Vybz Kartel Reveals His Biggest Priority Following Release From Prison

After 13 years, Vybz Kartel and three co-defendants gained their release from Jamaican prison on July 31. Back in 2014, the court sentenced the dancehall legend to life in prison for the 2011 murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams. Williams was one of Kartel’s associates at the time. Kartel’s trial was the longest in the island’s history, lasting 65 days. Toward the end of the process, the jury suspected that a juror was offering bribes to the other jurors. That contributed to Vybz receiving a guilty verdict, though he always maintained his innocence.

This past March, a London appeals court threw out the defendants’ convictions. They stated that allowing the juror accused of bribery to continue serving led to a “miscarriage of justice.” The Jamaican Court of Appeal then decided a retrial wasn’t worth the effort and set the four men free. Besides the passage of time between trials, the court also cited Vybz’s poor health in their explanation. Vybz Kartel suffers from Graves’ disease and an undisclosed heart condition, likely in part from the poor conditions of the prison he served his term in. His doctor gave statements in court saying that his heart was in such bad shape that he could die in his sleep at any time. Now that he’s free, he wants to get healthier.

“Just finished my morning workout […] I can’t overdo it yet […] You know what I say, fitness and family? That’s the greatest,” said Vybz Kartel in the video, clearly sweating from his workout. The 48-year-old is hopeful to get back to normal after his time in prison. In a recent interview with Fox 5 New York’s Lisa Evers, he mentioned that he also purchased a bike and a treadmill to “hit the ground running” in his fitness journey.

Kartel stayed active musically during his time in prison. Between 2011 and 2024, he released nearly two dozen mixtapes and albums. To celebrate his newfound freedom, he released First Week Out, a mixtape of loosies from the last few years of his career. Now that he’s back home, the artist is looking to turn his life around and get back to doing what he’s made his living doing best.