It happened in the early hours of Monday morning, with the West Kingston Jamboree festival in full swing at Tivoli Gardens: Bounty Killer, who was performing with Mavado, called Vybz Kartel up on stage to join their show and make up with the Gully icon.
The episode brings to a close several weeks of dithering on both sides and answers insistent pressure from Jamaican society as a whole. A quick look back.
It was the government that first put its foot in it, accusing Vybz Kartel, on the Gaza side, and Mavado, on the Gully side, of having a deplorable influence on young people, notably in secondary schools where several acts of violence had been reported.
Stung, Mavado announced shortly afterwards that he had invited Vybz Kartel to perform at his birthday party. Kartel turned the invitation down, apparently preferring to meet his rival not on stage but in a school, to tackle the problem of violence among fans head on.
The temperature rose another notch with the speculation about the big annual Sting clash.
Last act: the police got involved, declaring that the most virulent Gaza or Gully supporters would from now on be treated as gang members.
So this is a positive outcome and a fine image (supplied by Liv'up Records) for the two artists, a few weeks before Sting: without going so far as to put an end to the Gaza / Gully rivalry, let's hope this initiative will at least help curb the excesses among fans.
Source: Photo : Liv'up records