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.
Dream
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bwoy, more time some tings just pop up
Like bread outta toaster
Cah one minute you deh pon yuh ends, nut'n nah gwan (true)
Di next minute (wah?)
Police a come, run
Kick a fence wid a speed like lightning, siren frightening
Cyaan' match e six pans, dat badda dan mind ting
Badman a shelter fi hide him
Dem bwoy nah tek bribing, hear deh
Call Stephen, tell him rise some gun fi me quell this fiction
Rifle beyond description, line up bare booby trap from trappin' to quicksand
Uzi mek head buss quick like hit song
Watch deh, life get dash weh
Later before dem blood deh get wash weh
Me lock off di stash (yeah)
Cut like concord, gone a mi gyal yard (pull di grill, Keisha)
As me reach a di door she say, "Don't put one foot further"
Me say, "My girl, weh you hear?"
Seh me wanted fi shoot up a shop and two police murda
Plus di drug buss weh occur pon a bus
A di bus terminus, me nuh get nerminous
Gimme a call, hello (hello)
Check me 'round a mi girl, star, bring enough gun fi a World War
Di Teacha arms up and ready fi di show dung, still a get more gun
Still a move skillful inna dem drag, yeah, me nuh get tag yet
Before di bwoy dem get me, dem a get couple body bag bet
Anything fi happen a go happen, any car trunk haffi chunk
Any brains hump haffi jump cah Teacha nuh punk
Run, run
Police a come, run
Wid a speed like lightning (hear deh)
Police a come, run, run
Police a come, run
Wid a speed like lightning (hear deh)
Di street get shady
Everybody seh me gone crazy
Few people a show love again, most thugs drifting
Gyal weh me used to fuck treat me like Aids victim
One man against di world like Gregory (Isaac)
Guns and bullet is all that I got
Nobody nuh inna weh me inna
So me rap fi a Bimma, Addi must be di winna
Real life of a sinner, without any help of repentance
Waiting fi death, di result of a federal vengeance
Funeral watch by cops fi arrest anybody in attendance
Time draw near and me feel it
Me and di Lord never have a good relationship, me seal it
From outta nowhere, cops appear
So me beat it, me beat it, me beat it
Fire return, bare bwoy skin a burn
To head, a nuh foot shot
Run yute, nuh look back
Now mi gun empty, weh me a go put dat?
Inna di trash, get rid a di stash
Run 'cross di road, traffic, car crash
Right a Mannings Road a di car wash, I
Run past slouch, tek a fence to di back
Dem a run me dung, me nuh have no gun, so me run like Asafa then
Not even a stone fi me fling offa dem
Is a innocent murder a come offa dem
Fuck, me run to di lane, it block up
Cops call backup, bare grung a shake up
Tall up a point pon me fi start bake up
Me hear when Stephen say
DJ, DJ, a dream you a dream, dawg, wake up nuh man
Yo, you haffi come voice di big song
The lyrics to Vybz Kartel’s song “Dream” encourage listeners to ignore negative opinions, persevere through adversity, and celebrate their successes. The opening lines urge people not to listen to “badmind talk,” a phrase commonly used in Jamaica to describe jealous or malicious gossip. The song calls out those who judge others based on their appearance or lack of material possessions, suggesting that success is not defined by wealth or status. Kartel emphasizes that life can be unfair and that many good people suffer, but he encourages young people not to turn on those who help them. The repeated phrase “All a dis come in like it's dream” serves as a reminder to appreciate the positive things that happen in life and to keep striving for success.
Throughout the song, Kartel references his own struggles growing up in poverty and facing criticism for his appearance and lack of material possessions. He speaks about wanting to succeed, to own a BMW and to have the clean clothes that were once denied to him. However, he also warns against becoming overly fixated on material goods and losing sight of what truly matters.
Overall, “Dream” is a message of hope and perseverance, encouraging listeners to stay true to themselves, ignore negativity, and appreciate the positive things in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Every hotskull nuh listen to badmind talk,
Not every intelligent person pays attention to envious and negative talk.
A message a weh pagan sen.
This is a message sent by non-believers.
Anno everything weh glitta ah gold,so look out fi badmind fren
Just because something appears valuable, it doesn't mean it truly is, so be careful of jealous friends.
Nuff time mi seh life unfair,look how much good people life end.
Many times I've said that life is unjust, just look at how many good people die young.
So mi haffi tell every ghetto youth(doh bite di hand weh feed dem)
So I have to tell every young person from the impoverished area not to bite the hand that feeds them.
Cah!dem seh mi nah go noweh youth!
Because they said that I would never make it, my youth!
Yuh nah go mek no money and dem seh mi soon affi run away but dem a
They said that I wouldn't make any money, and they even suggested that I should run away, but they're
Natnice dem seh mi clothes dem neva clean and!
Lately, some people have said that my clothes are never clean!
Mi nah live fi see seventeen
I never thought I would live past seventeen.
But now mi clothes dem eva clean from mi get di
But now my clothes are always clean since I've become successful.
Big song pan di seen mi haffi seh!
I have to say it's a big song played in various places!
All a dis come in like it's dream(yea)
Everything that's happening seems like a dream.
Every youth waan be di winner
Most young people desire to be successful.
Every ghetto youth waan own a bimma
Every young man from the deprived area desires to own a BMW.
Regular mi never have no dinna growin up life did bitta like viniger
Growing up, I didn't always have dinner, and life was sour like vinegar.
Mi and some bwoy nuh grow similar
I grew up very differently than some boys.
Nah do weh some some bwoy do fi use
I'm not going to do what some boys do to take advantage.
Cellula from mi born mi ah real gorilla
I've been a tough guy since birth, a real gorilla.
Sing mi song dem
Sing my songs.
Ah laugh ask kizzle mi bredda
I'm laughing, asking my brother Kizzle.
And nuff ah dem doh have nonone
And many of them don't have anything, no one to support them.
Gouvernment nah feed dem so if you work from 9-5 or sing
The government isn't supporting them, so if you work an ordinary job or sing,
Jus keep gwan do yuh ting and yu ago seh
Just keep doing your thing and prove them wrong.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Adidja Azim Palmer, Stephen David McGregor
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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this man is just a fuckin genius, so lyrical
Ian Small
2018 still a beat
the real one
Yow dem chune yah🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💣💣💣💣💥💥💥💥
kaynine music
the real one wicked
tahj thompson
Went crazy tryna find this song
Shabba 7
And it find you, free the worl boss
Gaza Jade Brown
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
delon Thomas
Ah still waiting to here alkaline and other spit lyrics like kartel the dancehall crown belongs to kartel Gaza nuh
Tronics Browne
Not only spit lyrics but paint a story,as ur listen u jus a imagine the action lol
Delon Thomas
Dancehall greatest pionier vybz kartel