THE LIFE OF A LEGEND

BREAK THROUGH

From the beginning to midst of his ongoing career, Kartel released a number of albums through the UK based label Greensleeves Records, such as 'Up 2 Di Time', 'More Up 2 Di Time', J.M.T. and more. He established his own label Adidjahiem/Notnice Records with his business partner and producer Ainsley "Notnice" Morris. After splitting with Bounty Killer-led Alliance in 2006, Kartel joined the Portmore Empire, a group of dancehall DJ's and singers from his Portmore neighborhood that he signed to his newly founded Adidjahiem/Notnice Records. Some of the members consisted of Popcaan, Deva Bratt (founder), Gaza Slim, Shawn Storm, Sheba, Gaza Indu, Tommy Lee , Singing Maxwell, Singa Blinga, Lenny Mattic, Lisa Hype,  Gaza Kim, Blak Ryno, Jah Vinci, Dosa Medicine and Merital Family thus naming it Portmore empire.
in 2008, Kartel launched his own liquor line; Street Vybz Rum. He hosted a weekly dance party Street Vybz Thursday, at the Building, a Kingston nightclub he managed with Street Vybz Rum business partner, Corey Todd.The rum was officially distributed by Vybz Distillers Limited. The same year, he also released his own condom line, Daggerin Condoms.Street Vybz Rum production was stopped in 2011 because of a disagreement between him and Corey Todd. However, the collaboration resumed in 2012 as the two settled their differences, and despite Kartel's ongoing incarceration.
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009–present: King of The Dancehall
In 2009 his song featuring female Jamaican deejay Spice , "Ramping Shop", debuted on the Billboard Top 100 Singles charts, [23] and "Dollar Sign" being in regular rotation on urban radio stations in the US. [24]
His 2010 single "Clarks" was one of his biggest international successes, remaining in the top 3 Reggae Singles gaining the most radio plays in North America for 40 weeks. "Clarks" was also featured on the TV series So You Think You Can Dance Canada , and on a CNN segment on dancehall dance. When his singles "Clarks", "Clarks 2 (Clarks Again)" and "Clarks 3 (Wear Weh Yuh Have)" featured the British shoe brand Clarks in 2010, its sales numbers and prices in Jamaica increased considerably. In 2011, he released his own shoe line, named Addi's, as well as his own line of "cake soap", a type of soap primarily used for clothes. Cake soap is less commonly utilised for skincare, to treat skin conditions such as acne. However, Kartel's brand was intended for the purpose of skin lightening/ bleaching.MTV's Vice Guide to Dancehall featured Kartel at his weekly dance party, Street Vybz Thursday. Vybz Kartel has also hosted his own reality television show "Teacha's Pet" on CVM Jamaica broadcast channel, the first reality television show hosted by a dancehall artist in Jamaica. The premise of "Teacha's Pet" found 20 women living in a Kingston house vying for the artist's affection; the show's lascivious content elicited condemnation of its sponsor, telecommunications company LIME. The show came to a halt with the artist's arrest on murder charges in September 2011.
In 2016, while in prison, Kartel released his most internationally successful album, King Of The Dancehall which peaked at number 2 on the US Billboard Reggae Charts . The album included the single "Fever" which topped various local music charts and became his most successful on streaming websites.