Vybz Kartel Surpasses 2 Billion YouTube Views, Adds 115M Since Release

Despite spending over a decade behind bars and missing out on tens of millions of potential views due to third-party uploads, dancehall kingpin Vybz Kartel has officially surpassed 2 billion YouTube views, becoming the third most-viewed living Jamaican artist on the platform and cementing his digital legacy. Here we go with the numbers

Vybz Kartel's streaming comeback is a masterclass

Dancehall giant Vybz Kartel has officially surpassed 2 billion views on his YouTube channel, marking a major milestone in his prolific career. This achievement makes him the third most-viewed living Jamaican artist on the platform, trailing only behind Sean Paul and Shaggy. The legendary Bob Marley continues to lead the all-time list with over 5.5 billion views.

As someone who spent 13 years behind bars before being released last year, this milestone is especially significant for the newly crowned King of Dancehall. Despite having limited access to recording music and being absent during the rise of global streaming platforms, he has amassed an extraordinarily impressive number of views for an artist in this genre. His content continues to make a lasting impact, consistently dominating the digital space.

Based on data from Vybz Kartel’s official YouTube channel, the deejay’s total view count could have been significantly higher, as several of his most-streamed songs were released through third-party platforms prior to the launch of his official “Worl’ Boss” channel in 2016.

Case in point is his remarkable cross-border hit “Fever,” which has accumulated over 191 million views across various uploads. Of that total, 69 million came via Zojak’s channel where it was officially distributed, while the 2016 music video earned over 33 million views and the official audio racked up another 30 million. An additional 32 million views were generated via the WBT Empire channel.

The iconic 2010 anthem “Clarks,” featuring Popcaan and Gaza Slim, has garnered over 15 million views across all versions, yet only 4.5 million of those are credited to Kartel’s official channel. The track was released before the era of YouTube’s widespread popularity and the streaming boom, likely costing it tens of millions more in potential visibility.

The entertainer's summer anthem “Summer Time,” which recently earned a Silver certification in the UK and surpassed 50 million streams on Spotify, has racked up over 115 million views on YouTube - 111 million of which came via director RD Films’ channel. Similarly, 2010's hit “Jeans & Fitted” with Rvssian has garnered over 40 million views, and 2011’s “Benz Punani” has surpassed 30 million, both also under RD Films.

Leading Kartel’s official channel is the 2016 hit “Colouring This Life” from the King of the Dancehall album, which boasts 89 million views. It’s followed by the 2019 street anthem “Any Weather” with over 66 million views, “Wine To The Top” featuring Nigerian star WizKid (55 million views), “Back Way” with Spice (over 40 million), and “Unstoppable” with over 35 million views.

Post-Prison Surge: Over 115 Million Views in One Year

Since his release, Kartel has seen an additional 115 million views across all uploads. Leading the charge is “God Is The Greatest,” a standout post-release single with over 21 million views between its video and audio. His first single after release, “The Comet,” has notched over 15 million views, followed by “Str8 Vybz” (6.7 million) and “Story Book”, which kicks Rvssian’s latest trendy riddim, already at 4.6 million views.

With his ever business-savvy mindset, Vybz Kartel recognized the growing commercial value of YouTube views in today’s music landscape and made a strategic move to give fresh visuals to two of his iconic 2014 classics: “Miami Vice Episode” and “Ignite the World.” The former has earned 3.2 million views from its newly released video, while the latter has amassed over 9.6 million views across formats, including 6.3 million from the audio alone.

With a massive catalog of hits, many of which may not have been properly promoted or uploaded in a structured way during the early evolution of the streaming era, Vybz Kartel likely missed out on tens of millions of potential views.

The fact that he spent most of those transformative years behind bars, while streaming platforms exploded into global dominance, adds context to this. Still, the numbers speak for themselves - it’s a powerful statement of his enduring influence and relevance.