Vybz Kartel (born Adidja Palmer, Jan. 7, 1976) is a Jamaican dancehall deej… Read Full Bio ↴Vybz Kartel (born Adidja Palmer, Jan. 7, 1976) is a Jamaican dancehall deejay.

He was born at Kingston's Victoria Jubilee Hospital, and was one of six children. Originally from Waterhouse, Kingston, he was raised in the Waterford district in the community Portmore, Jamaica. Adidja attended Calabar High School in Kingston but was expelled as a teenager. Determined to continue his education, he completed his studies at a tutorial technical school.

He was exposed to a wide variety of music from a tender age by two uncles who were themselves aspiring musicians. Every weekend he was treated to new musical offerings, on his uncle's old component set, ranging from Sam Cooke to country and western ballads to Ninja Man, who became one of his musical heroes.

At 10 his favorites included artists as diverse as Ninja Man, Papa San, Charlie Chaplin, Will Smith and KRS-1, all of whose lyrics he would study word-for-word, performing them later for friends.

He decided he wanted to be a deejay and began writing his own lyrics when he was 11. Eager to flaunt his skills, Adidja and his friends frequented the weekly Gong Talent Show at the Coney Amusement Park on the outskirts of Kingston. To their chagrin, they were always gonged off when they got a chance to perform.

Undeterred by his weekly failure to impress the talent show audience, Adidja decided to hone his skills and concentrate on winning over his own community of Waterford until he was ready for bigger things. With that goal in mind, on weekends he would practise on neighborhood sound systems Soul Signal and Electric Force.

In 1993, Adidja recorded his first single, "Love Fat Woman," for Alvin Reid's One Heart Label under the name Adi Banton, a name he chose in tribute to a role model, Buju Banton. He recorded several more tracks for local producers, perfecting his craft.

In 1996 he and two friends, Mr. Lee and a singer called Escobar, decided to form a group. One night, after watching a movie about Pablo Escobar and his infamous cartel, Adidja came up with a name for his trio: Vibes Cartel.

Vybz Kartel's new role as Killer's protege caught the attention of the public and led to a meteoric career rise, first as a ghost-writer for Bounty, Elephant Man and other members of the Scare Dem Crew, followed by collaborations with Bounty Killer, such as "Gal Clown" and "Girls Like Mine (Liquid Riddim)."

He came into his own with early hits like "Gun Clown," "Guns Like Mine (Trafalga Riddim)," "Badman (Panty Raid Riddim)," "Bus Mi Gun Like Nuttn," "Most High (Mexican Riddim)" and "War Organizer (Clappas Riddim)." He also had a string of successful collaborations with Wayne Marshall, including "New Millennium (Mad Antz Riddim)," "Why (Krazy Riddim)" and "Why Again (Good To Go Riddim)." This unprecedented debut led to Vybz Kartel being crowned 2002 Deejay of the Year at Stone Love's 30th anniversary, a feat unmatched by any new artist in dancehall.

Kartel has--aside from incredible rhymes and subtle, clever pop culture references--a unique lyrical flow all his own. It is to be noted that Kartel rarely does dance "chunes" along the lines of Elephant man or Beenie Man. Nevertheless, he has already had several high-profile collaborations with international hip-hop and pop stars, and is being touted as the next big thing in dancehall.

In terms of singles sold, he has had the second-best year on the 2003 reggae charts, outsold only by Elephant Man, and has released two albums this year for UK label Greensleeves. He was featured twice on the Def Jamaica project, and nominated for Source, VIBE and UK MOBO awards. His MOBO nominations, along with those of Beenie Man, Elephant Man and Sizzla, were subsequently withdrawn over concerns of homophobia, a common issue with dancehall reggae in general.

His video for "New Millennium/Why," with Wayne Marshall, though decidedly low-budget, has seen play on MTV. His underground following is so large that a bootleg version of, in his own words, "a very, very low budget film" made in 2001 has begun circulating. He has two albums, several mixtapes and a prolific library of singles.

