It won't have escaped anyone: Vybz Kartel's skin is getting lighter. For weeks, the subject has been stirring up Jamaican and international forums. Regularly caricatured in the daily Jamaican Observer, Vybz Kartel had already explained his thinking: "It's my new image," he said in an interview. "You can expect the unexpected. I have nothing against Black people who bleach their skin. They want a different look. It's like white people who want a tan."
But as the controversy grew, with his detractors suggesting that Vybz Kartel hated himself for being Black, he answered them bluntly in a statement to vibe.com:
"I am my own boss and as such I do my own thing. When Black women stop straightening their hair and wearing wigs, when white women stop getting injections and implants, when bald men stop getting hair transplants, and when people stop having nose jobs or using plastic surgery, then I will stop using my "Cake Soap" (which he credits for his skin lightening) and we will all live naturally. Until then, go and f***"
Hard to be more explicit.