As he reflected on his life before, during, and after prison in an interview released on Wednesday, Vybz Kartel discussed his controversial decision to bleach his skin.
During the height of his career before his incarceration, Vybz Kartel’s skin-bleaching era ignited backlash from some, while others copied the influential artiste. At the time, the Love Dem deejay said that he was bleaching his skin to make his tattoos more visible.
However, Kartel explained in his latest interview that, in hindsight, his skin bleaching was tied to self-love.
“In hindsight, I think it definitely had to do with self-love. But on the other hand, while I was doing it, my mind wasn’t telling me that. My mind was telling me I’m doing this to show my tattoos because I got a lot of tattoos. But looking back, I think it was just, as a black man sometimes we have those issues. I’ll never bleach again though,” Kartel said.
The artiste went on to highlight that both black men and women have self-love issues and gravitate to Eurocentric physical features. He also admitted at the time he enjoyed creating shock value, but he always ensured that his music was full of substance.
During his interview on Hot 97, Kartel discussed his fitness journey amid his battle with Graves’ disease. The deejay shared that he works out in the gym nearly every day now, but he still consumes too much alcohol and smokes too much.
Kartel explained that after his prison release last year, he used alcohol and smoking as a crutch.
“… I analyse myself a lot of times, and I think it just, the heavy drinking when I came out and smoking, I think that’s just my crutch. You got to try to cope with I’m in prison 13 years; I’m out now. The world is bigger; it’s a lot,” Kartel said.
He shared that while he has slowed down now, it is still hard because sometimes he needs something to escape to. According to Kartel, he did not drink or smoke for two years while he was in prison even though he had access to whatever he wanted.
The Fever deejay further disclosed that despite the horrid conditions in prison, he had access to whatever food he liked and designer clothes, including Rolexes and Jordan sneakers. However, there was one person that he had limited access to, his fiancée Sidem Öztürk.
Last year, Vybz Kartel expressed his desire to have their wedding on his birthday in January, but the artiste has been busy travelling and performing.
Despite the delay, Kartel said they are “definitely” going to get married this year. He also said that he wants children with the former social worker, who is of Turkish descent.
“… I need some Turkish children… I need some kids to talk to me that I don’t understand,” Kartel joked.
Watch Vybz Kartel’s Interview below.
