On July 19, 2025, Vybz Kartel was crowned King of Dancehall at Reggae Sumfest. In the early hours of Festival Night One at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex in Montego Bay, Spice — the festival’s reigning Queen — placed a crown on his head as he sat on a white-and-gold throne, the Gleaner reports.

The set

It was Kartel’s first Sumfest performance since 2011 and his first time on a Jamaican festival stage since his Freedom Street concert at the National Stadium in December 2024. Dressed in a black, green and gold Jamaica football jersey, he opened with “MoBay Anthem” and ran for about an hour — “Weh Dem Feel Like,” “Broad Daylight,” “Dumpa Truck,” “Come Home,” “Romping Shop” with Spice, and a close on “God Is the Greatest,” per the Jamaica Observer and DancehallMag. The Observer reported the venue full to capacity long before the headline acts.

The coronation

Spice returned in a royal blue gown. “You are a legend, the blueprint, dancehall navel string,” she told the crowd, as quoted by the Observer. Kartel thanked Bounty Killer, the fans, Buju Banton and Ninja Man, and acknowledged Beenie Man as “the former king.” Beenie Man received Sumfest’s symbolic King of Dancehall title in 2009; Spice was crowned Queen in 2022.

Why it matters

The coronation formalised a title Kartel’s supporters had claimed throughout his imprisonment. His return to Sumfest — Jamaica’s flagship reggae and dancehall festival — marked the full restoration of his place at the centre of the genre he had dominated before his arrest.

Listen and dig deeper

Sources: Jamaica Gleaner — “Kartel crowned” (July 19, 2025); Jamaica Observer — “Kartel effect triggers record-breaking Sumfest crowd” (July 20, 2025); DancehallMag — coronation report (July 19, 2025).

Editor’s note: This entry is part of the JamaicansMusic online museum — a career timeline assembled from the archive. It is dated to the era it documents; every claim is drawn from the linked sources.