Vanessa Bling Channels Portmore Empire Fallout Into New Single True Story

Vanessa Bling uses her new track True Story to look back on the pressure, court matter and career disruption that followed her stint in Vybz Kartel’s Portmore Empire. The Jamaican artiste, born Vanessa Saddler, first came to public attention as Gaza Slim, one of the young female voices around Kartel in the early 2010s.

During that phase, she worked with Kartel on songs including Anything A Anything, One Man, Clarks and Like A Jockey. She also built her own catalogue with solo releases such as Everything Fi Hold Him and Independent Ladies.

Her momentum changed when she became connected to the murder case involving Clive “Lizard” Williams. Kartel received a life sentence, but that conviction was quashed in 2024. Bling was separately accused of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice after allegedly making a false report to police, saying Williams had robbed and assaulted her. She was held in custody for a period and remained on bail for years before prosecutors dropped the charge in 2014.

True Story, which was released on May 20, appears to return to that chapter of her life. At the start of the record, Bling identifies the song as a “true story,” then sings about years she cannot recover, loneliness and people who wanted her locked away. “Years of my life that mi can’t get back / No want me free dem want fi take me way,” she sings.

The hook rests on the refrain, “Freedom, freedom, I deserved my freedom,” giving the single the feel of both testimony and comeback statement. It also continues a subject that has surrounded her work since leaving the Gaza Slim name behind: enduring after being judged in public.

On other parts of the song, Bling addresses disloyalty and the friends or associates who left once her circumstances shifted. “So many people walked away from me / So many people turned away from me / Grateful for all the ones who prayed with me,” she sings.

Following the legal matter, Bling spent less time in Jamaica’s entertainment spotlight and did most of her performing abroad while using the Vanessa Bling name. Her output became less frequent, though she released faith-tinged songs such as Have Mercy On Me Lord and Overcome.

Her dancehall work drew renewed notice in 2017 when Cardi B featured her music in an Instagram video. In 2018, Bling issued her third EP, Still Standing, which climbed to No. 3 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.

Speaking with Bashy Magazine in 2019, she said the hardship had helped form her character instead of destroying her. “To be honest, I don’t regret anything that happened to me because it made me into the woman I am today,” she said at the time. “I think if I never went through all that pain, those struggles – I wouldn’t be that woman who, no matter what you do to me, I know how to stand strong.”

True Story can now be streamed on major platforms. Bling is also booked for Best of the Best Music Fest 2026 on Sunday, May 24, at Museum Park in downtown Miami.