Born Sheldon Lawrence in1981, he is the second of four children for his mother a teacher and his father an ex-soldier. His close-knit family instilled in him his morals and values and from his friends he gained street knowledge. He attended Mona Heights Primary then moved on to Meadowbrook High School where his love for music began.
After watching a tape of Sting 1993 with the infamous clash between Beenie Man and his icon Bounty Killer his mind was set on becoming a deejay.
When he returned to school after that Christmas break he began re-enacting the clash for schoolmates and friends who immediately recognised his talent. Soon after he began writing his own lyrics and formed the J.A.G 1 (Jah A Guide) crew with friends. Jag 1 or J.O.P. (Jag One Productions) were often referred to when performing at school concerts and fetes.
A few years after leaving high school, Aidonia met Mr. G (then known as Goofy) and shortly after recorded his first single Many a Dem in October 2003. Shortly after he began working with Rod Pinnock of Orizen Entertainment. In early 2004, he became a popular performer at a weekly event called Battle Thursdays where he got some recognition and also had an opportunity to work on his performance skills.
Aidonia credits Mr. Pinnock for introducing him to the business aspect of the music industry by giving him the Business of Music book to read. This taught him that for an artiste, music is not only about recording and performing, but that the business aspect is also very important.
In the latter part of 2004 Aidonia was approached by Cordell 'Skatta' Burrell who invited him to record at his studio. He later became associated with Gangbang Entertainment and throughout this period worked with Skatta and other producers. Several popular songs such as Prayer, Inna Di Ghetto, Eagle, and his chart making hit Lolly were recorded.
More recent singles include Chickenhead on the Galore riddim, Bookam on the Billbak riddim, Reload on the Redbull & Guinness riddim and Kingfish and Unknown Assailant on the Stick-Up riddim. Aidonia fulfilled one of his goals of working with Bounty Killer when he recorded Sen Fi Dem. He has been making a number of appearances with Killer since that time. One of his current singles Ooku has been pulled from the airwaves pending investigation by the Broadcasting Commission
Aidonia has performed throughout the island at popular shows at UWI and UTech, Chancellor Hall's Spectrum, Eclipse Pool Party, Lady Saw's Birthday Bash, Champions In Action, Spring Break in Negril, Fully Loaded, ATI 2006 and Sting 2K5 to name a few. Though a newcomer, he was a confirmed act at Reggae Sunsplash and Sumfest that both took place this summer.
There are no limitations on where he plans to take his career. Aidonia plans to develop himself as an artiste and keep putting in hard work in order to reap the benefits. He would like to work with producers such as Dave Kelly, Steelie & Clevie and Sly & Robbie and other dancehall artistes such as Shabba Ranks, Sizzla, Baby Cham, Vybz Kartel and Buju Banton, In the next five years he hopes to produce an internationally acclaimed album.
"I want to take dancehall music to the level that Bob Marley took reggae," says Aidonia.
The Robbery
Aidonia Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ah de banga dis
Plan fi run inna de bank an buss one ah dis
Cyan take dis life dat I'm living
Go get de guns so me ah go rob de pussy dem today beacuse we sufferin'
Tonight there's gonna be a robbery,
In progress,
Ah de bank yea,
44 yes,
Tru de door yes,
Oh yes,
She in de ol' dress,
Lef her holess,
If she don' press,
De alarm whe deh below desk,
Quick like a phone text, come to go next,
It was more mess,
More stress,
When she go press,
I go press,
Tvs, cameras, more press,
Callin me a terrorist,
Bout locals,
And tourists,
I got,
On de floor yes,
Don't take no risk,
Take a gunshot, then a reef from the florist,
I just wanna get the dough,
No checks
Then go left
To joe jeff
Who knows best
To press the turbo lex
De car was grand theft
Bank robbery, was a pro theft
Ah me flow best, when u don' test
An protest,
Fo ya rolex
If yuh protest
Get me more vex
Clap go next
Tru yo chest
When me tek de baretta off ah de undercover cop,
Who have on no vest
Security guard try stopme,
Gun handle swell up him face like it grow breast
Hostage weh de closest
Grab him dem speed
And waitin 4 sets
We born poor, but we nah go dead poor, poeple ah go dead more
If unno gi de ghetto youth a better way in life, hungry wan defend more
Tired ah dem politicain pon dem green an red tour[repeat]
Me,
Try escape like ex-convict,
Driver
Make de weapon spit,
Dem woulda fire back
Me woulda bet on it
Same time, ah,
Inna me left han hit
Good ting ah no me chest an hip
Start tink bout me gal breast and tits
Yo
Press de gas
Step pon it
Car cayn move
Need a mechanic
Adandoned de car... ah foot chase
Now,
Me ah run pon de broad lane
Exit
Shooter,
Small wayne,
Marvin,
Make de guard bark like a pitbull whe cyan train
Me nah chop it up
Me get flat like a card game
Bad man ting
Ah no coward game
Nah get inna trouble and me na call de lord name,
Make shot fall like hard rain
In "The Robbery" by Aidonia, the artist describes a planned bank robbery that will allow him to acquire wealth by force rather than hard work. He says that he and his accomplices are suffering and they cannot accept the life they are living anymore. He then details the robbery, explaining that he and his team will storm the bank, take hostages, and steal money from the safe. He acknowledges that he is aware of the risk, but he believes it is worth it to escape poverty. He describes his adrenaline rush as he puts the plan in motion, and the chaos he causes in the bank. He eventually manages to escape and finds himself in a car chase with the police. He then discusses how if the government didn't neglect the ghetto, he wouldn't have to resort to robbing a bank.
