Kartel Lectures UWI – Tweets Compiled

Kartel Lectures UWI – Tweets Compiled

Marcia Forbes PhD

Controversy accompanied Jamaica's popular DJ Vybz Kartel's 'lecture' at the University of the West Indies.  As soon as I got home from the event I posted a series of tweets.  Based on the numeorus references and retweets (well over 100 after first 12 hours) and requests pertaining to these tweets, I decided to compile them for posterity and clarity and to include all those posted between Thursday, March 10th through to Saturday, March 12, 2011.  They are numbered and presented in chronological order and represent my tweets only and not the various responses and comments to them.

Marcia's Tweets on Thursday, March 10, 2011

1.UWI Undercroft is ram-packed. Cooper begs ppl occupying reserved to vacate them for intended - Press & Speakers. #Kartel
2. Like a Virgin & other pop music blasting UWI Undercroft, stds singing along. No Dancehall yet!
3.Just got in from the (in)famous lecture at UWI Undercroft w Mr Pretty as Colouring Book Kartel. Lots to say!!
4.Heard behind the scene suss about protocol breach & Ppl vex re staging of the PR Lecture. That pretty much seems like life at UWI though SMH
5.@DLee876Kartel got copy of MMASJ.Anthony Miller interviewed him about issues.That how Mel Cooke's re puppets broke as I used in UWI present
6.OK the next several tweets will be my report of the Kartel 'lecture' at the University of the West Indies this evening.
7.Always wanting to see & hear things for myself, I arrived on campus at approx. 6:30pm. Got out a single tweet as no Digicel signal
8.Pop music pervaded -- Like a Virgin, 1,2, 3 O'Clock, 4 O'Clock Rock - blasted. Stds sang along. Dancehall music noticably missing!
9.I survey the scene & promptly found a comfortable place at the back of the Undercroft but inside the Admin Bldg w Thick Metal Bars
10.The Security Guard pulled the Grill & had padlock ready for use, if needed. Could only see backs of students & others, but I could hear!
11.After all I didn't need to see, hearing Kartel was enough for me. Anyway b4 things got going @Lgrandisonrescued & escorted me upstairs
12.Upstairs the image kept freezing, the sound was terrible but we opened the window & got the Vybes. Pics are on my BB & will follow lata.
13.The undercroft was full & spilt out to the sides onto the grass and onto the driveway. There was an air of excitement & anticipation.
14.There was an unnecessarily loooong intro of Kartel by 2 stds -- One black shiny wig disposition which almost blinded me w its sheen.
15.Enters Kartel - Finally, at almost 8pm. After the overly looong intro by the 2 girls, he opens w "Who is Vybz Kartel?'
16.I wanted to give Kartel a whip-my-hair type of shake when he continued by asking, "Who am I?'
17.Anyway, he must have read my thoughts & continued, "Proud Father of 7 children & counting".The UWI Cleaner retorted sotto voce, "7 Jacket"
18.Should have told u we abandoned @Lgrandison's office & I took viewing position w 3 men & an office cleaner who was hilariously anti-Kartel
19.In this new position pic & sound were acceptable.Also should say how deplorably the Prof behaved when mic probs seemed ready 2 flop her show
20.Kartel was obviously in control of the lecture show - "Dancehall generally speaks to the Bogle message of rebellion" he espoused.
21.Correctly ref Reggae's initial rejection. With ref to stone that builder refused he noted, "Dancehall has become that discarded stone."
22.In typical Kartelian megalomania, he noted that, "Dancehall was being swept away in the wave of hip hop before the Kartel tide arrive"
23.Kartel akins himself to Shakespeare as a poet & spoke of his lyrical prowess. An unplanned cough from him led to,"don't tief dah caff deh!"
24.The crowd loved him, held onto to all his words. He continued by admonishing the media for ignoring positives & featuring negatives
25."Like when Kartel does his regular good deeds, yes regular" --mentions his rum, business ventures, over 30 employees & that media ignores em
26."After all, what is an artiste without the people? Awoe!" was a nugget Kartel delivered with effect.
27.Addressing tattoos he questioned, "Tattoos --scars or beauty?" before launching into a mini history lesson about body art/adornment.
28.His reference to Wikipaedia as his source was scoffed at by my viewing partners, "use 'nother source dat a basic school suppen' they jeered
29.Citing Tupak as his tattoo idol, Kartel poetically delivered his line, "I decided to make my skin a living, breathing canvass of my life"
30."Love is a pain" was another Kartel Shakespeareanesque line.This is tattooed either on his chest or abdomen.I can't memba but in Ja nuh mata
31.In Jamaica many of us refer to our chest as our belly and vice versa. Anyway Kartel has a tattoo somewhere on his torso.
32.He explained that his tattoos are on the exterior but reflect the interior of his life & explained the significance of his various tattoos
33.The tattoo explanation really resonated w me.I felt this was the most meaningful aspect of the lecture.The paradox of 'Love is pain" is deep
34.Kartel struck an important chore w Selassie's "Until the colour of a man's skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eye- WAR!"
35.My 3 male co-viewers were disappointed with the 1st UWI std's explanation of Selassie's words & so was Kartel. He accepted that from the 2nd
36.Kartel incurred the wrath of my co-viewers when he cited Google as his source, mind you these admin staff quite sharp on acceptable sources
37."Less than 4% of DNA determines a man's skin colour, according to Google" Addi offered. My 'men' --"Soh wha, whey dat haffi do w anyting?"
38.Kartel built case 4 bleaching by noting black women w weaves & wigs, white women w enhancements of lips & buttocks (he doesn't like latter)
39.In final thrust for bleaching Kartel cites penis enlargement by black men & proudly announced he didn't need that *let's wait till tape bus*
40."Bleaching today doesn't mean the same as bleaching 25 years ago" Kartel lectured.
41."Bleaching now is just style, I bask in the controversy with cake soap as my suntan" Kartel in fine form before launching into Soul for Sale
42."How does 1 sell his soul to the Devil?", Kartel asked, "is there an ad in the papers?" 1 brave soul venture a reponse, blasphemy is the way
43.Another Kartel gem, " My life is my art and my art is my life" -- Hardly original but appropriately used with good effect.
44.Kartel ended the 'lecture' with, "I've decided...my life pretty like a colouring book" Sorry I missed the middle but u can insert ur words.
45.As Kartel ended I departed. Overheard a grumbling female student "Me nuh see weh it necessary. Mek ppl leave dem yaad & come up yah"
46.One man's meat is another man's poison. Kartel handled himself well, despite the pieces of paper & making us know he wasn't organized.
47.OMG it's bedtime.Tomorrow I have a real lecture. Noone will forgive me if I'm disorganized. Nite tweeps who stayed for Kartel UWI report :-)

