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.
Nuh Bad Like We
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But a Portmore mi come from (Waterford)
Ask di people dem weh live there
If mi nuh bloodclaat gunman
None a dem pussy deh no bad like we
When bullet from di tec spray
Dem froth up like pepsi
(suck unnu mumma)
Man wi murda them to bomboclaat
None a dem pussy deh no bad like we
When bullet from di tec spray
Froth up like pepsi
Man wi murda them to bloodclaat
(shot inna yuh face)
Man wi murda them to bomboclaat
Mi hear di pussy dem a chat
But mi wi wipe mi foot inna
Dem face like a mat
Walk pon dem nose bridge till
Flat bridge nuh so flat
Copper bullet a fly thru yuh New Yankee hat
Nyam bullet like carrot yuh
Madda fuckin Parrot
Mi a talk like dem all dead pon di spot
And him nyam by maggot before
Nobody seh wah dat
All yuh see dem a chat di wull a dem a rat
Fraid yuh fuck a just act them ah act
Them just a buy gun mi buy
My gun them long time
Rifles deh unkind so machines gun and 9s
Barrel load a buy
Most guns weh come a walk a
Reach alone a bloodclaat mine
Nuclear tell warfare mek di
Drive mi cyaa steer
Tek di wheel wind down di window
Push di rifle cross air
Mi sparks here and sparks there
Deev'n witness nah stare
Jehovah witness get kill go tell
Yuh pastor boss blaire
When mi clap Kalashnikov di alter
Pop di cross tear
Gun wid engine like trailor 27 rass gear
Wull di fool dem pon dem ends
A bun spliff a floss there
Mi roll up like a wrizzla leff
Body slump back pon chair
Dem want war pussy ago dead inna di war
Strictly dead body war
Gyal di deh yeah mi stabbing har
Thugs inna mi army nuffa dan
Di pit's of Calabar
Rifle sing like Shalamar (so)
None a dem pussy deh no bad like we (no)
Vybz Kartel's song "Nuh Bad Like We" is a hard-hitting dancehall anthem that boasts about the strength and power of his Portmore crew. He addresses those who dare to challenge his authority, pointing out that no one can match the might of his team. The song establishes his superiority over other gangs and dismisses their threats as nothing more than talk. He gives graphic descriptions of his violent actions, including wiping his foot on his enemy's face until it's flat, and making bullets fly through a Yankee hat. The song is a warning to anyone who dares to go against him, that they will not be victorious.
The song "Nuh Bad Like We" was released in 2019 as part of Kartel's "To Tanesha" album. It was produced by Short Boss Muzik and was inspired by Kartel's incarceration. The song is known for its catchy hook, which is sung throughout and is easily recognizable. It was a hit in Jamaica, where it caused some controversy due to its violent lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Mi hear some pussyhole a talk enuh
I have heard some individuals speaking negatively.
But a Portmore mi come from (Waterford)
I am from Portmore (Waterford).
Ask di people?dem weh?live there
Inquire with the inhabitants there.
If mi?nuh bloodclaat gunman
If I am not a potent gunman.
None a dem pussy?deh no bad like we
No one else is as fearless as we are.
When bullet from di tec spray
When we pull the trigger of our guns,
Dem froth up like pepsi
They will writh in agony as if they were drinking Pepsi.
Man wi murda them to bloodclaat
We'd shoot them to death.
(suck unnu mumma)
(saying this to insult them).
Man wi murda them to bomboclaat
We'd annihilate them.
When bullet from di tec spray
When we pull the trigger of our guns,
Froth up like pepsi
They will writh in agony as if they were drinking Pepsi.
Man wi murda them to bloodclaat
We'd shoot them to death.
(shot inna yuh face)
(saying this to insult them).
Man wi murda them to bomboclaat
We'd annihilate them.
Mi hear di pussy dem a chat
I hear individuals who lack courage and who are talking negatively.
