Drake joins Vybz Kartel for historic Canadian show

TORONTO — When Drake was a teenager, he stood outside the long-gone Escape nightclub in Toronto and handed out flyers just to get in and immerse himself in the music of Vybz Kartel. On Sunday night, he brought that memory full circle on stage, welcoming the dancehall star to his first Canadian concert at Scotiabank Arena.

Cartel, dressed head-to-toe in Blue Jays gear, opened one of three sold-out shows in Toronto, becoming the first Jamaican artist to achieve this milestone.

“Look at all these people here, how much time we spent here with this man's music,” Drake told the angry crowd.

Minutes earlier, the Toronto rapper made a surprise appearance, performing a string of hits including 2016's “Controlla” and this year's “Nokia” from a balcony on the arena's lower level.

“We have been waiting to meet you our entire life. [expletive] life. Welcome home—we’re so excited to see you,” Drake told Cartel before asking permission to play a few songs.

The Toronto shows, presented by Drake's OVO company, were highly anticipated by Canadian fans. Vybz Kartel, born Adijah Palmer, is one of dancehall's most influential and controversial figures. He rose to fame in the early 2000s with hits that combined dancehall and hip-hop, and continued to release music even after he was convicted of murder in 2014 and sentenced to life in prison. Several albums, including the 2016 Billboard chart-topper King of the Dancehall, were recorded secretly from prison.

Kartel's conviction was overturned in March 2024 due to jury misconduct, and he was released last year. Since then, the 49-year-old has been nominated for a Grammy, toured the world and released a steady stream of new music.

Drake has long counted Kartel as one of his biggest influences, citing him in interviews and on social media. Over the summer, Drake invited Kartel to join him on stage at London's Wireless Festival, and their collaboration continued on Sunday on Canadian soil.

The crowd roared as Kartel took the stage to his remix of Akon's 2004 hit “Locked Up,” wielding a baseball bat and wearing a light blue Blue Jays jersey with “Worl' Boss,” one of his nicknames, stitched on the back.

“Canada, we are here!” – he said. “Hey, thanks Blue Jays.”

Despite turning 50 and battling Graves' disease, Cartel's energy throughout the show was at 11. Swinging his knees and prancing around the stage like a one-man parade, he released hits like “Romping Shop,” “It Bend Like Banana” and “Go Go Wine” as the audience twirled and sang along. every word.

At one point, Kartel became emotional while talking about landing in Toronto earlier in the day.

“I’m telling you, it brought tears to my eyes because I’ve never been here before and I know people want to see me,” he shared.

“I literally cried. Me, a grown man. I said God is the greatest.”

Some attendees said they never thought they'd see Kartel perform in Canada the day they perform.

Danielle McLeary said she had been listening to the dancehall star since “before I was even old enough to listen to him” and scrambled to get tickets when the dates were announced.

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“I think everyone in the Caribbean was trying to get here today. Toronto has such a big Caribbean community, especially the Jamaican community, so we're all going to get together and socialize,” she says.

“He could easily sell the Rogers Center too.”

Brittney Sinclair, who was born in Jamaica, says the Cartel is embedded in Caribbean culture.

“I consider him a national hero and I think it’s a miracle that he’s here today,” she says, noting that it’s all the more remarkable given his time behind bars.

Sharda Persaud says she's been waiting for Cartel to play Canada for as long as she can remember.

“I feel like every memory in high school goes back to a Cartel song,” she says.

“His music also instantly transports me to Caribana. That's it.”

Sherry Singh credits Romping Shop for bringing her and her partner together.

“It was a club game and it led to some good love,” she laughs. “15 years later, we’re still going for it.”

However, she feels that dancehall has been ignored by the Canadian mainstream, despite its importance to the Caribbean community.

“Seeing Vybz here on our home soil means a lot,” she says.

“This is a good first step, but we need to see more.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2025.

© 2025 The Canadian Press