Tweet of Friday, March 11th

9pm - 11pm last night did ~40 tweets re Kartel at UWI. Got ~ 80 comments & 25 New Followers. Power of Music!

Tweets of Sat. 12th

1. Feedback to Kartel at UWI extremely negative against UWI Stds how they dunce & buttuish. Apparently even Vybz sees them in this light. SMF

2. Quoting 1 who watched Kartel @ UWI via YouTube,"I would never send my child to that Ghetto University. Carolyn Cooper was worse that any DJ"

3.@touchofallrightI did about 40 tweets right after & was actually there. You'll be able to see my views from tweets - try to unbiased.

4.@anniepaulKartel handled himself well. To say he did better than many UWI lects is extremely sad indicment on UWI.
 

5."@scsquared: @marciaforbesdon't think that was grouping of UWI students, was more gathering of his UWI fans."}LOLOL NOo I saw many stds too
 

6.@scsquaredBased on comments I heard after 'lect' & via twitter, some were there for scholastic reasons.
 

7.@scsquaredPost lect tweets on Thurs I quoted one Std but overheard several others re disappointment. For my own part he did well.
 

8..@scsquared Much will boil down to expectation.I didn't expect scholarship.Was pleased w cogent arguments,Powerpoint & calm even w mic issues

So there you have it folks!! The tweets of Sunday, March 13th require a great deal more work based on the nature of the of discussions generated.  This would necessarily require the comments from others to be included.  Time does not permit me to engage in that exercise.