Skatta Burrell’s most recent interview on The Fix gave a detailed account of the success of Vybz Kartel’s Freedom Street concert, which started late New Year’s Eve and ran into early January 1, at the National Stadium in Kingston.
The venue, which officially holds 35,000 people, is estimated by Burrell to have hosted close to 40,000 for the concert.
He stated that additional space was cleared to accommodate the massive crowd and based on these numbers, the turnout exceeded all expectations, given Kartel’s sustained popularity despite his 13-year absence from the stage.
Burrell, impressed by the scale of the event, shared how he felt when he stood at the top of the grandstand and looked down at the crowd, recalling, “It looked like the Super Bowl.”
Skatta was quiz by the hosts about the numbers with regards to persons inside the stadium.
“You know that we don’t got the full head count yet, if you want me to make an assumption, i can, i think we clocked close to 40 thousand… I think it was close to 40 thousand because we made a lot of room in the stadium to get more patrons in,” said Skatta Burrell.
“It was a huge success… it was well executed,” he added.
The success of Freedom Street also had a significant impact on tourism, with reports suggesting an upsurge in visitors to Jamaica during December 2024.
The overwhelming support and massive attendance at the event highlighted the deep loyalty of Kartel’s fanbase and reinforced his position as one of the most influential figures in the Dancehall genre.
Watch Burrell’s interview on The Fix below:
