Vybz Kartel Reveals Why He Bleached His Skin, Expresses Remorse

During an April 9 appearance on Hot 97, Jamaican dancehall sensation Vybz Kartel expressed remorse over bleaching his skin, declaring that he won’t do it again.
The ‘She Holding On’ singer, born Adidja Azim Palmer, initially expressed his pride over bleaching his skin and even had a skin-lightening brand, Complex reported.
But the 49-year-old in the interview has stated that he is now “fully melanated.”
“I mean, in hindsight, it definitely had to do with self-love, but on the other hand, while I was doing it, my mind wasn’t telling me that,” Vybz stated. “My mind was telling me, ‘I am doing this to show my tattoos.’ I’ve got a lot of tattoos.”
He added: “But looking back, it was just as a Black man, sometimes we have those issues, but I would never bleach again though.”
During the interview, Vybz was also asked why Black people have issues with how they look. “That Eurocentric look…Black people have always wanted to look like that,” he explained. “I guess it has to do with slavery.”
As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Vybz Kartel was released from prison in 2024 after being locked up for 13 years. In an interview with The Guardian after his release, he said that though he had made “so much money” after gaining his freedom, he couldn’t get back the time he spent in prison.
Vybz also offered a word of advice when he was talking about his upbringing and how his parents tried to steer him toward the right path.
“My mom was a housewife, an amazing woman. She always tried to embed certain principles in us as children … I wish I had listened to them more,” the 49-year-old, who has been diagnosed with Graves’ disease, said.
He continued, “I’ve always said this, even before I got arrested, stay in school. As much as possible, get an education because not everyone can pay for a college education, but try to get an education as far as it can take you and stay away from bad energy, from bad ­people, from gangsterism, because, bro, it’s not worth it.
“It may look glamorous, especially if you were raised a certain way and you grew up in the ghetto, but it will cost you, and it cost me, you know what I mean?