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.

Money Fi Spend
Vybz Kartel Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Fi d yute dem yuh kno, 1, 2, 33333,
Aye steven!

Me nah run down gun,
Mekk dem gwa hype up dem self and dead,
My blood too rich fi run,
Watch it with ya glasses me nuh want none
Me nah run down war,

Me want couple car, couple house with a pool and ah bar,
You might nuh know bout me now,
Every nigga is ah rising star,

Me want money fi spend, spend spend
Me want money fi spend, spend spend
Me want money fi spend, spend spend
Me want money fi spend say dat again!

Me want money fi spend, spend spend
Me want money fi spend, spend spend
Me want money fi spend, spend spend
Me want money fi spend say dat again!

Aye check mehh,
Me want the new benjamins with the big head franklin,
In god we trust like cheven franklin,
Me want money like me do commercial bankin,
Me eyes fi crampin near bakk on hankin,
But, fi get the money me nah do d wrong ting,
No man nah spank me, me worst nah spank him,
Me want reach so till me buy a mills bag ah lance and smoke till me amsterdamsing,
Dats wen me lift up me bank book,
It fi strain me arm string,
Who want me fi dead poor yuh wrenk like ramp skin,
(better days coming) so buju banton sing,
Could dead in ah me hand and d title feed d man chance swing,
Me drive wey long like river wey sadam swim,
Me garden bigga dan d garden wey adam sin,
Ah big living room feeling lengthy keep one sting
So how it ah go maintain?

Me want money fi spend, spend spend
Me want money fi spend, spend spend
Me want money fi spend, spend spend
Me want money fi spend say dat again!

Steven you ah d genius

Me want be the richest man in fabs,
Magazines how u wear name brand in gabs,
Addi grow ruff like haggan dogs
Wat a dear when have cream like hackendaz
Go frm nothing to something frm rags to pure riches,
Today near and near tomorrow billion mearities
Good fi have yuh pickney livin like jim carry kids,
Wat him want's is grant witches like the wiz,
Me no care wey yuh tekkin out or on fairy tales,
Nothing no too good for me family and relatives,
Buh addi di teacha hear me kids,
Bed time ah jail, ah case dismisss,

Me want money fi spend, spend spend
Me want money fi spend, spend spend
Me want money fi spend, spend spend
Me want money fi spend say dat again!

Aye jimmy

Me nah run down gun,
Mekk dem gwa hype up dem self and dead,
My blood too rich fi run,
Watch it with ya glasses me nuh want none!
Me nah run down war,
Me want couple car, couple house wiht a pool and bar

You might nuh know bout me now,
Every nigga is ah rising starr

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Vybz Kartel's song Money Fi Spend talk about the desire for wealth and financial freedom. The artist talks about his aspiration to have money to spend without any worries. In the opening lines, he addresses the youth while declaring his intention not to engage in gun violence or war. He believes that his wealth is too great to put his life on the line for violence. He desires to live a good life, own properties like cars, houses, and have a pool with a bar. He is confident that he could achieve his dreams and become a successful rising star.

The artist expresses his desire for money and also how he intends to achieve it, through the right means. He wants to see himself in the magazines wearing branded clothes and being recognized as the richest man in his town. Kartel runs his errands without fear, and he's determined to live a luxurious life, from living in big houses to having cream like hackendaz, a brand of ice cream. According to the artist, nothing is too good for his family and relatives, and he intends to make sure that his children live a better life than he did. He also educates his children by telling them stories at bedtime, even though he's in jail.

Line by Line Meaning

Fi d yute dem yuh kno, 1, 2, 33333, Aye steven!
For the young people out there, you know, 1, 2, 3... Greetings Steven.

Me nah run down gun, Mekk dem gwa hype up dem self and dead, My blood too rich fi run, Watch it with ya glasses me nuh want none
I will not chase after the gun, let them hype themselves up and die instead. My heritage is too valuable to risk running away. Keep your opinions to yourself, I do not want to hear them.

Me nah run down war, Me want couple car, couple house with a pool and ah bar, You might nuh know bout me now, Every nigga is ah rising star
I refuse to engage in a war, I would rather have several cars, houses, a pool, and a bar. You might not know about me presently, but every black person is capable of success.

Me want money fi spend, spend spend Me want money fi spend, spend spend Me want money fi spend, spend spend Me want money fi spend say dat again!
I desire to have enough money to spend and indulge in my material desires.

Aye check mehh, Me want the new benjamins with the big head franklin, In god we trust like cheven franklin, Me want money like me do commercial bankin, Me eyes fi crampin near bakk on hankin, But, fi get the money me nah do d wrong ting, No man nah spank me, me worst nah spank him, Me want reach so till me buy a mills bag ah lance and smoke till me amsterdamsing, Dats wen me lift up me bank book, It fi strain me arm string, Who want me fi dead poor yuh wrenk like ramp skin, (better days coming) so buju banton sing, Could dead in ah me hand and d title feed d man chance swing, Me drive wey long like river wey sadam swim, Me garden bigga dan d garden wey adam sin, Ah big living room feeling lengthy keep one sting So how it ah go maintain?
I want to have the new hundred-dollar bills with the large portrait of Benjamin Franklin. I put my trust in God just like the words inscribed on a dollar bill. I want to make money like I'm a commercial banker, even to the point of straining my eyes or having bags under my eyes. I will not resort to doing the wrong thing to get my money. No one can threaten me or embarrass me. I want to be successful enough to buy a Mills bag and smoke until I'm high in Amsterdam. When I check my bank account, my arm muscles strain from the weight of my riches. Those who want me to die poor will be disappointed. Better days are coming because Buju Banton said so. I am prepared for the chance to become a wealthy man. With the longest driveways and gardens compared to anyone else, maintaining wealth can be a challenge.

Me want be the richest man in fabs, Magazines how u wear name brand in gabs, Addi grow ruff like haggan dogs Wat a dear when have cream like hackendaz, Go frm nothing to something frm rags to pure riches, Today near and near tomorrow billion mearities Good fi have yuh pickney livin like jim carry kids, Wat him want's is grant witches like the wiz, Me no care wey yuh tekkin out or on fairy tales, Nothing no too good for me family and relatives, Buh addi di teacha hear me kids, Bed time ah jail, ah case dismisss
I want to be the richest man in my town (Fabs) and have fame that appears in magazines through wearing branded clothing. I will appear rugged like a popular dog breed (haggan) and be dear to many people like ice cream. I will rise up from poverty to become wealthy. Today I am near riches and tomorrow I will be worth billions. It is great to have children living a comfortable life like the kids of Jim Carrey. I want them to have everything they desire like the characters from the movie 'The Wiz'. I do not care if you think my dreams are unrealistic or think they are like fairy tales. I will do anything for my family and relatives, nothing is too good for them. I am a teacher and want to ensure that my children understand the importance of hard work. Jail is where those who doubt my ability to achieve success will end up, but cases against me will ultimately be dismissed.

Steve you ah d genius
Steven, you are a genius.

Me nah run down gun, Mekk dem gwa hype up dem self and dead, My blood too rich fi run, Watch it with ya glasses me nuh want none!
I will not chase after the gun, let them hype themselves up and die instead. My heritage is too valuable to risk running away. Keep your opinions to yourself, I do not want to hear them.

Me nah run down war, Me want couple car, couple house wiht a pool and bar You might nuh know bout me now, Every nigga is ah rising star
I refuse to engage in a war, I would rather have several cars, houses, a pool, and bar. You might not know about me presently, but every black person is capable of success.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: A PALMER, STEPHEN MCGREGOR

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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