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.
Dancehall
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Eh, yute dem fi have things, doh?
Alright
Comet coming soon
Well bright, like every pitney weh go Dunoon
Cyaan' stall, a di Teacha, big up Vauxhall
Me n'ave nuh time fi trace
Coulda even, we ah go have oxtail
Every female wan' mi contact, Hotmail
Dot com inna you gyal ah weh di cash pot play
Hottarice, mek me tell you 'bout we
Man skiller dan a killer when him out pon bail
Cyaan' lose, bet you money, put you house pon sale
Bet you wife, all you pitney, me just cyaan' fail
Dem couldn't be me, a dot to a 3D
Likkle pitney ah greet me like me ah keep treat
Big woman seh dem need di teelie, di sweet sweet
Young gyal ah cock up fi Teacha, fi beat meat
Pussy run like tracks like Jago raid you stadium
Da alien here nuh stay nowhere Uranus
Mi status famous, various cyattie rate us
Me dangerous, K buss, Spain nuh play nuh day just
Yo, di WorlBoss cyaan' stall
Yo ah Addi ah di king and him ah run Dancehall
Addi ah di King and him ah run Dancehall
Addi ah di King and him ah run Dancehall
Di WorlBoss cyaan' stall
Yo ah Addi ah di king and him ah run Dancehall
Addi ah di King and him ah run Dancehall
Addi ah di King and him ah run Dancehall
Me n'ave nuh time fi waste
Up to di time, same way
Me ah run di universe, di world ah mine same way
Big up every DJ (every DJ)
Ninety percent ah unnuh ah my DNA, talk truth
We come from a sperm and a egg
But a badmind bwoy is a slime same way
Caught pon di camera, di crime tape play
Fucking eediot, you do it inna USA
Gran bag ah weed charge up me mad brains
And me wul it pon di Gaza wid a bagga bad slave
No remorse like di man weh rob grave, man brave
Why you wanna see your brother down? Rat race
Addi ah nuh Rolex, me nuh watch face
If yuh heart clean me wi' help you, me got grace
But me got bad ways as well
Haskell clap, mek bwoy head back swell
Yo, di WorlBoss cyaan' stall
Yo ah Addi ah di king and him ah run Dancehall
Addi ah di King and him ah run Dancehall
Addi ah di King and him ah run Dancehall
Di WorlBoss cyaan' stall
Yo ah Addi ah di king and him ah run Dancehall
Addi ah di King and him ah run Dancehall
Addi ah di King and him ah run Dancehall
Me n'ave nuh time fi trace
Me nah lap frock tail
Coulda even, we ah go have oxtail
Every female wan' mi contact, Hotmail
Dot com inna you gyal ah weh di cash pot play
Hottarice, mek me tell you 'bout we
Man skiller dan a killer when him out pon bail
Cyaan' lose, bet you money, put you house pon sale
Bet you wife, all you pitney, me just cyaan' fail
Dem couldn't be me, a dot to a 3D
Likkle pitney ah greet me like me ah keep treat
Big woman seh dem need di teelie, di sweet sweet
Young gyal ah cock up fi Teacha, fi beat meat
Pussy run like tracks like Jago raid you stadium
Da alien here nuh stay nowhere Uranus
Mi status famous, various cyattie rate us
Me dangerous, K buss, Spain nuh play nuh day just
Yo, di WorlBoss cyaan' stall
Yo ah Addi ah di king and him ah run Dancehall
Addi ah di King and him ah run Dancehall
Addi ah di King and him ah run Dancehall
Di WorlBoss cyaan' stall
Yo ah Addi ah di king and him ah run Dancehall
Addi ah di King and him ah run Dancehall
Addi ah di King and him ah run Dancehall
Di WorlBoss cyaan' stall
Yo ah Addi ah di king and him ah run Dancehall
Addi ah di King and him ah run Dancehall
Addi ah di King and him ah run Dancehall
Di WorlBoss cyaan' stall
Yo ah Addi ah di king and him ah run Dancehall
Addi ah di King and him ah run Dancehall
Addi ah di King and him ah run Dancehall
The lyrics of Vybz Kartel's song Dancehall are a bold assertion of his dominance in the world of Dancehall music. The song opens with a conversation between Vybz and someone named JB about successful people having things, and Vybz then goes on to proclaim his success as an artist, making it clear that he has no time for wasting on unimportant things. Vybz goes on to assert his lyrical prowess, claiming to be unbeatable and daring his opponents to put their money and assets on the line against him. Throughout the song, he uses a variety of slangs, metaphors, and clever wordplay to emphasize his lyrical abilities and his unrivaled status as the "King" of Dancehall.
