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.
Make Di Star Shine
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Drop asleep and don't wake up yo likkle badmind
Yo too badmind fi the star line
Yo fi proud a the star yow meck the star shine
Whole a unuh waan get in a the star mind
Anyweh yo si the teacher mi have a star 9
You never waan si a youth rise
But a action a dweet while dem a use noise
If mi head hurt mi yo know everything rise
Wi no kill champion, wi build champion
Wi no kill champion, wi build champion
Wi no kill champion, wi build champion
Calabar, Wampton
Wi no kill champion, wi build champion
Wi no kill champion, wi build champion
Wi no kill champion, wi build champion
Calabar, Wampton
Yo too badmind fi mi ears ring
Yo fi proud a mi watch, proud a mi chain king
Every, everyday couldn't be the same thing
Man a try longtime from a money making
Just fi wear the good shoes
Mi nah go low like Hollywood blues
Gyal come f that a Addi good news
A no me meck yo girl gone pon a Tom Crews
"Make Di Star Shine" is a powerful message against bad-mindedness and hate that aims to bring light to the talent of the artist Vybz Kartel. The song talks about how people can sometimes hold back the potential of rising stars by being jealous or envious of their success. The lyrics encourage people to support others and be happy for their achievements.
The chorus emphasizes the importance of being proud of someone's success, as it is the key to make them shine. It also warns that being a hater can lead to a life of darkness, hence the line "Drop asleep and don't wake up yo likkle badmind." The song also mentions the Gaza, which is a reference to his street gang and how people should not mess with them if they don't want to face the consequences.
Overall, "Make Di Star Shine" is a song that honors talent and resilience, while denouncing negativity and bad-mind attitudes. It encourages people to embrace success and support each other's journeys.
Line by Line Meaning
Drop asleep and don't wake up yo likkle badmind
Stop being jealous and hateful towards me and just disappear
Yo too badmind fi the star line
You're too envious of my success
Yo fi proud a the star yow meck the star shine
You should be proud of me for making the star shine
Whole a unuh waan get in a the star mind
Everyone wants to know what I'm thinking
Anyweh yo si the teacher mi have a star 9
Wherever you see the teacher (Vybz Kartel), he has a gun (a star 9mm)
You never waan si a youth rise
You don't want to see a young person succeed
But a action a dweet while dem a use noise
I'm making things happen while others are just making noise
Play wid the Gaza that wouldn't too wise
Don't mess with the Gaza (Vybz Kartel's crew) because it's not a smart move
If mi head hurt mi yo know everything rise
Even when I'm feeling down, I still rise above it all
Wi no kill champion, wi build champion
We don't destroy champions, we create them
Calabar, Wampton
Places where champions are created (referring to Vybz Kartel's alma mater and his hometown)
Yo too badmind fi mi ears ring
You're too envious of me that it's causing my ears to ring
Yo fi proud a mi watch, proud a mi chain king
You should be proud of my expensive watch and chain
Every, everyday couldn't be the same thing
I can't do the same thing every day
Man a try longtime from a money making
I've been trying to make money for a long time
Just fi wear the good shoes
I'm working hard so that I can afford to wear nice shoes
Mi nah go low like Hollywood blues
I won't sink as low as Hollywood celebrities often do
Gyal come f that a Addi good news
When a girl wants to have sex with me, it's good news for me
A no me meck yo girl gone pon a Tom Crews
It's not my fault that your girlfriend left you for Tom Cruise
Writer(s): Adidja Azim Palmer
Contributed by Noah E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@MrGamerUniverse
Gotta love how these producers gonna return to the 80's and 90's to get some samples. Gwaan Bad aka 2014 Bruckout.
@patrickraymond8216
Bredda a di same thing mhe seh....just listen a bruck out instrumental and comment it.
@patrickraymond8216
Sir P seh when him just a hear bruck out...him a seh a wah kind space music this...a nuh ntn normal
@stephytrinidad
i told the haters - they gonna see it now - WORLD BOSS FOREVER!!!!
@stephytrinidad
the man ridding any riddim at his best - love yuh forever!!!
@SimmaRich
This madd, sounds like some back in the day riddims!
@GwaanBad
Nobody caan stop Addi ! Free World Boss ahuuu
@subrinanicholson
Still digging addi vibes here, mek di star shines ppl free world boss.
@highrollers7199
sick free the bosssssss!!
@pinaskoyenso680
Gaza 4life