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.
Life
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't badmind and don't envy weh mi seh
Work hard and you we make it
Life is what you make it
Hustle fi you money mi thugs mi lady
Tell it to the elder tell it to the baby
Jah jah dont love nobody weh lazy
Nutten inna life nuh easy suh
Hustle fi u money mi thugs mi lady
Tell it the elder tell it to the baby
Jah jah dont love nobody weh lazy
Mi seh mi a work fi my own
Thugs pon di side wid di shovel
Put on di hustle wid u muscle
Mi work fi my own
Gyal dem downtown weh hustle
A do di false hair like nutten
Mi work fi my own
As one door close one open
Memba every nickle mek a buckle
Stay inna skool yute
Doh mek nuh body tell u nutten doh mek nuh body tell u nutten
Ghetto yute u a hear mi
Every gangsta fi mek money daily
But mi nah mek nuh fish come stray mi
And mi nah mek nuh polition pay mi
Likkle from diss a dem same one a frame mi
Fi either di prison or dem all come claim mi
Mi nuh wah dead left mi yute mi wah set it like how patrick set it fi jamie
Cah mi know
Life is what you make it
Hustle fi you money mi thugs mi lady
Tell it to the elder tell it to the baby
Jah jah dont love nobody weh lazy
Mi mama seh
Nutten inna life nuh easy suh
Hustle fi u money mi thugs mi lady
Tell it the elder tell it to the baby
Jah jah dont love nobody weh lazy
Tj, every ghetto yute fi have a benz wid di leather interior nuh plastic seat
Cash last week and cash this week
Money fi a flow like catherine peak
Every part a di bible di doctrine speak
Di part weh tell mi blessings is the meak
Fi inheriate di earth anuh hypeness dweet
A di hombiless man have di nicest jeep
Mi learn fi keep mi cool
When mi wah catch wise mi play di fool
It nuh matter which party a run tings
A nanny and michael manley rule
Suh juvenile weh u a gwaan suh fah
Calm dung u likkle self and gwaan a school
Di world nuh level suh feds the mule
Mi nuh born wid nutten mi use the tool
Weh jah jah give mi cah
Life is what you make it
Hustle fi you money mi thugs mi lady
Tell it to the elder tell it to the baby
Jah jah dont love nobody weh lazy
Mi mama seh
Nutten inna life nuh easy suh
Hustle fi u money mi thugs mi lady
Tell it the elder tell it to the baby
Jah jah dont love nobody weh lazy
Life is what you make it
Hustle fi you money mi thugs mi lady
Tell it to the elder tell it to the baby
Jah jah dont love nobody weh lazy
Mi mama seh
Nutten inna life nuh easy suh
Hustle fi u money mi thugs mi lady
Tell it the elder tell it to the baby
Jah jah dont love nobody weh lazy
The lyrics of Vybz Kartel's song Life encourage hard work and perseverance in pursuit of success. The artist advises against badminding and envy, stating that working hard and being productive is the key to achieving one's goals. The chorus emphasizes the importance of actively pursuing wealth: "Hustle fi you money mi thugs mi lady", and reminds listeners that no one can achieve success by being idle, as "Jah Jah don't love nobody weh lazy".
The verses highlight some of the challenges that the artist and other people, in general, face in their quest for success. He talks about the difficulties of life his mother told him about, which he acknowledges are not easy. He also mentions the need for people to stay in school, ignore distractions, and keep their cool when they face adversity. The song also highlights the struggles of people in the ghetto, who are constantly trying to find ways to make money, but refuses to compromise their integrity to do so.
Overall, the lyrics serve as a reminder that life is not easy but that hard work, persistence, and avoidance of bad mind and envy are essential for success.
Line by Line Meaning
Tj, mi can give dem a word of advice eh
I can offer some words of advice
Don't badmind and don't envy weh mi seh
Don't be jealous of what I say
Work hard and you we make it
If you work hard, you can succeed
Life is what you make it
Your life is determined by the choices you make
Hustle fi you money mi thugs mi lady
Work hard for your money, my friends and my ladies
Tell it to the elder tell it to the baby
Spread this message to everyone, young and old
Jah jah dont love nobody weh lazy
God does not love anyone who is lazy
Mi mama seh
My mother said
Nutten inna life nuh easy suh
Nothing in life is easy
Mi seh mi a work fi my own
I say I am working for myself
Thugs pon di side wid di shovel
Friends are here to help me work hard
Put on di hustle wid u muscle
Work hard with your physical strength
Gyal dem downtown weh hustle
Women work hard downtown
A do di false hair like nutten
Make fake hair look natural
As one door close one open
When one opportunity ends, another begins
Memba every nickle mek a buckle
Remember that every little bit helps
Stay inna skool yute
Stay in school, young people
Doh mek nuh body tell u nutten doh mek nuh body tell u nutten
Don't let anyone tell you what to do
Ghetto yute u a hear mi
Listen to me, young people from the ghetto
Every gangsta fi mek money daily
Every gangster needs to make money every day
But mi nah mek nuh fish come stray mi
But I won't let anyone take advantage of me
And mi nah mek nuh polition pay mi
And I won't let any politician bribe me
Likkle from diss a dem same one a frame mi
Since this started, the same people have been setting me up
Fi either di prison or dem all come claim mi
Either they'll send me to prison or they'll try to own me
Mi nuh wah dead left mi yute mi wah set it like how patrick set it fi jamie
I don't want to die and leave my child behind. I want to prepare him for life like Patrick did for Jamie
Tj, every ghetto yute fi have a benz wid di leather interior nuh plastic seat
Every young person from the ghetto deserves a luxurious car with leather seats, not cheap plastic ones
Cash last week and cash this week
Make money consistently
Money fi a flow like catherine peak
Money should flow like a popular tourist attraction in Jamaica called Catherine Peak
Every part a di bible di doctrine speak
The Bible has lessons for everyone
Di part weh tell mi blessings is the meak
The part that says the humble will be blessed
Fi inheriate di earth anuh hypeness dweet
Being humble is the way to inherit the earth, not being arrogant
A di hombiless man have di nicest jeep
The man without a home has the best car
Mi learn fi keep mi cool
I have learned to stay calm
When mi wah catch wise mi play di fool
When I need to be clever, I act stupid
It nuh matter which party a run tings
It doesn't matter which political party is in charge
A nanny and michael manley rule
The people are the ones in charge, not the politicians
Suh juvenile weh u a gwaan suh fah
Young person, why are you acting that way?
Calm dung u likkle self and gwaan a school
Calm down and go to school
Di world nuh level suh feds the mule
The world is not fair, so work hard
Mi nuh born wid nutten mi use the tool
I wasn't born with anything, so I use my skills
Weh jah jah give mi cah
What God has given me
Writer(s): Adidja Palmer, Linton White, Donald Medder
Contributed by Isabella J. 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