Vybz Kartel Got Engaged In Prison. Meanwhile, I Can't Even Get A Call Back.

Candace McDuffie
·2 min read
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Photo: The New York Times
Photo: The New York Times

Reggae dancehall artist Vybz Kartel has found love behind bars. Kartel, born Adidja Palmer, was convicted of murder back in 2014 and received a life sentence in a Jamaican prison.

He would be eligible for parole after he finished 35 years of the sentence, but is hoping the conviction will be overturned. In the meantime, Kartel has been recording and releasing new music as well as dating.

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Over the summer, he and fiancée Sidem Ozturk confirmed that they were engaged. For reasons that no one will understand, Ozturk left London (where she resided) to move closer to the singer. She also left behind her job as a social worker.

Ozturk started talking to Kartel in 2015 and finally met him four years later after traveling to Jamaica. She told FOX 5 about how the proposal went down.

“How it happened was we were just calling each other ‘hubby’ and ‘wifey” and he was like, ‘We’re heading toward marriage so you calling me hubby, or me calling you wifey is not serious enough. So you’re my fiancée, we’re going to get married’.”

She added:

“He’s smart. I love his heart. He has an amazing heart. It’s just so giving, so loving. I like to call him my angel. He’s an angel in my life. I can’t deny how happy he makes me feel. To be here, in Jamaica, engaged to Addi, it’s a dream come true. I still haven’t processed it in my head, it’s amazing. I don’t know how to describe it, that’s how good it feels.”

Although Ozturk knows her love story isn’t a conventional one, she’s willing to stand by her man. “Obviously, [Kartel’s incarceration] does cause some difficulties,” she explained. “I can’t see him when I want to see him, can’t talk to him every time I want to talk to him. But when you know where your heart is at, it’s not that difficult, so I’m willing to wait.”

Well, ok then.