Vybz Kartel Surpasses 2.5 Billion YouTube Views After Adding 500M+ in One Year
- Akeeile Harris
- 11 minutes ago
- 2 min read
The Dancehall King continues his digital dominance, adding approximately 524 million views to surpass 2.5 billion on his official channel, ranking as the third most-viewed living Jamaican artiste on YouTube
Vybz Kartel adds more than 500 million views in a year
Dancehall giant Vybz Kartel has added more than 500 million YouTube views over the past year, continuing his remarkable digital run as one of the most prolific artistes in the genre.
The achievement further strengthens Kartel’s position among Jamaica’s biggest performers on the platform. He is currently the third most-viewed living Jamaican artiste on YouTube, behind Sean Paul, with more than 5.5 billion views, and Shaggy, who is approaching 3.5 billion. Reggae legend Bob Marley has surpassed 4.5 billion views.
As reported by Kaboom Magazine on August 21 last year, the entertainer crossed the two-billion-view mark on his official YouTube channel. Nearly one year later, Kartel has added approximately 524 million views, an impressive increase for an artiste whose catalogue spans more than two decades.
The numbers also raise a major “what if” around Kartel’s career: how much bigger could his global reach have been without spending 13 years behind bars? His incarceration came during the rapid rise of YouTube, streaming and social media, limiting his ability to tour and fully capitalize on his international audience.
His official YouTube total also tells only part of the story. Several of Kartel’s biggest records were uploaded through third-party channels, particularly before the launch of his official VybzKartelRadio channel in 2016, meaning millions of additional views are spread across other platforms.
One example is his cross-border hit “Fever,” which has generated well over 200 million views across multiple uploads. The song accumulated approximately 77 million views through Zojak Worldwide, while its 2016 music video has surpassed 34 million and another official audio upload has earned around 30 million. An additional upload through WBT Empire has generated more than 32 million views.
Kartel’s newer material has also contributed significantly to his numbers over the past year. “Panic,” featuring Shenseea, has generated approximately 16 million views, making it the most-viewed release from his recent God and Time album, while the album’s title track has earned another 7.2 million.
Other tracks have continued to pile up millions, including the Slingerz-produced “Only Gets Better,” with around 10 million views, “I Know” with 8.7 million, and “Victory” with approximately 8 million.
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