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.
Cheat Pon Him
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
De bpy dem have no sense
Look how you nice mi cya believe it hmm hmm
Mi know you lonely gyal mi see it inna yuh eyes
Mi wah you, you wah me, fi top of yuh love life
Baby...
Mi wah u fi wine up yuh waistline so;
Him ah go ah dancehall an tell you u cah go
An ah treat yuh like a treat you like a dog
Treat like a jango
In the song "Cheat Pon Him" by Vybz Kartel, the lyrics express the idea of a woman who is not happy in her current relationship and is seeking comfort and affection from another man. The opening line "Ah no bun u ah give him" suggests that the woman is not cheating on her partner physically, but emotionally, by seeking attention and affection from another man. The lyricist questions why the woman's partner does not spend time with her, and describes him as lacking sense, indicating that the woman's desire to seek attention elsewhere may be a result of neglect from her partner.
The lines "Look how you nice mi cya believe it" suggest that the woman is attractive and desirable, but she appears to be lonely and unhappy. The lyrics also imply that the singer, Vybz Kartel, is attracted to the woman and wants to be with her. In the chorus, he expresses his desire for her to "wine up" (dance provocatively) for him and to be a part of her love life.
To further emphasize the woman's dissatisfaction with her current relationship, the lyrics describe how the woman's partner treats her poorly, even comparing her treatment to that of a dog (a "jango"). The lyrics suggest that the woman should leave her partner for someone who will treat her better and fulfill her needs.
Line by Line Meaning
Ah no bun u ah give him... him dont spend time with you
You aren't cheating on him, he just neglects and ignores you.
De bpy dem have no sense
Those boys lack intelligence and understanding.
Look how you nice mi cya believe it hmm hmm
You are so attractive, I can hardly believe it.
Mi know you lonely gyal mi see it inna yuh eyes
I recognize that you are a lonely girl, I can see it in your eyes.
Mi wah you, you wah me, fi top of yuh love life
I want you, and you want me, to be the top priority in your love life.
Baby...
Affectionate term for the person being addressed.
Mi wah u fi wine up yuh waistline so;
I want you to dance in a provocative way.
If da likkle boy dem kno wah you me wah you
If those little boys knew how desirable you were, they would want you too.
Him ah go ah dancehall an tell you u cah go
He would go to the dancehall and forbid you from attending.
An ah treat yuh like a treat you like a dog
And he would treat you poorly, like a dog.
Treat like a jango
Treat like a lowly, insignificant person.
Writer(s): Adidja Azim Palmer, Christopher Birch
Contributed by Vivian L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@gclips7754
2023 and still hitting⚡
@birdperson2854
Fr fr fam😅
@la-tonyathomas2908
Can’t beat old kartel songs 😎
@Dani-Dee
Kartel must be a real romantiser, notice u neva yet hear nuh woman a complain bout kartel? always some man a complain but he seems to treat ladies good judging from his songs, he doesnt diss them or anything, always sing something to make them wana dance or feel good. kudus to him for that
@stormyredhawk2812
Bravo my exact thoughts and I’m pretty sure that’s where a lot of his haters come from (jealous men) hahahaha!!!
@reckszkingzactivitiesrkat.4134
Trust me well said 💯💯💯
@leaseelien8614
u so right nice comment
@shayduncan8324
Same thing me tell everyone kartel neva diss ooman .
@shayduncan8324
@SAGE,ISHEKA. Okay wow that's not right because whatever the situation he didn't have to tell her about her mother
@onearthasitisinheaven1
Searched for this song tirelessly I'm glad i finally found it.❤😭❤