07/05/2012
Incarcerated but not Silences is the subtitle of the soon to be released book by imprisoned Vybz Kartel. Previously scheduled to be published on July 23rd last year (2011) the book The Voice Of The Jamaican Ghetto will hit the streets on July 6th 2012.
Here is the official press release [July 4th 2012] by Ghetto People Publishing:
KINGSTON, Jamaica: On Friday, July 6, Adidja Palmer aka Vybz Kartel is set to release his best body of work catalogued in his book, Voice of the Jamaican Ghetto. Sam Cooke best describes Kartel’s journey in his hit song Change is Gonna Come, writing “There's been times that I thought I wouldn't last for long but now I think I'm able to carry on. It's been a long, long time coming but I know a change is gonna come. Oh, yes it will.” And for Jamaica, it has!
Kartel has always said to expect the unexpected. In a statement released May 2011, Kartel threatened to use the pedestal that ‘Babylon’ has put him on to fight for his people – ‘Ghetto People.’ Through this book, Kartel is signaling that the fight for change starts now. Can Vybz Kartel change Jamaica for the better from behind bars? He has vowed to and based on Kartel’s ability to use his lyrics to gather a following, it will be interesting how this initiative by Kartel will affect Jamaica. On the cover of his book, Kartel states “I pray this book helps to change Jamaica forever.”
Vybz Kartel and his co-author, Michael Dawson, completed the manuscript early summer 2011 and Voice of the Jamaican Ghetto was first copyrighted in the United States on August 5th, 2011. The publishers have worked assiduously on getting it right. The release of Voice of the Jamaican Ghetto, Kartel’s first book, heralds a new dawn in the history of Jamaica.
It is hoped that this book will lead to discussions on classism, racism and other “isms and schisms” existing in modern day Jamaica. The objective of Voice of the Jamaican Ghetto is to bring things that are often hidden by the powers that be to the forefront, using the biggest “Voice” that the Jamaican Ghetto has had in years – the voice of the notoriously controversial Vybz Kartel. Voice of the Jamaican Ghetto tells the “other half of the story that has never been told.” A story which Reggae pioneers have sang about - but Vybz Kartel has dared to put it into book form. While Kartel proudly acknowledges 50 years of Independence for Jamaica, Voice of the Jamaican Ghetto boldly asks – “50 years of what for poor people?”
