File - Vybz Kartel

Kartel balancing music and business

Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

Promotional work for Vybz Kartel's Vybz Rum and Daggerin condoms is now in high gear and the deejay believes this can only do more good than bad for his musical career.

Last November, the deejay became a businessman when he launched Vybz Rum. His entrepeneurship did not end there, as he later released his own brand of condoms, Daggerin, in August.

entrepreneur and artiste

But can the deejay balance his time as an entrepreneur and artiste? He believes his ventures will not have a bad impact on his musical career.

"Entrepeneurship can do more good than bad for my career. It will only help to keep the name Vybz Kartel current," said the deejay, who has hits such as Trailer Load A Money and Sweet To The Belly.

His business partner, Corey Todd, said a lot of promotional work will be done with the condom brand in the coming months.

In late November, an islandwide search will be launched to find a woman to grace the cover of Daggerin and be a part of the campaign. The winner will be recruited through a series of parties at which prospective cover girls will be interviewed. The winner of the search will receive $350,000.

Vybz Rum

Vybz Rum will also be incorporated at the parties through rum specials and tasting.

Daggerin condom will be available in Canada this month, while Vybz Rum will be distributed in the Virgin Islands and Trinidad in coming months.

Todd said he believes the business ventures will be successful and sustainable.

Daggerin Condoms

"We think it is sustainable due to the fact that we plan to keep it fresh and exciting. There are plans already to unveil two new brands of Daggerin condoms, the Long Love version and Studded version, no later than Christmas. Vybz Rum, the brand, will also be extended and wil be back on the market next week, after an unexpected bottling problem ... but the sales have been tremendous," Todd told THE STAR.

He said a deal was signed with Amalgamated Distributors to distribute the condoms locally. He said he has also received calls from overseas distributors, who wanted to distribute both products.

"The public response has been extremely receptive and people are going crazy to get their hands on these goods. There has been reports of people stealing the Vybz Rum out of stores in Negril and other places. We have done a ton of mail orders for both products. Kartel truly has a loyal fan base, both locally and internationally," Todd said.