Vybz Kartel Has Change Of Heart, Requests To Join Prison Music Rehab Programme

Vybz Kartel appears to be reconsidering his decision to not be part of the Rehabilitation of Offenders through Music Program at the St Catherine Adult Correctional Centre where he is currently incarcerated.   This was revealed in an interview by the Jamaica Gleaner with internationally acclaimed music producer and composer Mikie Bennett who started the program in 2004 as a way to bridge the gap between the police and the inner-city communities.

Jah Cure is one of the most famous beneficiaries of the programme as he took part in it before his release and it is believed it gave him the extra push to continue his career and become a reggae/dancehall superstar.

Mikie Bennett revealed that Kartel’s request will now have to be processed by authorities but once approved he is looking forward to working with the 44-year-old mega star.

Bennet plays a fundamental role in the programme and is part of a special team which was commissioned to use music to rehabilitate inmates at Jamaica’s maximum security prisons like the Tower Street Penitentiary and St Catherine Adult correctional centres.

Kartel who was incarcerated for murder in 2014, decided that he did not want to be part of the programme. Even though he is not part of the programme he has released over 50 new songs since being imprisoned. He is currently awaiting the outcome of his appeal to have his murder conviction overturned.

If he is allowed into the programme he will be able to gain significantly from the expertise of Bennett and program director Police Superintendent Gladstone Wright. Wright, who initiated the programme, was instrumental in helping Jah Cure with his music career while he was locked up.  He will also receive the musical wisdom of Mikey Fletcher, bassist Aeion Hoilett, saxophonist Dean Fraser, guitarist Wayne Armond and keyboardist Bowie McLaughlin, among others.

Bennet knew Kartel through his mother, who taught the dancehall singer at Tutorial College in Kingston. It was only recently that he saw the singer again for the first time in many years and he noted that what struck him the most was Kartel’s new appearance. “What struck me most was how different he seems compared to the image that has been in my brain, based on pictures and videos. Not only has he stopped bleaching, but his body language is so light … so comfortable. I was taken aback at how cool and pleasant he was,” Bennet said in the interview.