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.
Repatriation
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nah buy no gun, Nah support no war
Big up di man dem star from near and far
Dem call it scam
Mi call it reparation
Every ghetto yute is a star
Yow Yow (vybz kartel)
So dem wah live like one, one
Big up every scamma
Weh mek U.S Dolla
Build up di house fi yuh mama
Western union people fi gi wi more honor
Slah, full-stop, comma
Every ghetto yute fi a live like Tony Mantana
Presidental like barruk obama
Pool inna house and play inna hanger
Who say di scamma dem wrong
No, Hungry, poverty dat more wronger
Better dem dweet dan tek up the bomber
Memba di yute dem nah squeeze trigger
A just tru dem a nigga
You misa big mista you a di prime minister
College mi wah send mi sista
You say education a di key
Mi a beg yuh nuh tek mi ting sah
As long as dem
Nah buy no gun, Nah support no war
Big up di man dem star from near and far
Dem call it scam
Mi call it reparation
Every ghetto yute is a star
Yow Yow (vybz kartel)
So dem wah live like one, one
Mi just want di yute dem
Nuh rob jamaican, don't buy gun fi kill man
Forign exchange is good fi di country
Franklyn, USA, Sterling England
Every Ghetto yute fi a live like di big man
Mansion bigger than Hilton
A nuh every body can run like Bolt and sing like mi
Or dance like Ding Dong
Bank book haffi bigger than King Kong
Bills like Rodigan link, and,
The cash two side like a swing song
Dats why mi wah live long
Misa big mista you a di prime minister
College mi wah send mi sista
You say education a di key
Mi a beg yuh nuh tek mi ting sah
As long as dem
Nah buy no gun, Nah support no war
Big up di man dem star from near and far
Dem call it scam
Mi call it reparation
Every ghetto yute is a star
Yow Yow (vybz kartel)
So dem wah live like one, one
As long as dem
Nah buy no gun, Nah support no war
Big up di man dem star from near and far
Dem call it scam
Mi call it reparation
Every ghetto yute is a star
Yow Yow (vybz kartel)
So dem wah live like one, one
In the song "Repatriation" by Vybz Kartel and Gaza Slim, they address the cultural phenomenon of scamming in Jamaica. They argue that instead of condemning and criminalizing young people who engage in scamming, the Jamaican government should acknowledge the economic and social conditions that lead to scamming and provide opportunities for young people to make a living in legitimate ways. Kartel and Slim suggest that scamming is a form of reparation for the historical injustices that Jamaica has faced, and that every ghetto youth has the potential to be a star if given the opportunity.
The lyrics are also a critique of the violence that is often associated with Jamaican gang culture. The artists call for an end to buying guns and supporting war, arguing that foreign exchange and economic development is a more positive solution to the country's poverty and inequality. They emphasize the importance of education and uplifting the youth, as they see them as the future of Jamaica.
Overall, the song is a commentary on the complexities of Jamaican society, highlighting the need for systemic change and investment in young people to address the country's issues.
Line by Line Meaning
As long as dem
As long as they
Nah buy no gun, Nah support no war
They do not buy guns or support wars
Big up di man dem star from near and far
Praise the men who are stars both near and far
Dem call it scam
They call it a scam
Mi call it reparation
I call it reparations
Every ghetto yute is a star
Every youth in the ghetto is a star
Yow Yow (vybz kartel)
Hey hey (Vybz Kartel)
So dem wah live like one, one
So they want to live as one
Big up every scamma
Praise every scammer
Weh mek U.S Dolla
Who makes US dollars
Build up di house fi yuh mama
Build a house for your mother
Western union people fi gi wi more honor
Western Union people should give us more honor
Slah, full-stop, comma
Punctuation marks
Every ghetto yute fi a live like Tony Mantana
Every youth in the ghetto should live like Tony Montana
Presidental like barruk obama
Presidential like Barack Obama
Pool inna house and play inna hanger
Swimming pool in the house and playing in the hangar
Who say di scamma dem wrong
Who says the scammers are wrong
No, Hungry, poverty dat more wronger
No, hunger, poverty is more wrong
Better dem dweet dan tek up the bomber
Better they scam than pick up the bomb
Memba di yute dem nah squeeze trigger
Remember the youth do not pull triggers
A just tru dem a nigga
It's just because they are black
You misa big mista you a di prime minister
You miss big mister, you are the prime minister
College mi wah send mi sista
I want to send my sister to college
You say education a di key
You say education is the key
Mi a beg yuh nuh tek mi ting sah
I beg you not to take my thing sir
Mi just want di yute dem
I just want the youth
Nuh rob jamaican, don't buy gun fi kill man
Don't rob Jamaican, don't buy guns to kill people
Forign exchange is good fi di country
Foreign exchange is good for the country
Franklyn, USA, Sterling England
Currencies of different countries
Every Ghetto yute fi a live like di big man
Every youth in the ghetto should live like the wealthy
Mansion bigger than Hilton
Mansion bigger than Hilton Hotel
A nuh every body can run like Bolt and sing like mi
Not everyone can run like Usain Bolt or sing like me
Or dance like Ding Dong
Or dance like Ding Dong
Bank book haffi bigger than King Kong
Bank account has to be bigger than King Kong
Bills like Rodigan link, and,
Bills like Rodigan link (expensive)
The cash two side like a swing song
The cash flow is inconsistent like a swing song
Dats why mi wah live long
That's why I want to live long
Misa big mista you a di prime minister
You miss big mister, you are the prime minister
College mi wah send mi sista
I want to send my sister to college
You say education a di key
You say education is the key
Mi a beg yuh nuh tek mi ting sah
I beg you not to take my thing sir
As long as dem
As long as they
Nah buy no gun, Nah support no war
They do not buy guns or support wars
Big up di man dem star from near and far
Praise the men who are stars both near and far
Dem call it scam
They call it a scam
Mi call it reparation
I call it reparations
Every ghetto yute is a star
Every youth in the ghetto is a star
Yow Yow (vybz kartel)
Hey hey (Vybz Kartel)
So dem wah live like one, one
So they want to live as one
As long as dem
As long as they
Nah buy no gun, Nah support no war
They do not buy guns or support wars
Big up di man dem star from near and far
Praise the men who are stars both near and far
Dem call it scam
They call it a scam
Mi call it reparation
I call it reparations
Every ghetto yute is a star
Every youth in the ghetto is a star
Yow Yow (vybz kartel)
Hey hey (Vybz Kartel)
So dem wah live like one, one
So they want to live as one
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: ADIDJA PALMER, JHENEAL WITTER, VAWNESSA SADDLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Tiadon23
GREATEST OF ALL TIME 🌎🏆🐐
@fe567
Most creative artist ever walked the earth
@user-ej9fe6lv5l
😮Gaza the one 🎶
@willcamacho2067
This joint bangs hard son.
@michaelcvii6081
dem call it scam, me call it a reperation 2023 yoyooH!!
@printwearshop
gaza forever. addi teacha world boss 🔥🔥🔥💯💯💯💯
@onspottv1003
Way up love it
@jahdaughterwambotosh7906
Hereeeee for daddddy
@kilotopdogalwaysdonteverfo4307
Big up vybes west London UK 😎😎😎
@jenifferneban3585
kartel a di boss. CAZA