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.
Gon' Get Better
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
God know wi must get better
No nuh left mi now
God know wi must get better
You waan left me fi a money man
Look how far wi a come from
God know wi must get better
Stick a bet, woman if you left
Bet you seh you come back again
You nuh member the days
When a one cream crackers wi a eat and gone a wi bed
Meck a man wid a benz get in a you head
Suh you start gimmi attitude
One a yo friend tell mi, mi nuh know if a true
But mi notice you start move lue
Yo really would a do mi that
After mi tell you seh mi love you gyal
Cyaa buy a benz or a house gi you
But mi give you everything weh mi have
Yo really would a do mi that
After mi tell you seh mi love you gyal
Cyaa buy a benz or a house gi you
But mi give you everything weh mi have
No nuh left mi now
God know wi must get better
No nuh left mi now
God know wi must get better
You waan left me fi a money man
Look how far wi a come from
No nuh left mi now
God know wi must get better
Wa yo mean? Talk to mi nuh
When yo seh mi never do nothing fi you
Excuse you a look caw yo know mi nuh rich
From the very first day mi si you
Mi nuh bwoy mi a man, suh mi have plan
Don′t feel seh mi a go cry
Everyday cyaa be the same
No sah yo too lie
Seh you deh a Brookvally
When you deh a Base High
Yo really would a do mi that
After mi tell you seh mi love you gyal
Cyaa buy a benz or a house gi you
But mi give you everything weh mi have
Yo really would a do mi that
After mi tell you seh mi love you gyal
Cyaa buy a benz or a house gi you
But mi give you everything weh mi have
No nuh left mi now
God know wi must get better
No nuh left mi now
God know wi must get better
You waan left me fi a money man
Look how far wi a come from
No nuh left mi now
God know wi must get better
Mi naw look in a yo phone
But mi know supn deh in a yo phone
More while mi mind seh left you alone
But mi heart seh love you up more
Hey girl, wa a gwaan? Come home
Call mi, mi have 7 cell phone
Turn up the headphone
Man real from the cradle to the headstone
Would you be here, mi wi be the comb
Picture perfect mi a hold a front row
If mi soon rich baby mi don't know
But a one thing mi know mi a go fi that though
Follow mi girl or not a your show
Mi cyaa buy you nuh Lui V though
But mi soon start chart billboard
And a you haffi deh beside mi like before
No nuh left mi now
God know wi must get better
No nuh left mi now
God know wi must get better
You waan left me fi a money man
Look how far wi a come from
No nuh left mi now
God know wi must get better
The lyrics to Vybz Kartel's song Gon' Get Better express his frustration and hurt at his lover's desire to leave him for a richer man. However, he reminds her that they have come a long way together and that he has given her everything he has, despite not being able to afford to buy her expensive things like a car or a house. He also acknowledges that they may have had their ups and downs, but that they must continue to strive for a better life together. The repetition of the lines "No nuh left mi now, God know wi must get better" emphasizes the importance of their relationship and their shared aspirations for the future.
What makes the lyrics to this song especially powerful is the personal context in which they were written. Vybz Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, was serving a life sentence for murder at the time he wrote "Gon' Get Better." Released in 2014, the song undoubtedly reflects his own hopes and fears for the future, both in terms of his own life and career, and in terms of the broader sociopolitical context of Jamaica.
Line by Line Meaning
No nuh left mi now
Don't abandon me now
God know wi must get better
We will improve as God knows we must
You waan left me fi a money man
You want to leave me for a wealthy man
Look how far wi a come from
Look how much we've progressed
Stick a bet, woman if you left
I bet you'll come back if you leave
Bet you seh you come back again
I'm sure you'll say you'll come back
You nuh member the days
Do you not remember the days
When a one cream crackers wi a eat and gone a wi bed
When we had to settle for just eating cream crackers before bed
Meck a man wid a benz get in a you head
You let a man with a Benz car get in your head
Suh you start gimmi attitude
So you started giving me attitude
One a yo friend tell mi, mi nuh know if a true
One of your friends told me, I'm not sure if it's true
But mi notice you start move lue
But I noticed you started acting differently
Yo really would a do mi that
Would you really do that to me
After mi tell you seh mi love you gyal
After I told you I love you girl
Cyaa buy a benz or a house gi you
I can't afford to buy you a Benz or a house
But mi give you everything weh mi have
But I give you everything I have
Wa yo mean? Talk to mi nuh
What do you mean? Talk to me
When yo seh mi never do nothing fi you
When you say I never did anything for you
Excuse you a look caw yo know mi nuh rich
You're making excuses because you know I'm not rich
From the very first day mi si you
From the very first day I saw you
Mi nuh bwoy mi a man, suh mi have plan
I'm not a boy, I'm a man, so I have a plan
Don′t feel seh mi a go cry
Don't think I'm going to cry
Everyday cyaa be the same
Every day can't be the same
No sah yo too lie
No, you're lying too much
Seh you deh a Brookvally
You said you were in Brookvally
When you deh a Base High
When you were really at Base High
Mi naw look in a yo phone
I'm not going to look through your phone
But mi know supn deh in a yo phone
But I know there's something in your phone
More while mi mind seh left you alone
Sometimes my mind tells me to leave you alone
But mi heart seh love you up more
But my heart tells me to love you more
Hey girl, wa a gwaan? Come home
Hey girl, what's going on? Come home
Call mi, mi have 7 cell phone
Call me, I have 7 cell phones
Turn up the headphone
Turn up the headphones
Man real from the cradle to the headstone
I'm real from birth until I die
Would you be here, mi wi be the comb
If you'll be here, I'll be the comb
Picture perfect mi a hold a front row
Picture perfect, I'm holding a front row seat
If mi soon rich baby mi don't know
If I become rich soon, I don't know
But a one thing mi know mi a go fi that though
But one thing I know, I'm going to work for it
Follow mi girl or not a your show
Follow me girl, it's not your show
Mi cyaa buy you nuh Lui V though
I can't buy you any Louis Vuitton though
But mi soon start chart billboard
But I'll soon start topping the charts
And a you haffi deh beside mi like before
And you have to be beside me like before
Writer(s): Adidja Palmer, Linton White, Mario Dunwell
Contributed by Sadie O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Bubak Janneh
on Life We Living
life we living so hard
Bubak Janneh
on Ghetto Youth
some body send me this nonsese