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 Hero Remix
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If mi nuh shit dem nah swallaw
Yo! Ah wah do some Dj Boi (Girl)
Just Live pon di artiste name
An di artiste nuh remember dem
A wah happen to uno, uno do uno own ting
Dem ah sing bout Crep, Dem ah sing bout Kickers
Mi sing bout Straight Jeans & White Tees
Dem ah sing bout Slippers
If mi sing bout head dem ah sing bout flitta
Mi sing bout comb dem ah sing bout scissors
And sing bout plait up & shades & Addi-das
Dem whole ah dem ah watch di Teach
Ah wonder if mi tongue bore an wonder if mi bleach
Call up mi name just fi get a forward
Ya nah see di whole ah dem ah parasite dem a leech
Dem tink bout Addi more than dem Woman
Dem a fish inna di sea, Gaza deh pon di beach
Call up mi name just fi get a forward
Ya nah see di whole ah dem ah parasite dem a leech
Yo!
If mi nah shit dem cyaan nyam
Every style wah mi mek dem waan one
Mi ah di Dancehall Pellet, the Jordan,
The Tall Man, The Smart One, The Last Dan.
Teacha, Everyting mi do dem follow
If me nuh shit some bwoy cyaan swallow
Some tek Auh,
Some tek mi Awoah,
Some tek mi Heh Heh
And Mi he he
And Mi ha ha
Mi nuh memba nuh Dj bwoy wah siddung pon mi name like back pocket rag.
Mi seh Cake Soap an a sing bout Fab
Vybz Kartel ah mek di whole ah dem a Mad
Ah mi mash up dem double standard
Mi sing bout Go Go and Freaky Gal
All of ah sudden everybody get brave
And a put it inna song seh dem waan blow job
Di whole ah dem ah watch di Teach
Ah wonder if mi tongue bore an wonder if mi bleach
Call up mi name just fi get a forward
Ya nah see di whole ah dem ah parasite dem a leech
Dem tink bout Addi more than dem Woman
Dem a fish inna di sea, Gaza deh pon di beach
Call up mi name just fi get a forward
Ya nah see di whole ah dem ah parasite dem a leech
If mi nah shit dem cyaan nyam
Every style wah mi mek dem waan one
Mi ah di Dancehall Pellet, the Jordan,
The Tall Man, The Smart One, The Last Dan.
Teacha, Everyting mi do dem follow
If me nuh shit some bwoy cyaan swallow
Some tek Auh,
Some tek mi Awoah,
Some tek mi Heh Heh
And Mi he he
And Mi ha ha
Tru mi do Gyal ah weh mi do u mek u do mi dat
Tru mi do Ramping Shop
Every man gone do combination song
But ah billboard my own drop
Tru mi do Money fi spend,
Trailer load Million by a morning and Money Junkie
Every man run gone do di money song
But dem ah follow Fashion Monkey
Di whole ah dem ah watch di Teach
Ah wonder if mi tongue bore an wonder if mi bleach
Call up mi name just fi get a forward
Ya nah see di whole ah dem ah parasite dem a leech
Dem tink bout Addi more than dem Woman
Dem a fish inna di sea, Gaza deh pon di beach
Call up mi name just fi get a forward
Ya nah see di whole ah dem ah parasite dem a leech
If mi nah shit dem cyaan nyam
Every style wah mi mek dem waan one
Mi ah di Dancehall Pellet, the Jordan,
The Tall Man, The Smart One, The Last Dan.
Dem ah hype over vehicle rims & tire
Ah we build Empire
Dem ah hype over moet & Hennessey
But ah wi build wi own liqor at da F-a-c-t-o-r-y
We employ Jamaicans so watch me
Ah Di Teacha, Dem cyaan Stop Me
Di Prefect too ya know... Pappi
A Wah Do Dem. Awoah
A Wah Do Some Dj Bwoy
Jus live pondi artiste name
An di artiste nuh memba dem
Ah wappen to uno, uno do uno own ting
The song "Dancehall Hero Remix" by Vybz Kartel is a diss track aimed at other artists who are trying to copy his style and follow his every move. The lyrics are about how Vybz Kartel is the leader of the dancehall movement and how other artists are constantly trying to imitate him. He claims that he is the one who sets the trends for the dancehall scene and that other artists are just copying him. He also talks about how other artists are constantly trying to get a forward (get noticed) by mentioning his name in their songs.
