As the spiral of violence in Jamaica prompts several public figures to speak out in the media, Vybz Kartel has now had his say too. Alarmed by the frightening figures showing more than ten thousand murders recorded on the island over the last 7 years (1,574 of them in 2007), the deejay recorded and paid for the broadcast of a message already scheduled on the local radio station Zip FM. A video version of this warning is also expected to be recorded for broadcast on Hype TV and RE TV.
"Jamaica, this is Vybz Kartel and today I am calling on the youth of Jamaica. Our country, our people, are overwhelmed by crime and violence. Everybody wants to be a gangster. Where are the doctors? Where are the lawyers? Where are the teachers? 10,000 murders in seven years, wake up! The rewards for guns and crime are death and prison. Wake up, children of the ghetto, it is never too late to wash yourselves of all this. Kartel says so, together, let's save Jamaica." Another illustration of the Jamaican paradox, whereby it is one of the apostles of gun lyrics who calls for peace.
To hear the audio message, head over to 876entertainment.