In 2005, Vybz and Bountkiller fell out after Vybz preformed a song with Di Angel, Beenie's former girl, "Yuh Know Yuh Baby Father." Vybz walked out of the Alliance. Aidonia also left, because he took Vybz side, falling out with Busy Signal and making the song "Adid A Mi Daddy Who Wa Vex Wan Vex." It was said Vybz took side with Beenie by showing up at his wedding. Vybz said Beenie was his artist and would not and that's as far as it went. Afterwards, he and Movado which led to throwing of words through songs like "Movado di Failla," "Them Start War and Dead" and "Them a Pu@#* Pon di Battle." But this mis happas only made Mr.Palmer express his war side.

Vybz is the head of the territorial gangland in Portmore known as the Gaza and Mavado is the same for the Gully. Due to their feud a physical war arose between people in the two areas. Fans loyal to each artist have taken part as well. Their fan base in the youths has been seen, as entire schools claiming to be Gully or Gaza supporters have been known not just in Jamaica but in other Caribbean countries such as Trinidad to break out into physical war resulting in stabbings and street fights.

Following the 2009 Summit of the Americas the Jamaican government called a meetings between Vybz Kartel and Mavado calling on them to end the war. Since its conclusion both artists have turned away from war songs and focused on different topics, Kartel on women and Mavado on uplifting the people, although both still make songs of all types.

Following differences with record label Greensleeves, Vybz Kartel changed his name to Addi Di Teacha near the end of 2006. All new material he produces will be released under this name. Greensleeves will continue to release his older, unreleased material under the name Vybz Kartel.

He now owns the label Portmore Empire, founded in 2007, on which releases new deejays' music. To clear up why this was done he had an interview with Antony Miller. "If I had join Moffia House, I would be taking side which I said I would not do," he said.

He owns a rum called STREET VYBZ as well as a condom line called DAGGERING.

Recently, he collaborated with artists like D.I. aka Daniel and Di Angel--Beenie man's former wife. But that's another story...

In 2011 Kartel has recently come under fire for bleaching his skin, something that is frowned upon in Jamaican culture and even Kartel spoken against it in past songs. He has come under even more fire for his rumored involvement in devil worship with a satanic group known as the Illuminati, which is known to have other popular musicains such as Jay-Z, Kanye West, Rihanna.

02 Life We Living
Vybz Kartel Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Jamaica we need a way

Tell mi Mill
A how mi youth fi survive
How mi fi send him go school in this time
If mi don't make money
Di politician come pon tv
A show we this big pretty smile

Notin nuh funny (nuh funny, nuh funny)

Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living
Is a betta way we seekin'
Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living
Notin nuh funny (nuh funny, nuh funny)

Mi haffi hide from the landlord
Becah mi owe 'bout four months rent
Weekend a come mi nuh have a red cent
Cry mi cry when mi hear mi son seh
Daddy can you please buy me a Nike Air
And di likkle money weh mi have done spend
Di last grand mi have mi pay di light but wata
Commission cut mi pipe again
Hmmm

Di garrison need a betta way
And a betta life (fi we pickney dem)
Society,
Please don't condemn di ghetto to hell, just

Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living
Is a betta way we seekin'
Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living
Notin nuh funny (nuh funny, nuh funny)

Big woman ting
Notin nah gwaan
Ghetto youth haffi sidung pon di corna
Some a we a hustle
Some a beg a chump change
Society please make me see better days
Mi go fi buy a bagga frass but cigarette raise
All we a cry dem a gih we deaf ears
Then if di times so hard right now
From mi born inna the country and mi neva ten years
Hmmm

Di garrison need a betta way
And a betta life (fi we pickney dem)
Society
Please don't condemn di ghetto to hell, just

Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living
Is a betta way we seekin'
Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living
Notin nuh funny (nuh funny, nuh funny)

Tell mi Mill
A how mi youth fi survive
How mi fi send him go school in this time
If mi don't make money
Di politician come pon tv
A show we this big pretty smile
Notin nuh funny (nuh funny, nuh funny)

Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living
Is a betta way we seekin'
Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living
Notin nuh funny (nuh funny, nuh funny)

Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living
Is a betta way we seekin'
Look pon di life we living
Look pon di life we living

Look pon di life we living
Notin nuh funny (nuh funny, nuh funny, nuh funny, nuh funny)

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Vybz Kartel's song "Life We Living" address the struggles faced by people living in poverty in Jamaica. The singer of the song is a father who is struggling to make ends meet and provide for his family. He worries about how he will send his child to school and pay his rent, while politicians make empty promises on television. He calls for a better way of life and for society to not condemn the ghetto to hell.

The chorus of the song repeats the line "look pon di life we living," which translates to "look at the life we are living." This highlights the reality of poverty and inequality in Jamaica, and the need for change. The second half of the chorus emphasizes the desire for a better way of life, suggesting that there is hope for improvement and progress.

The verses of the song give specific examples of the struggles faced by those living in poverty in Jamaica. The singer owes rent money and can't afford to buy his son new shoes. He and other ghetto youth are forced to beg or hustle for money. Despite their struggles, they are still hopeful for a better future.

Overall, "Life We Living" is a powerful song that sheds light on the harsh realities faced by those living in poverty in Jamaica. It calls for change and a better way of life for all.

Line by Line Meaning

Jamaica we need a way
We, the people of Jamaica, are in desperate need of a solution to our problems.

Tell mi Mill
Direct address to person named Mill, likely seeking their input or advice.

A how mi youth fi survive
How can I ensure my children survive and thrive given our difficult circumstances?

How mi fi send him go school in this time
How can I afford to send my child to school during these tough times?

If mi don't make money
If I am unable to make money to support my family,

Di politician come pon tv
Politicians appear on TV

A show we this big pretty smile
Presenting a polished, insincere image with a big smile.

Notin nuh funny (nuh funny, nuh funny)
This situation is not at all humorous, despite appearances.

Look pon di life we living
Consider the reality of the life we are living.

Is a betta way we seekin'
We are seeking a better way of life.

Mi haffi hide from the landlord
I must hide from the landlord because I am unable to pay rent.

Becah mi owe 'bout four months rent
Because I owe four months worth of rent.

Weekend a come mi nuh have a red cent
The weekend is approaching and I have no money left.

Cry mi cry when mi hear mi son seh
I cried when my son asked me,

Daddy can you please buy me a Nike Air
"Can you please buy me a pair of Nike Air shoes?"

And di likkle money weh mi have done spend
The little money I had is already gone.

Di last grand mi have mi pay di light but wata
I spent my last thousand dollars paying for electricity and water.

Commission cut mi pipe again
My income has been further reduced due to commission cuts.

Di garrison need a betta way
The people living in the ghetto need a better way of life.

And a betta life (fi we pickney dem)
In particular, a better life for their children.

Society,
Appealing to society at large for help.

Please don't condemn di ghetto to hell, just
Asking society not to give up on the ghetto.

Big woman ting
Describing the severity of the situation.

Notin nah gwaan
Nothing is going well.

Ghetto youth haffi sidung pon di corna
Young people in the ghetto must sit by the corner and wait.

Some a we a hustle
Some of us are working hard to get by.

Some a beg a chump change
Others are reduced to begging for small change.

Society please make me see better days
Asking society to provide hope for the future.

Mi go fi buy a bagga frass but cigarette raise
I went to buy some marijuana, but the price of cigarettes has gone up.

All we a cry dem a gih we deaf ears
Our cries for help are being ignored.

Then if di times so hard right now
Given the current situation of hardship,

From mi born inna the country and mi neva ten years
Since I was born in the countryside and was not yet ten years old,

Di garrison need a betta way
The people of the ghetto need a better way of life.

And a betta life (fi we pickney dem)
Especially for their children.

Look pon di life we living
Take a look at the reality of our lives.