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.
Open Up Di Door
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't worry, don't worry, don't worry nuh mummy
No mummu oh no
Don't worry mummy tings soon fine
Mi a step up inna life
Mi soon memba dem days ya
Like once upon a time
Like, like once upon a time
Mummy open up di door please nuh
Mi know you a cry inna di bathroom
One day we go have everything, we need
Swear from mi heart soon
But mummy open up di door please nuh
The love inna mi heart fi yuh cyaa move
One day we a go have everything, we need
Swear from mi heart soon
Mi see Benz pon Tv
Mummy why we doh have none
Mummy why we poor and dem rich
When me get big mi a change it
Daddy food look thin pon di pay slip
Just watch matrix
Wish me coulda fly guh a moon pon a space ship
But mankind a guh deh deh wid di same shh
Cya fight it
Mummy open up di door please nuh
Mi know you a cry inna di bathroom
One day we go have everything, we need
Swear from mi heart soon
But mummy open up di door please nuh
The love inna mi heart fi yuh cyaa move
One day we a go have everything, we need
Swear from mi heart soon
Rich man live life like kings
While wench on nights work
What the price of a ghetto yte life worth
Mummy wah mi fi save mi fi gaah church
Want a house first
Dem say it is a white man's world
But mi stand up pon my dirt
Badmind block the road fi mi divert
Mi nuh care which colour dem come with
If your heart ugly it ugly
Mummy open up di door please nuh
Mi know you a cry inna di bathroom
One day we go have everything, we need
Swear from mi heart soon
But mummy open up di door please nuh
The love inna mi heart fi yuh cyaa move
One day we a go have everything, we need
Swear from mi heart soon
Don't worry, don't worry, don't owrry nuh mummy, no mummy
Don't worry, don't worry, don't worry nuh mummy
No mummu oh no
Don't worry mummy tings soon fine
Mi a step up inna life
Mi soon memba dem days ya
Like once upon a time
Like, like once upon a time
Mummy open up di door please nuh
Mi know you a cry inna di bathroom
One day we go have everything, we need
Swear from mi heart soon
But mummy open up di door please nuh
The love inna mi heart fi yuh cyaa move
One day we a go have everything, we need
Swear from mi heart soon
In the song "Open Up Di Door" by Vybz Kartel, the artist speaks about his desire to change his life and the struggles of living in poverty. He starts by reassuring his mother not to worry and tells her that things will soon be fine. He expresses his ambition to succeed and remembers the difficult times they faced in the past. He asks his mother to open the door and tries to ease her pain by telling her that the love he has for her cannot be moved. He believes that they will have everything they need soon, and he swears to it from his heart.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't worry, don't worry, don't owrry nuh mummy, no mummy
Vybz Kartel is reassuring his mother not to worry.
No mummu oh no
He emphasizes there is no need for his mother to worry.
Don't worry mummy tings soon fine
Vybz Kartel is telling his mother that things will soon be fine.
Mi a step up inna life
He is making progress in his life.
Mi soon memba dem days ya
He will soon remember the hard times tha he is going through now.
Like once upon a time
He is referring to stories that begin with ‘once upon a time’ and saying that he too has a story that begins similarly.
Mummy open up di door please nuh
Vybz Kartel is asking his mother to open the door.
Mi know you a cry inna di bathroom
He knows that his mother is crying in the bathroom.
One day we go have everything, we need
They will have everything they need one day.
Swear from mi heart soon
He is promising from his heart that it will happen soon.
The love inna mi heart fi yuh cyaa move
He is saying that the love he has for his mother is unconditional and can never be moved.
Mi see Benz pon Tv
He has seen a Benz car on TV.
Mummy why we doh have none
He is asking his mother why they don't have one.
Mummy why we poor and dem rich
He is pointing out the fact that they are poor while others are rich.
When me get big mi a change it
He is saying that when he grows up, he will change their poor state.
Daddy food look thin pon di pay slip
His father's income is not enough to afford enough food.
Just watch matrix
He is referring to the movie ‘The Matrix’
Wish me coulda fly guh a moon pon a space ship
He wishes he could fly to the moon on a spaceship.
But mankind a guh deh deh wid di same shh
However, mankind will always be stuck with the same problems.
Rich man live life like kings
Rich people live in luxury just like kings did.
While wench on nights work
Poor women have to work in undesirable professions to make ends meet.
What the price of a ghetto yte life worth
He is questioning the value of a life in the ghetto.
Mummy wah mi fi save mi fi gaah church
His mother wants him to save money for church.
Want a house first
He thinks owning a house is a priority over church.
Dem say it is a white man's world
Society teaches that the world belongs to white people.
But mi stand up pon my dirt
He will stand up for himself despite societal teachings.
Badmind block the road fi mi divert
Jealousy is preventing him from achieving his goals.
Mi nuh care which colour dem come with
Vybz Kartel doesn't care which race people are.
If your heart ugly it ugly
As long as someone's heart is ugly, it doesn't matter what they look like.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: ADIDJA PALMER, JAHVEL JASON MORRISON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bubak Janneh
on Life We Living
life we living so hard
Bubak Janneh
on Ghetto Youth
some body send me this nonsese