Overall, the song is an intense and boastful message to his rivals and detractors that Vybz Kartel is at the top of his game and doesn't intend to relinquish that position anytime soon. The repetition of the chorus shows how firmly he believes in his position and how he is not willing to let anyone else take over his reign.
Line by Line Meaning
Comet coming soon
Something big is about to happen soon
Well bright, like every pitney weh go Dunoon
It is going to be very bright, like every kid who goes to Dunoon (a school)
Cyaan' stall, a di Teacha, big up Vauxhall
I can't be delayed, I am the teacher, shout out to Vauxhall (a neighborhood)
Me n'ave nuh time fi trace
I don't have time for drama
Me nah lap frock tail
I am not about to back down or be submissive
Coulda even, we ah go have oxtail
We might even have oxtail (a type of stew)
Every female wan' mi contact, Hotmail
Every woman wants to be in contact with me, on Hotmail (an email service)
Dot com inna you gyal ah weh di cash pot play
There is money to be made from your woman, like playing the cash pot (a lottery)
Hottarice, mek me tell you 'bout we
Listen up, let me tell you about us
Man skiller dan a killer when him out pon bail
I am more skilled than a killer, even when I am out on bail
Cyaan' lose, bet you money, put you house pon sale
I can't lose, bet your money and put your house up for sale
Bet you wife, all you pitney, me just cyaan' fail
Bet your wife and kids, I just can't fail
Dem couldn't be me, a dot to a 3D
There is no way they can be like me, not even in 3D
Likkle pitney ah greet me like me ah keep treat
Kids greet me like I am their favorite treat
Big woman seh dem need di teelie, di sweet sweet
Grown women say they need the 'teelie', the sweet sweet (slang for sex)
Young gyal ah cock up fi Teacha, fi beat meat
Young girls are excited to dance for the teacher (cock up), to beat meat (slang for have sex)
Pussy run like tracks like Jago raid you stadium
People run away like in tracks when Jago raids your stadium (an example of fear)
Da alien here nuh stay nowhere Uranus
I am not an alien who stays on Uranus (a planet), I am here on Earth
Mi status famous, various cyattie rate us
I am famous, various women like me (cyattie is slang for women)
Me dangerous, K buss, Spain nuh play nuh day just
I am dangerous, K (Kalashnikov gun) will bust, Spain doesn't play around
Yo, di WorlBoss cyaan' stall
The World Boss (referring to himself) can't be delayed
Yo ah Addi ah di king and him ah run Dancehall
I am the king and I run Dancehall music
Addi ah di King and him ah run Dancehall
I am the King and I run Dancehall music
Di WorlBoss cyaan' stall
The World Boss can't be delayed
Me n'ave nuh time fi waste
I don't have any time to waste
Up to di time, same way
Up to this point, always in the same way
Me ah run di universe, di world ah mine same way
I run the universe, the world is mine in the same way
Big up every DJ (every DJ)
Shout out to every DJ
Ninety percent ah unnuh ah my DNA, talk truth
Ninety percent of you are like me in your DNA, tell the truth
We come from a sperm and a egg
We are all born the same way, from a sperm and an egg
But a badmind bwoy is a slime same way
However, a person with a bad attitude is low (slimey) like everyone else
Caught pon di camera, di crime tape play
Caught on camera, the crime tape is playing
Fucking eediot, you do it inna USA
You fucking idiot, you did it in the USA
Gran bag ah weed charge up me mad brains
A big bag of weed charges up my crazy mind
And me wul it pon di Gaza wid a bagga bad slave
And I will sell it in Gaza with a lot of bad slaves
No remorse like di man weh rob grave, man brave
No remorse like the man who robs graves, he is brave
Why you wanna see your brother down? Rat race
Why do you want to see your brother fail? It's a rat race (a competition without clear goals)
Addi ah nuh Rolex, me nuh watch face
I am not like a Rolex watch, I don't show off
If yuh heart clean me wi' help you, me got grace
If your heart is pure, I will help you, I have grace
But me got bad ways as well
But I also have bad habits
Haskell clap, mek bwoy head back swell
Haskell (a type of gun) fires, making the boy's head swell backwards
Lyrics Β© O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Adidja Azim Palmer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
VybzKartelRadio
Still me EVERYTINGβ€β€β€β€β€β€β€β€β€β€ππ΅ππΊ
gideon mutungi
God give you strength and long life... from Kenya we love you!
YoutifulCare
Everything β€β€β€β€β€β€β€β€β€
YoutifulCare
Love u Addi fi life ππ
Dominic McLean
β€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈ
DancehallMusiqRadio
Fully Gaza
Hallow
It is a tradition to come back here every once in a while π₯π₯
This Journey Called Life
This man is a once in a lifetime musical genius. Sending him to jail only elevated him to legendary status. Free Worl' Boss
Cami Opara
+Segun.
U said truth...
Shanice Valentino
Truth