By Shereita Grizzle – Staff Reporter—

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Spice performing at Reggae Sumfest on the weekend—

She has always professed her love for incarcerated deejay Vybz Kartel, and as she delivered another crowd-pleasing performance at Reggae Sumfest on the weekend, the Queen of Stage revealed the reason behind her loyalty over the years.

Declaring that she will never switch, Spice said that her allegiance to the ‘Gaza Boss’ will never be broken, as Kartel was the one who handed her her first international hit.

“Whole heap a people ask me why mi support Kartel so much. It’s because he gave me my first international recognition, a song that will never die,” she said, referencing their Rampin’ Shop collab.

“Me haffi loyal to a man weh tek me up and say come make we do da song yah. So nuh ask me why me say Gaza.”

Spice then went on to call out disloyal Gaza fans, stating that since the deejay was put behind bars, many have jumped ship, pledging allegiance to other artistes. For her, however, that is not an option.

“I’m not switching nowhere. Gaza mi seh. I’m not switching nowhere,” she sang as she remixed Kartel’s popular track, Any Weather.

In an interview with Spice after her performance, she said as long as she continues to get booked for Reggae Sumfest, she will always find a way to pay homage to Kartel.

“I said it on stage, but I’ll say it again. Kartel gave me my first international record, and for that, he will forever hold a special place in my heart. Me, Spice, will always find a way fi big him up pan any platform and especially one as big as Reggae Sumfest. Since the boss nuh deh road fi do di things dem fi himself, me haffi play my part,” she said.

TRIBUTE SEGMENT

“Everybody come say a dem a run dancehall, but a one man a di boss and a Vybz Kartel. Me a hope fi di day me and him can touch the stage together and shell it. Free Worl’ Boss.”

The tribute segment of Spice’s Sumfest performance was re-posted on Kartel’s official Instagram page last Saturday morning with a caption that simply read: “@spiceofficial ft Kartel, the Queen of Dancehall shell Sumfest 2019.”

Moments after that post was made, a snippet from the incarcerated deejay’s last performance at Reggae Sumfest in 2011 was posted on the page with a caption that said: “Last time me shell dung Sumfest. Nuh bwoy couldn’t cum test. #GazaNation.” The footage had Gaza fans reminiscing on Kartel’s days as a free man and hoping that many live performances are on the horizon as a verdict in his appeal case draws closer.

With a verdict in Kartel’s appeal expected to be revealed any day now, anticipation remains high among Gaza fans. Two weeks ago when a tweet by Fox5 News outlined that a verdict could be handed down before the end of this month, fans were overjoyed. However, when THE STAR contacted his lawyers following that tweet, they still could not give a definite time on when Kartel’s fate would be known.