The lyrics of the song reveal Aidonia's perception of the inner city poverty that is still prevalent in Jamaica. He believes that the government has failed to give those in the ghetto the tools necessary to improve their lives, hence resorting to robbery as their way out. The song is also a commentary on the glorification of crime in Jamaican society, and how young men are often tempted to break the law in their quest for wealth and power. Overall, the lyrics reflect a sense of desperation and hopelessness, as well as the harsh realities of inner-city life.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo
Hey
Ah de banga dis
This is the bomb
Plan fi run inna de bank an buss one ah dis
We planned to run into the bank and shoot something
Cyan take dis life dat I'm living
I cannot accept living like this
Go get de guns so me ah go rob de pussy dem today beacuse we sufferin'
I'm going to rob the bank today because we are struggling
Tonight there's gonna be a robbery,
We're committing a robbery tonight
In progress,
Happening right now
Ah de bank yea,
It's the bank
Where de door rest,
Where the door is
44 yes,
A type of gun
Tru de door yes,
Through the door, yes
Oh yes,
Definitely
She in de ol' dress,
A woman is wearing an old dress
Lef her holess,
Leave her alone
If she don' press,
If she doesn't press the alarm
De alarm whe deh below desk,
The alarm is below the desk
Quick like a phone text, come to go next,
Quickly like a message, we move to the next step
It was more mess,
It was more chaotic
More stress,
More stressful
When she go press,
When she presses the alarm
I go press,
I also press the alarm
Tvs, cameras, more press,
There are more cameras, TVs and press now
Callin me a terrorist,
They are calling me a terrorist
Bout locals,
Talking about locals
And tourists,
And tourists
I got,
I have
On de floor yes,
On the floor, yes
Don't take no risk,
Don't take any risks
Take a gunshot, then a reef from the florist,
Get shot, then laid to rest by the florist
I just wanna get the dough,
I just want to get the money
No checks
No checks to cash
Then go left
Then leave
To joe jeff
To go to Jeff's place
Who knows best
He knows what to do
To press the turbo lex
To drive the fast car
De car was grand theft
The car was stolen
Bank robbery, was a pro theft
The bank robbery was professionally planned
Ah me flow best, when u don' test
My rapping is best when you don't test me
An protest,
And protest
Fo ya rolex
For your watch
If yuh protest
If you protest
Get me more vex
It makes me angry
Clap go next
Shoot and move on
Tru yo chest
Through your chest
When me tek de baretta off ah de undercover cop,
When I take the gun off of the undercover cop
Who have on no vest
Who is not wearing a bulletproof vest
Security guard try stopme,
A security guard tries to stop me
Gun handle swell up him face like it grow breast
The gun's handle hits him and his face swells
Hostage weh de closest
The closest hostage
Grab him dem speed
Grab him and move fast
And waitin 4 sets
And wait for the next step
We born poor, but we nah go dead poor, poeple ah go dead more
We were born poor but we won't die poor, other people will suffer more
If unno gi de ghetto youth a better way in life, hungry wan defend more
If you give the ghetto youth a better life, they will work harder to protect it
Tired ah dem politicain pon dem green an red tour[repeat]
Tired of the politicians on their political campaigns
Me,
I
Try escape like ex-convict,
Try to escape like an ex-convict
Driver
The getaway driver
Make de weapon spit,
Makes the gun fire
Dem woulda fire back
They would shoot back
Me woulda bet on it
I would wager on it
Same time, ah,
At the same time
Inna me left han hit
I get hit in the left hand
Good ting ah no me chest an hip
Good thing I didn't get hit in the chest or hip
Start tink bout me gal breast and tits
I start thinking about my girlfriend's body
Yo
Hey
Press de gas
Step on the gas
Step pon it
Put your foot down
Car cayn move
The car can't move
Need a mechanic
We need a mechanic
Adandoned de car... ah foot chase
We abandon the car and start running
Now,
Right now
Me ah run pon de broad lane
I'm running on the main street
Exit
Find an exit
Shooter,
The shooter
Small wayne,
A person named Small Wayne
Marvin,
A person named Marvin
Make de guard bark like a pitbull whe cyan train
The guard yells like an untrained pitbull
Me nah chop it up
I won't lose
Me get flat like a card game
I get down like a losing card game
Bad man ting
Gang activity
Ah no coward game
It's not a cowardly game
Nah get inna trouble and me na call de lord name,
I won't get into trouble and call out for God
Make shot fall like hard rain
Shoot a lot like heavy rain
Contributed by Reagan C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@kemzykila9348
This song is sooooooo underrated
@mak00ileven
Trust me the real knowsβ¦
@juliangh6082
December 2021 and still fire π₯
@kerrickwallen5226
All in 2023 is like mi watch a move ...#repeat
@ashfalon3516
Robbery just gwaan just have to come bk hereπ
@madindiantourja7826
You just a picture it line for line..
@45murderer
2022 same way, it's like watching a movie
@FixTingzENT
2023
@alistairwallace7040
Still Fire in 2021π₯π₯π₯π₯
@bloomsdiscoverywithnas.4211
2023 and we still listening