New route for Vanessa Bling

AFTER months of stressful court dates, deejay Vanessa Bling is relieved to be cleared of conspiracy charges.

The charges against Bling and her two co-accused, deejay Vybz Kartel and Andre Henry, were dropped in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court in Half-Way-Tree, on September 24.

It inspired Bling — who attends the Grant Hill Pentecostal Church in Lawrence Tavern, St Andrew — to record a gospel single called A God A Go Wid Me, produced by UIM Records.

“I am really grateful. I know that God was in the vessel with me at all times. Each day I live and I learn. I got my cross to carry and I carried it,” the 22-year-old told Splash.

Bling’s case was dropped on the grounds that Kartel’s murder conviction and sentence, which is tied to the case, is being appealed.

In April, Kartel — whose real name is Adija Palmer — was given a life sentence for his role in the August 16 murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams.

Bling was charged with conspiracy and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

In May, Bling — whose given name is Vanessa Saddler — released Have Mercy on Me, which was also motivated by her legal woes.

“I went to the studio to record a rendition of Mary Mary’s Can’t Give Up Now, but the producer encouraged me to record an original single. I just thought about all that I was going through, and penned the lyrics,” she said.

Bling admits being caught off-guard by the court’s decision.

“Sometimes when I go to court, I usually just block everything from my mind and that particular day was one which I wasn’t listening to whatever was being said. All I know (when) it was over, I went outside and started crying and my attorney asked me if I was crying tears of joy. I was completely shocked when he told me the result and cried even more. This time it was tears of joy,” she said.

A protégé of the controversial Kartel, Bling was remanded for a month and nine days at The Central Village Police Station and Fort Augusta Adult Correctional Facility. She believes being in custody made her a better person.

“There are instances where one doesn’t have to be on the wrong side of the law to be convicted. But being behind bars is no vacation,” she said.

Throughout her ordeal, Bling said she was never ostracised by artistes or producers, recording songs like Cya Do It with I-Octane.

Other tracks including Love Is Not A Game, How to Treat a Girl and Supa Nova with Sean Paul, will soon be released, she disclosed.

When she worked with I-Octane, It was the first time Bling recorded outside Kartel’s Portmore Empire, which she joined in 2010.

Vanessa Bling says she always wanted to be an entertainer. While at Oberlin High School in St Andrew, she was a member

of its team that won the All Together Sing contest in 2006.

She told Splash that a friend introduced her to an associate of the Portmore Empire and she quickly became a member of Kartel’s inner circle.

With the case behind her, Vanessa Bling is preparing a comeback. She has performances scheduled for England from November 22 to 29. There will also be gigs in Belize, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.