégé.

His own identity, audience and ambitions were growing rapidly.

In 2006, Kartel left the Alliance and moved toward building his own musical organization, the Portmore Empire, which would later become closely associated with Gaza.

Looking back, Kartel himself explained that becoming independent was necessary for his development. He believed that remaining under someone else’s leadership would have prevented him from becoming the artist he ultimately became.

The separation eventually became a serious lyrical rivalry.

But the complicated history should not erase what came before it.

Kartel Never Forgot the Beginning

One of the most revealing parts of the story is that Vybz Kartel has publicly acknowledged Bounty Killer’s influence on multiple occasions.

In 2020, Kartel paid tribute to Bounty and described him as a father figure, mentor, teacher and provider. He credited Bounty with helping introduce him to Dancehall and with giving him what he described as a “great escape” from poverty, allowing him to build a better life for himself and his family.

That acknowledgement carries weight because it came after their relationship had already experienced years of tension.

It shows that whatever happened between the two artists later, Kartel understood the importance of the opportunity Bounty gave him at the beginning.

Twenty-Four Years Later, the Story Still Matters

That is what made Bounty’s reminder of those early years so meaningful.

In 2000, Vybz Kartel was still a young artist trying to establish himself. Bounty Killer was already an established Dancehall force with the platform and connections to help identify emerging talent.

The difference between the two positions was enormous.

One had the talent and ambition.

The other had the experience, access and willingness to open doors.

What happened afterward became Dancehall history.

Kartel developed into one of Jamaica’s most recognizable deejays, built the Portmore Empire, influenced a new generation of artists and created a musical identity that extended far beyond the Alliance years.

And Bounty Killer remained one of the most important mentors in the story of how that career began.

Their history also demonstrates something important about Jamaican music: success rarely happens in isolation.

Artists may eventually become bigger than the people who gave them their first opportunity, but that does not erase the importance of the first opportunity.

From Conflict Back to Respect

Years after their split, the tone between Bounty Killer and Vybz Kartel has increasingly included public acknowledgement of each other’s contribution to Dancehall.

Kartel’s tribute to Bounty made clear that he still viewed the veteran as an important figure in his development. And Bounty has continued to speak about Kartel’s unusual talent and the potential he recognized from the beginning.

That perspective became even clearer when Bounty congratulated Kartel during his first GRAMMY nomination period in 2025. Bounty praised Kartel as a lyrical talent who had built his own throne, while Kartel responded by acknowledging that he had learned from his mentor.

Their journey therefore tells a much bigger story than an old Dancehall rivalry.

It is the story of a mentor recognizing talent before the wider industry did.

It is the story of a young deejay taking an opportunity and turning it into a career.

And it is the story of two major figures eventually being able to look back at where it all started.

Twenty-four years after that early breakthrough, the significance of Bounty Killer’s role in Vybz Kartel’s beginnings remains impossible to separate from the history of modern Dancehall.

The protégé went on to build his own empire.

But before there was Gaza, there was Alliance.

And before Vybz Kartel became the World Boss, there was a young artist with lyrics, ambition and potential — and Bounty Killer was one of the people who recognized it.

 

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