But mi wi wipe mi foot inna
I will disrespect them by wiping my feet on their face.
Dem face like a mat
Their face will become like a mat (dirty).
Walk pon dem nose bridge till
I would step on their nose and flatten it.
Flat bridge nuh so flat
Their nose won't be flat after I step on it.
Copper bullet a fly thru yuh New Yankee hat
A copper (Jacketed Hollow Point most likely) bullet will go through your Yankees (baseball) hat.
Nyam bullet like carrot yuh
Eat the bullet like you eat carrots.
Madda fuckin Parrot
Your mother is a bad sexual partner.
Mi a talk like dem all dead pon di spot
I talk as though I have already killed them on the spot.
And him nyam by maggot before
Maggots will feast on their corpse before anyone finds them.
Nobody seh wah dat
No one will react upon hearing about their death.
All yuh see dem a chat di wull a dem a rat
All you see them doing is speaking; all of them are rats.
Fraid yuh fuck a just act them ah act
They're pretending to be brave but they are very afraid.
Them just a buy gun mi buy
They're just purchasing guns but I've been bought one a long time ago.
My gun them long time
My gun has been with me for quite some time.
Rifles deh unkind so machines gun and 9s
Rifles are unkind weapons therefore I use machine guns and nines.
Barrel load a buy
I have bought multiple barrel loads full of guns.
Most guns weh come a walk a
Most guns that come through here are from me.
Reach alone a bloodclaat mine
Only myself has access to my firearms.
Nuclear tell warfare mek di
The weapons I have are capable of destroying
Drive mi cyaa steer
Drive me and I can't control myself.
Tek di wheel wind down di window
Roll down the car window and let me take over.
Push di rifle cross air
Use my rifle to fire some rounds.
Mi sparks here and sparks there
I am firing so fast that I see sparks everywhere.
Deev'n witness nah stare
Even witnesses are not bold enough to look at me.
Jehovah witness get kill go tell
Even Jehovah's Witnesses would be killed and unable to testify.
Yuh pastor boss blaire
Your religious leaders wouldn't be able to stop me.
When mi clap Kalashnikov di alter
When I unleash the Kalashnikov, I'll destroy the church altar.
Pop di cross tear
I'd even shoot at the cross and tear it down.
Gun wid engine like trailor 27 rass gear
My gun roars like an engine in trailer 27 (most likely referring to the movie).
Wull di fool dem pon dem ends
Trick them where they stand.
A bun spliff a floss there
I am smoking and flexing while they are afraid.
Mi roll up like a wrizzla leff
I am rolling up and leaving like a small cigarette.
Body slump back pon chair
Their lifeless body would slump back onto a chair.
Dem want war pussy ago dead inna di war
They want a war so bad but they would die if they go to war.
Strictly dead body war
A war of only dead bodies.
Gyal di deh yeah mi stabbing har
I am having sex with the girl and stabbing her with my genitals.
Thugs inna mi army nuffa dan
There are many gangsters in my army.
Di pit's of Calabar
The pit of Calabar is the worst place someone can go.
Rifle sing like Shalamar (so)
My rifle sings loudly like Shalamar's music (most likely referring to the sound of gunfire).
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@intensitymediaJm
2023 and am listening this masterpiece over and over.
@jamaicalandwelove6343
2022 still listening the greatest to ever do it
@romariogivans1718
Listening Vybz Kartel and strolling throught comments is my favorite hobby #gazazation
@munstaflick2185
rite thing u deh say meh bredda nuf respect to d worldboss!!!
@tharealgeemoney1445
2022-2023 still listening 🎧 that's y him still underrated bare lyrics 🔥🔥🔥6️⃣💯
@kenkendrick2759
STILL LISTENING TO THIS MASTERPIECE IN 2022
@shawncollins1786
Flames
@deondisigma978
Real thing big tune
@anthonyoneil7241
Still lesson in 2024
@tniuqsieman
So now i guess kartel is the baddest dancehall artist ever