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“Bars could not hold me, chains could not control me” – Bob Marley.

Is Vybz Kartel a bigger than life character? His story is becoming one that Hollywood movies are made of; a caged murderer sitting on top of a musical genre even as he rots away behind prison walls.

The Vybz Kartel saga is not typical of a convicted murder. In fact, listening to his new music almost on a weekly basis makes it difficult to fathom that the dancehall star is actually behind bars. Releasing new music in and of itself is a big deal for a prisoner but Kartel is not just releasing music. He is releasing great music, chart topping music, trend-setting music, music that his peers who are free can only dream of making.

So while Kartel’s body may be locked behind bars, it is clear that the world boss’ mind is as free as a bird. He may no longer be the world boss while sitting behind those prison walls but to keep pumping out new music while incarcerated, he has got to be the prison boss.

When you listen to Kartel’s new songs, it is obvious that his mind is free. A jailed mind just cannot pump out the quality of lyrics that he does. In fact, Kartel might be the epitome of the following Marcus Garvey quote:

You can shackle the feet of men, you can imprison the bodies of men, BUT YOU CANNOT SHACKLE OR IMPRISON THE MINDS OF MEN.

While this is in no way meant to glorify a convicted murder, it should serve as an example of how powerful the mind is as long as we keep it free.

So yes, Vybz Kartel‘s body is in prison and will probably remain in prison for the rest of his live. However, Vybz Kartel seems to be free mentally and to the delight of his fans, he is definitely free musically.

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