Dancehall icon Vybz Kartel says he will never bleach again, attributing his past choices to issues of self-love.

The renowned artist discussed his skin-bleaching history during a recent appearance on the Hot97 radio show with American radio personality and presenter Ebro Darden.

Reflecting on that period of his life, Kartel said “I mean in hindsight it definitely had to do with self-love, but on the other hand while I was doing it, my mind wasn’t telling me that.

My mind was telling me ‘I am doing this to show my tattoos’…I got a lot of tattoos. But looking back, it was just as a black man, sometimes we have those issues but I would never bleach again though.”

Kartel also shared during the interview that he has reduced his alcohol and smoking habits and looked forward to marrying his girlfriend Sidem Öztürk and having “Turkish children”.

"I analyse myself a lot of times, and I think it just, the heavy drinking when I came out and smoking, I think that's just my crutch. You got to try to cope with I'm in prison 13 years; I'm out now. The world is bigger; it's a lot," he said.

Kartel also shared that he now wants some "Turkish children" as he looks forward to marrying his partner Sidem Ozturk and start their family.