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.
Careful
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Di Genius
Di-di-di Genius
Be careful a who you talk to
Be careful a where you par to (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Di Teacha...
Stephen McGregor...
Be careful a where you walk to
Students...
Wise...
Prudence...
Stephen!
[Chorus:]
Dat's why you fi careful
A di people yuh know
Caz nuff a dem nuh real, dem a foe
You fi careful
A di places yuh go
Be careful a di faces you know
You fi careful
A di friends weh you keep
Watch yuhself in di street
You fi careful
And remember life sweet
Remember yuh life nuh come cheap
Hmm...
[Verse 1:]
Good morning students
Todeh we a study di above
Nice likke girl weh har madda love
Get caught in di life of drugs
Rolling with di thugs in di club
When dem ask har
She seh yeah, she seh yeah, she seh yeah
Now she addicted...
Good girl, have har college degree
She start sell har body
Til she start gih it weh fu free
She hook pan marijuana, cocaine, crack, heroin, PCP
Stephen warn dem, about di friends dat you keep
[Chorus:]
Dat's why you fi careful
A di people yuh know
Caz nuff a dem nuh real, dem a foe
You fi careful
A di places yuh go
Be careful a di faces you know
You fi careful
A di friends weh you keep
Watch yuhself in di street
You fi careful
And remember life sweet
Remember yuh life nuh come cheap
Hmm...
[Verse 2:]
Good yute, good school
Still neva tek in di lesson
Wah know bout mr. calginica, mr. smith, mr. wesson
Puss and dog nuh have di same luck
Everybody nuh get di same blessin (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Him skull class
Ready fu di school him deh pan corna
Tool inna box smokin him reefa
Here comes some police offica
Man a run west, man a go east
Him alone wid him chrome
You nah fi ask if dem sen him home
A two road Jah put before us
Stephen sing di chorus
[Chorus:]
Dat's why you fi careful
A di people yuh know
Caz nuff a dem nuh real, dem a foe
You fi careful
A di places yuh go
Be careful a di faces you know
You fi careful
A di friends weh you keep
Watch yuhself in di street
You fi careful
And remember life sweet
Remember yuh life nuh come cheap
Hmm...
[Verse 3:]
Love is a second hand emotion
Man gih woman di world
Wid all a di ocean
Wat a love potion
Him ask har if she love him truely
She seh yeah, she seh yeah, she seh yeah
Den she continue moanin
It work vice versa
A woman would love a man
And him leave har
Wid di kids like di teach at di nursery
Stephen sing
[Chorus:]
Dat's why you fi careful
A di people yuh know
Caz nuff a dem nuh real, dem a foe
You fi careful
A di places yuh go
Be careful a di faces you know
You fi careful
A di friends weh you keep
Watch yuhself in di street
You fi careful
And remember life sweet
Remember yuh life nuh come cheap
Hmm...
[Outro:]
Hmm...
Hmm...
Hmm...
In the song "Careful," Vybz Kartel sings about the importance of being cautious of the people, places, and situations one encounters in everyday life. The intro sets the tone for the song, with Di Genius warning listeners to be careful of the company they keep, the places they go, and the people they know because some may not have their best interests at heart. The main focus of the lyrics is to be mindful of the dangers of drug use and addiction, as well as to be aware of the risks that come with illegal activities.
In the first verse, Vybz Kartel speaks about a good girl with a college degree who got caught up in the drug scene and ended up selling her body for free. He warns students to be careful about the company they keep, as bad influences could lead them down a similar path. In the second verse, he talks about a good school student who was involved in illegal activities and ended up running from the police. Lastly, in the third verse, Kartel warns listeners about the risks of falling in love and potentially being left alone with children.
Overall, the lyrics of "Careful" serve as a message for listeners to be mindful of their actions and surroundings to avoid negative consequences.
Line by Line Meaning
Be careful a who you talk to
Be cautious of the people you communicate with.
Be careful a where you par to (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Be careful of the places you hang out in.
Be careful a where you walk to
Be wary of the locations you travel to.
Cause people will like to harm you (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Because people would try to injure you.
Dat's why you fi careful
That is why you should be careful.
A di people yuh know
Of the people you are familiar with.
Caz nuff a dem nuh real, dem a foe
Because many of them are not genuine, they are enemies.
You fi careful
You need to be careful.
A di places yuh go
The places you go to.
Be careful a di faces you know
Be wary of the people you know.
A di friends weh you keep
Be cautious of the company you keep.
Watch yuhself in di street
Be cautious while on the road.
And remember life sweet
And always remember that life is pleasant.
Remember yuh life nuh come cheap
Remember that your life did not come at a low cost.
Todeh we a study di above
Today, we focus on higher learning.
Nice likke girl weh har madda love
A pleasant young lady whom her mother adores.
Get caught in di life of drugs
Became trapped in a life of drug abuse.
Rolling with di thugs in di club
Hanging out with dangerous people in the club.
Now she addicted...
Now she is addicted.
Good girl, have har college degree
A good girl who has earned her college degree.
She start sell har body
She started prostituting.
Til she start gih it weh fu free
Until she began giving it away for free.
She hook pan marijuana, cocaine, crack, heroin, PCP
She became addicted to various drugs like marijuana, cocaine, crack, heroin, PCP.
Stephen warn dem, about di friends dat you keep
Stephen warns them about the kind of friends they associate with.
Still neva tek in di lesson
Still did not take the lesson seriously.
Wah know bout mr. calginica, mr. smith, mr. wesson
Knows about Mr. Calginica, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Wesson.
Puss and dog nuh have di same luck
Cats and dogs don't always receive the same fate.
Everybody nuh get di same blessin (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Not everyone gets the same blessings in life.
Here comes some police offica
Here comes a police officer.
Man a run west, man a go east
People are running in different directions.
Him alone wid him chrome
He is alone with his gun.
You nah fi ask if dem sen him home
You don't need to ask if he was sent home.
A two road Jah put before us
God has placed two paths before us.
Love is a second hand emotion
Love is a cheap emotion.
Man gih woman di world
Men give women everything they want.
Wid all a di ocean
With everything imaginable.
Wat a love potion
Love is a spell.
Den she continue moanin
Then she continued moaning.
It work vice versa
It works both ways.
A woman would love a man
Sometimes a woman can love a man.
And him leave har
And he abandons her.
Wid di kids like di teach at di nursery
With the children, just like a nursery teacher.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Exploring With Tifaney
This song will never get old
champion Bwoy
I swear it’s been on a replay on my phone
Sospek Media TV
Timeless
mr shallow
Bro I just play this like ten time.
Allan Jimenez
This song is reality guetto boy limón Costa Rica rememba holdtimes big up dI genius 2008 2022
REMEDY THE ENTERTAINER
2022 but the message on point never get old long live vybz 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪
Makeup Hobbies💜💄
For some reason this song came up in my head and I connect it to my music box I thought this reach more than 1 million views but as they say it's the thought that counts🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲❤❤❤👏👏👏👏👏
Delon Thomas
Hmmm it's powerful kartel
Delon Thomas
Another day is here and kartel is still dancehall hugest pioneer remember that
Daniel Haywood
My mother always use to tell me, "not everyone that smiles with you is your friend."