In the first verse, Vybz Kartel talks about how other artists are copying his style, including the way he dresses and the type of music he makes. He also says that if he doesn't approve of something, then other artists won't be able to succeed with it. In the chorus, he repeats the line "if mi nah shit dem cyaan nyam," which means that if he doesn't approve of something, then other artists won't be able to swallow it.
In the second verse, he talks about how other artists are only thinking about him and not their own women. He also talks about how other artists are trying to follow his lead when it comes to making money and being successful. Finally, he ends by saying that he is the one who is building an empire, while other artists are just following fashion trends.
Line by Line Meaning
Everyting wah mi do dem ah follow
Everything I do, they follow.
If mi nuh shit dem nah swallaw
If I'm not doing well, they won't support me.
Yo! Ah wah do some Dj Boi (Girl)
Hey! What's up with those DJs?
Just Live pon di artiste name
Just 'live' off the artist's name.
An di artiste nuh remember dem
And the artist doesn't even remember them.
A wah happen to uno, uno do uno own ting
What happened to you? Do your own thing.
Yo Shawn, Mi sing bout Clarks,
Hey Shawn, I sing about Clarks shoes.
Dem ah sing bout Crep, Dem ah sing bout Kickers
They sing about Crep and Kickers shoes.
Mi sing bout Straight Jeans & White Tees
I sing about straight jeans and white T-shirts.
Dem ah sing bout Slippers
They sing about slippers.
If mi sing bout head dem ah sing bout flitta
If I sing about oral sex, they sing about ejaculating.
Mi sing bout comb dem ah sing bout scissors
I sing about combs, they sing about scissors.
And sing bout plait up & shades & Addi-das
And I sing about braids, sunglasses, and Adidas.
Dem whole ah dem ah watch di Teach
All of them are watching me, the teacher.
Ah wonder if mi tongue bore an wonder if mi bleach
They wonder if I'm boring or changing myself.
Call up mi name just fi get a forward
They call my name just to get attention for themselves.
Ya nah see di whole ah dem ah parasite dem a leech
You see they're all parasites, leeching off me.
Dem tink bout Addi more than dem Woman
They think about me more than their own partners.
Dem a fish inna di sea, Gaza deh pon di beach
They are insignificant compared to me and my followers.
If mi nah shit dem cyaan nyam
If I'm not doing well, they won't eat.
Every style wah mi mek dem waan one
Every new thing I make, they copy.
Mi ah di Dancehall Pellet, the Jordan,
I am the dancehall bullet, the Jordan (shoe).
The Tall Man, The Smart One, The Last Dan.
The tall man, the smart one, the last dan (man).
Tru mi do Gyal ah weh mi do u mek u do mi dat
True, because of Rampin Shop, everyone wants to do combination songs.
Tru mi do Ramping Shop
True, because of Rampin Shop.
Every man gone do combination song
Everyone is now making combination songs.
But ah billboard my own drop
My songs are successful on the charts.
Tru mi do Money fi spend,
True, because of Money Fi Spend.
Trailer load Million by a morning and Money Junkie
We made millions in just one day because of Money Fi Spend.
Every man run gone do di money song
Everyone is now making songs about money.
But dem ah follow Fashion Monkey
But they're just following a trend.
Dem ah hype over vehicle rims & tire
They're obsessed with vehicle rims and tires.
Ah we build Empire
We build and control our own empire.
Dem ah hype over moet & Hennessey
They're obsessed with Moet and Hennessy.
But ah wi build wi own liqor at da F-a-c-t-o-r-y
But we've built our own liquor at the factory.
We employ Jamaicans so watch me
We employ Jamaicans, so keep watching what we do.
Ah Di Teacha, Dem cyaan Stop Me
I am the teacher, they cannot stop me.
Di Prefect too ya know... Pappi
The prefect too, you know... Pappi.
A Wah Do Dem. Awoah
What do they want? Awoah.
Lyrics © Royalty Network
Written by: ADIDJA PALMER, CHRISTOPHER BIRCH, SHAUN CHABLAL, ADIDJA AZIM PALMER, CHRISTOPHER S BIRCH, ADDIDJA PALMER, SHAUN DURAMI CHABLAL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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