Vybz Kartel
Kingston Story Deluxe Edition

 

VICE Records and Mixpak Records are excited to announce they’ve teamed up for the release of Kingston Story: Deluxe Edition by dancehall innovator Vybz Kartel, marking the first time the internationally acclaimed album will be available in a physical format. Kingston Story was a worldwide sensation on its digital release, leading to features in Rolling Stone, Dazed and Confused, New York Times, a cover story for The Fader, and much more. The album was the result of Kartel’s ambitious mission to take his home country’s traditional singles-based riddim culture a step forward, collaborating with producer Dre Skull to record an expansive concept album intended to revolutionize Jamaican music in form and format. Kingston Story also proved to be a true Kingston pop record, not only elevating Kartel’s repertoire, but proving that contemporary Jamaican styles translate better than ever to crossover on the world stage.

Adidjah Palmer, a.k.a. Vybz Kartel, has long been the don of cutting edge dancehall, famous for his lyrical prowess and his undeniable ability to set off the dance floor. Fresh off the interminable sex-jam “Rampin Shop” (which had a stateside shelf life of over two years) and the electro club anthem “Pon Di Floor” with supergroup Major Lazer, his hotstepper anthem “Clarks” gripped airwaves and reinvigorated a staple element of Jamaican fashion (proving his capacity to revitalize the popularity of a shoe brand). The run of hits brought him to the attention of Brooklyn based producer and owner of Mixpak Records, Dre Skull, well known for his gleaming, super-smart beats for the likes of Popcaan, Beenie Man and Lil Scrappy. Kartel and Dre’s first collaboration, “Yuh Love”, was a sly, minimal club pulse that laid bare Kartel’s sensual warble and forged a futuristic new sound for dancehall, leading the two to embark on recording Kingston Story.

Melding forward-thinking production chops with timeless melodicism, Kingston Story is the biggest and most conceptual full-length in the history of the dancehall genre.