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.
Buss My Gun
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Play Kartel, play mi bloodclaat dj fore mi shot a selectah bwoi!
Di whole a unnu a pussy eenuh unnu a fight 'gainst mi ting, suck unnu mumma!
Eh yah hear mi too move from roun di sound di whole a unnu,
Mi lik a bwoi, move, you move too gwe suck yuh mumma mi a badman.
Unnu nah nuh gun, how much gun unnu eva buy?
Unnu know how much fi a bloodclaat AK? Hundred an add thousand dolla!
A 'Panish town mi cum from Klans an bloodclaat One Order, play mi bomboclaat DJ!
Yow Steven a wha do some man, whe dem end up get?
(Bang Bang I shot dem down)
(Bang Bang dem hit da ground)
(Bang Bang da awful sound, Bang Bang)
Bwoi body drop, foot a twist like shoeslace,
Dem inna bulletproof vest, mi nuh shoot chest mi a shoot face,
Di nozzle inna mouth like toothpaste,
Gunshot a travel like suitcase,
Japanese bullet wid blue base,
My crew paste pon screwface.
Bwoi a beg fi him life like kids beg money at di stoplight,
Mi put di glock right up inna him face an buss it
Til him head red like mi bimmer backlight,
No bwoi nuh bad like me dem just a act like,
Addi grow ruff like scotchbrite, tuff like blacklight, buss shotgun, clap mac right,
Calico tun on like cellular when di sim card right, Kalashnikov din car light,
Don't diss di mongol dem man deh mi war like all night all day, SK tek spray,
Shot penetrate like X-ray, face tun nex way, no escape at all!
(Wheeel cum agen, cum a-bloodclaat-gen,
Cum agen, mi naw play nosong tonite, play Kartel!)
When mi buss my gun
Bwoi body drop, foot a twist like shoeslace,
Dem inna bulletproof vest, mi nuh shoot chest mi a shoot face,
Di nozzle inna mouth like toothpaste,
Gunshot a travel like suitcase,
Japanese bullet wid blue base,
My crew paste pon screwface.
From mi say now!
Thugz come like betta muss, mek shot infect yuh like tetanus
Bring dem a Oakland mek lay an tickerus murder dem!
Nuff a dem a pussy sum a clitoros
Ppl whe love fi bring the charity for us,
For a military gang so di press imagous,
Run inna di church, heh, a nuh nutten fi mi just,
Kill you and di preacher di teacher nuh religious,
Mi gun load up faster dan minibus
From di day mi born happy thoughts never been in us,
Rockfort will kill a million so mi villianous,
Worse if a di, mi get it from philly fuss,
You will never see di ways of a girl inna us,
Rema have a rass luga from berlin a buss,
Thugz buy guns fi hundred an ten of us,
Slouch AK dem venemous, den nuh muss!
Troopahs
When mi buss my gun
Bwoi body drop, foot a twist like shoeslace,
Dem inna bulletproof vest, mi nuh shoot chest mi a shoot face,
Di nozzle inna mouth like toothpaste,
Gunshot a travel like suitcase,
Japanese bullet wid blue base,
My crew paste pon screwface.
Ruler cyan measure how far di marrow fell,
When di magnum barrel spin like carousel,
Mi so wicked ppl say if a nuh me a di devil, well mi muss know di devil well,
Me to killin is like football to Neville Bell,
Head a swell, shotty bullet touch di groung an it start dig a neda well,
Blood paint yuh like grill whe welder well,
Violate Slouch an Steven a you mi a send a hell!
When mi buss my gun
Bwoi body drop, foot a twist like shoeslace,
Dem inna bulletproof vest, mi nuh shoot chest mi a shoot face,
Di nozzle inna mouth like toothpaste,
Gunshot a travel like suitcase,
Japanese bullet wid blue base,
My crew paste pon screwface.
The lyrics of Vybz Kartel's song "Buss My Gun" is an intense and aggressive message to the DJ playing his music, criticizing those who oppose him and claiming his strength as a "badman" with a powerful weapon. He exclaims that those who play his music must understand that he is not someone to be messed with and emphasizes his authority with his intimidating lyrics. He also discusses the cost of firearms and their availability from his hometown of Spanish Town.
The song is very violent with a lot of gun-related references, that could be seen as disruptive in society, however, Vybz Kartel is known to be one of the top dancehall artists of his era and has a cult-like following in Jamaica. His music is seen as controversial but it is also insightful as it talks about life in the ghettos of Jamaica. He has been praised by fans and critics and has influenced many other artists in his genre.
Line by Line Meaning
Unnu play mi Dj, A who unnu a ramp wid?
Why are you playing with me, DJ? Play my song or I'll shoot you.
Play Kartel, play mi bloodclaat dj fore mi shot a selectah bwoi!
If you don't play my song, I'll shoot the DJ.
Di whole a unnu a pussy eenuh unnu a fight 'gainst mi ting, suck unnu mumma!
You're all cowards for opposing me, suck your mothers!
Eh yah hear mi too move from roun di sound di whole a unnu,
Everyone at the sound should leave before I act out.
Mi lik a bwoi, move, you move too gwe suck yuh mumma mi a badman.
I'm like a boy, so move or I'll shoot you. I'm a bad guy.
Unnu nah nuh gun, how much gun unnu eva buy?
You don't have any guns, how many have you bought?
Unnu know how much fi a bloodclaat AK? Hundred an add thousand dolla!
Do you know how much an AK costs? One hundred and a thousand dollars!
