Vybz Kartel (born Adidja Palmer, Jan. 7, 1976) is a Jamaican dancehall deej… Read Full Bio ↴Vybz Kartel (born Adidja Palmer, Jan. 7, 1976) is a Jamaican dancehall deejay.

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.

Dollar Sign
Vybz Kartel Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Hustle di money
Hustle, hustle di money
Hustle di money
Mi hustle hustle di money
Hustle di money
Mi hustle hustle di money
Hustle di money
Mi hustle hustle di money

(A di Teacha)
Yuh ah Idleaz! mi nah have time fi yuh
Hold Down! mi nah have time fi yuh
Crosses! mi nah have time fi yoooou

Mi, mi, mi, mi nah have time fi nuh jail time
Dat a waste time
Mind pon mi money and mi money pon mi mind
Di shotta dem a pree di dolla sign
Di shotta dem a pree di dolla sign
Anyweh yuh see mi at any given time
Mind pon mi money and mi money pon mi mind
Di shotta dem a pree di dolla sign
Di shotta dem a pree di dolla sign

Low mi, money mi a meds
And yuh nah have none fi show mi
Thirty million fi a house up a Stoney
Suh mi gwaan hustle roun ah father Roun Mi
Mi nah mek, nuh bwoy ride mi like pony
All when mi bruck, rich gyal cyaan clown mi
Yuh mad, mi left dat wealthy and lonely
Not even Mummie can talk seh she own mi
Mi born as a don, like Live Up whe grow mi
Him teach mi seh mi bank book nuh fi bony
Pocket nuh fi tin, cause ah nuh macaroni
Higha definition, like TV a Sony
Money haffi run

Mi nah have time fi nuh jail time
Dat a waste time
Mind pon mi money and mi money pon mi mind
Di shotta dem a pree di dolla sign
Di shotta dem a pree di dolla sign
Anyweh yuh see mi at any given time
Mind pon mi money and mi money pon mi mind
Di shotta dem a pree di dolla sign
Di shotta dem a pree di dolla sign

Dem cya stop it
Mi want a bank inna my pocket
Dem see mummie wid di purse and a highjack it
And dem nah see di brinks and try stop it
But tell dem
Petty robbing a nuh my habit
Mi wah money, money, money, all type of it
One ounce (noo)
Three, four, five of it
Couple Benz fi mi friends
Tek di drive of it
Whether yuh, work, 9 to 5 of it
Or yuh hustle pon di ends fi survive of it
All di blind man see seh
Nuh war would nah fi gwan
If yuh and I have it

Mi nah have time fi nuh jail time
Dat a waste time
Mind pon mi money and mi money pon mi mind
Di shotta dem a pree di dolla sign
Di shotta dem a pree di dolla sign
Anyweh yuh see mi at any given time
Mind pon mi money and mi money pon mi mind

Di shotta dem a pree di dolla sign
Di shotta dem a pree di dolla sign

Overall Meaning

In "Dollar Sign" by Vybz Kartel, the artist is expressing his relentless desire to make money and his belief that time spent pursuing anything else, such as a relationship or jail time, would be a waste of his time. He emphasizes that he must "hustle" the money continually, without being held down by anyone or anything. He compares money to power and wants to be in control of his own finances, saying that he does not want anyone else to "ride him like pony." He also discusses the idea that wealth can lead to loneliness, as those who do not have money or similar goals may feel alienated.

Throughout the song, the chorus emphasizes the importance of the "dollar sign" and how those in his environment are always focused on it. Vybz Kartel also expresses that he values his own hustle and hard work, as he does not want to rely on robbing or petty crime to achieve his financial goals. He wants to have money of all types and be able to reward his friends with luxury items and experiences.

Overall, the song highlights the importance of money in Jamaican culture and the desire for financial success and independence. It also touches on the struggle that comes with balancing a constant need for money with other aspects of life, such as relationships and personal well-being.

Dollar SignVybz Kartel Lyrics

Bubak Janneh

on Life We Living

Bubak Janneh

on Ghetto Youth

Dollar Sign
Vybz Kartel Lyrics