‘Last Man Standing Is Still Not Mixed,’ NotNice Talks Creating The Vybz Kartel Classic

The day was December 27, 2008. The epic Sting clash between Vybz Kartel and Mavado had ended abruptly without a declared winner at the Jamworld Entertainment Complex in St Catherine, and producer NotNice was heading home to sleep.

But before he could settle under some covers, his phone rang.

“Kartel call mi and seh, ‘how yuh fi gone sleep and people a seh clash tie?’ Di man seh, ‘no man, clash cya tie,’” NotNice recalled during Diwali Broadcast with fellow Dancehall producer Steven ‘Lenky’ Marsden on Wednesday night.

NotNice continued: “Him have one idea and seh fi forward a di studio now and bring the drum machine. Da time deh mi seh mi just a get ready fi go sleep enuh… mi shot go Uptown and him a seh him want a rhythm so mi go inna di studio.”

With time constraints to consider, NotNice didn’t complexify the production and soon had Kartel in the room laying his vocals. By 9 am, Last Man Standing, hardly mixed, was released and made its radio debut.

“It buss by 9:15… people a mek dem way home from Sting hear the song pon di radio. It nuh mix all now…it get a mix but nuh da right mix,” he said.

“When Kartel used to go show a me used to play him tracks on stage. All 10 times dat haffi sing and most times when it play him nuh deejay none at all. It just play and him just stand up and the people sing the song from start to finish. A so my 2009 start.”

NotNice kept the riddim, Fight Fi War, in its raw, unrefined format, and recorded other tracks, including the title track by Jah Vinci and Blak Ryno, My War by Popcaan, Dem Diss by Doza Medicine and a second Kartel track, Somebody Haffi Bawl .

Each year in December, Gaza and Gully fans engage in an online debate about who actually won the anticipated match-up. The viral video which captured the dancehall heavyweights on stage is nearing four million views and stands among several other videos that show the camouflaged-clad Vybz Kartel and all-black-wearing Mavado going for lyrical blows.

The last few minutes of their clash saw a growingly despondent crowd as Kartel gained boos for a freestyle claiming he slept with his Mavado’s mother.

His adversary didn’t make it any better and labeled Kartel freaky before exiting the stage. Though he resurfaced for another abrupt round, the men eventually left the stage with no real winner declared.