A 'Panish town mi cum from Klans an bloodclaat One Order, play mi bomboclaat DJ!
I'm from Spanish Town, Klans and One Order. Play my DJ!
Bwoi body drop, foot a twist like shoeslace,
The boy's body falls and his foot twists like a shoelace.
Dem inna bulletproof vest, mi nuh shoot chest mi a shoot face,
They wear bulletproof vests, I don't shoot the chest, I shoot the face.
Di nozzle inna mouth like toothpaste,
The gun's nozzle is in his mouth like toothpaste.
Gunshot a travel like suitcase,
The gunshot travels like a suitcase.
Japanese bullet wid blue base,
The bullet has a blue base like a Japanese one.
My crew paste pon screwface.
My crew has a scowling face.
Bwoi a beg fi him life like kids beg money at di stoplight,
The boy begs for his life like kids beg for money at the stoplight.
Mi put di glock right up inna him face an buss it
I put the gun in his face and shoot it.
Til him head red like mi bimmer backlight,
Until his head is red like the taillight on my BMW.
No bwoi nuh bad like me dem just a act like,
No one is as bad as me, they just act like it.
Addi grow ruff like scotchbrite, tuff like blacklight, buss shotgun, clap mac right,
I grow rough like ScotchBrite, tough like a blacklight, and shoot a shotgun and a Mac-10 right.
Calico tun on like cellular when di sim card right, Kalashnikov din car light,
The Calico gun turns on like a cellular phone when the SIM card is right. The Kalashnikov gun makes car lights dim.
Don't diss di mongol dem man deh mi war like all night all day, SK tek spray,
Don't disrespect the Mongols, I'll fight them all night and all day. The SK guns will spray.
Shot penetrate like X-ray, face tun nex way, no escape at all!
The shot penetrates like an X-ray, his face twists another way, there's no escape.
(Wheeel cum agen, cum a-bloodclaat-gen, Cum agen, mi naw play nosong tonite, play Kartel!)
Welcome back, I won't play anyone else's song tonight. Only play my songs!
Thugz come like betta muss, mek shot infect yuh like tetanus
Thugs come like bed bugs, their shots will infect you like tetanus.
Bring dem a Oakland mek lay an tickerus murder dem!
Bring them to Oakland and murder them!
Nuff a dem a pussy sum a clitoros,
A lot of them are cowards and some have vaginal clitoris.
Ppl whe love fi bring the charity for us,
People who love to bring charity for us.
For a military gang so di press imagous,
We're a military gang so the media's images distort us.
Run inna di church, heh, a nuh nutten fi mi just,
Running into the church is nothing to me just like killing you and the preacher because he's non-religious.
Kill you and di preacher di teacher nuh religious,
Kill you and the non-religious preacher and teacher.
Mi gun load up faster dan minibus
My gun loads up faster than a minibus.
From di day mi born happy thoughts never been in us,
Since I've been born, happy thoughts were never in us.
Rockfort will kill a million so mi villianous,
Rockfort will kill a million so I'm villainous.
Worse if a di, mi get it from philly fuss,
It's worse if I get it from Philly fuss.
You will never see di ways of a girl inna us,
You will never see our feminine ways.
Rema have a rass luga from berlin a buss,
Rema has a gun from Berlin to shoot.
Thugz buy guns fi hundred an ten of us, Slouch AK dem venemous, den nuh muss!
Thugs buy guns for a hundred and ten of us, Slouch AKs, they're poisonous, then no more.
Ruler cyan measure how far di marrow fell,
The ruler can't measure how far the marrow has fallen.
When di magnum barrel spin like carousel,
When the magnum barrel spins like a carousel.
Mi so wicked ppl say if a nuh me a di devil, well mi muss know di devil well,
I'm so wicked that people say if it's not me who's the devil, I must know the devil well.
Me to killin is like football to Neville Bell,
Killing is like playing football to Neville Bell.
Head a swell, shotty bullet touch di groung an it start dig a neda well,
His head swells, the shotgun bullet hits the ground and starts to dig another well.
Blood paint yuh like grill whe welder well,
Blood paints you like a grill welded really well.
Violate Slouch an Steven a you mi a send a hell!
Violate Slouch and Steven and I'll send you to hell!
When mi buss my gun
When I shoot my gun.
From mi say now!
From the moment I say this.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: KIMANI N PALMER, JERMAINE SHAW
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sharneiceharriott6634
Kartel is the most lyrically inclined dancehall artist ever, this man has the vocabulary of a British INTELLECTUAL. You can tell the man reads which is why he knows how to use his words man. Genius
@talkknackis7879
You sound Brilliant n you r so right
@johnnychyan4996
I know how to read too!
@juliuskilonzi4421
"When me buss my gun.." The lyrical onslaught that happens after the first line is just epic 😈
@lorenzohendrickson8673
pure slaughter
@anniegibbs1041
₩₩
@Smoove7254
most lyrical dancehall song in history. im from America and still have trouble understanding everything but the parts I know straight fire
@22gazayouth
real talk, the lines dem well on point and mad.
@Ricky2clean
Legit Nation seet ya... if alkaline was up again this kartel he wouldn't have a chance fi bus.. .... as me say Now!!! Thugs come like better must.... (better must come) jah kno stay..... gun shot a travel like suitcase... jah kno star... da album ya deserve Grammy.. bring back this kartel and I can see what u talking about.. that's why when mi see u fly up fi song like close casket I laugh cause that cya compare to this song in no way shape or form
@dontejones3369
Smoove7254 fact💯💯💯