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.
So Much Gal
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yo cyaa see me, go see yo period
Every gyallis everywhere, this a unuh song
Go tell some man
Even if yuh was a panty yuh couldn't get more pussy than mi
Listen weh mi seh, every mother seh fi ban mi
Step inna di scheme every daddy seh dem angry
Why every daughter cock up dandy shandy
Seh shi waan fi get inna mi jeans have a cranby
Wull a touch down but yuh haffi cut now
Yuh no si di game over understand it
Mi have more girls than a neck ball game
So mi tell shorty no bother stress are brain
Mi seh yuh a mi wife and mi still si a knife
So mi drive out mi car like DJ Wayne
Nobody no have gyal
Nobody no have gyal like me
Nobody no have gyal
Nobody no have gyal like me
Merl grove no have so much gyal
St.Andrews no have so much gyal
Queens no have so much gyal
Alpha no add up to nuff gyal
Nuff gyal, nuff gyal
Alpha no add up to nuff gyal
Nuff gyal, nugg gyal
If yuh no name shawn storm
Yuh cyaa step inna mi league
5 out of ten of every gyal inna di scheme
Gyallis from birth wid di woman weh mi got
Then anymore gyallis a di one from grands pen
Nuff a use money fi di day, 30 grand spend
Nuff a dem a fish but mi straight like mi pants length
Gyal a seh mi colder than a speed shiver hto vent
When mi get di pussy mi no call dem
Mi have more girls than a neck ball game
So mi tell shorty no bother stress are brain
Mi seh yuh a mi wife and mi still si a knife
So mi drive out mi car like DJ Wayne
The lyrics of Vybz Kartel's song So Much Gal portray the artist's boastful and confident attitude towards his success with women. The opening lines reveal his belief that women miss him when he's not around, and he tells his listeners that there are many other players in the game but the song is for them because he has so much more success with women than anyone else. The lyrics then go on to describe how many fathers disapprove of their daughters' attraction to him because they view him as a bad influence.
Despite what others think, Vybz Kartel asserts that he has more women than anyone else in town, including those from prestigious schools such as Merl Grove, St. Andrews, and Alpha. He claims to have been natural with women from birth, and in each area he goes, he attracts women who use money for the day, such as thirty-thousand dollars, and compares those girls to fish.
Nonetheless, he insists that he doesn't call them back once he's had sex with them. Β Despite proclaiming to have many women, he tells one particular woman, βYou are my wife, but I still see a knife,β suggesting that he sees her as a threat even though he is committed to her. The song ends with Vybz Kartel comparing himself to DJ Wayne, driving out his car as if he's someone important.
Line by Line Meaning
Stacy a pree, shi miss me bad
Stacy is checking for me, she misses me badly
Yo cyaa see me, go see yo period
If you can't find me, go and experience your menstrual cycle
Every gyallis everywhere, this a unuh song
This is a song for all the playboys out there
Go tell some man
Spread the word
Even if yuh was a panty yuh couldn't get more pussy than mi
Even if you were a pair of panties, you wouldn't be able to get more women than me
Listen weh mi seh, every mother seh fi ban mi
Listen to what I'm saying, every mother wants to ban me
Step inna di scheme every daddy seh dem angry
When I enter the neighborhood, every father gets angry
Why every daughter cock up dandy shandy
Why is every daughter acting flirtatious?
Colla dem a tell mi seh mi speak cotton candy
Some people tell me that I speak sweet nothings
Seh shi waan fi get inna mi jeans have a cranby
She says she wants to get into my pants and have a good time
Wull a touch down but yuh haffi cut now
Although you've touched down, you must leave now
Yuh no si di game over understand it
Can't you see that the game is over, accept it
Mi have more girls than a neck ball game
I have more girls than a basketball game would have spectators
So mi tell shorty no bother stress are brain
I tell my girl not to worry or stress
Mi seh yuh a mi wife and mi still si a knife
I tell her she's my wife, but I still see other women
So mi drive out mi car like DJ Wayne
So I drive my car like DJ Wayne, confidently and stylishly
Nobody no have gyal
No one has as many girls as I do
Nobody no have gyal like me
No one has girls like I do
Merl grove no have so much gyal
The school Merl Grove does not have as many girls as I do
St.Andrews no have so much gyal
St. Andrews school does not have as many girls as I do
Queens no have so much gyal
Queens school does not have as many girls as I do
Alpha no add up to nuff gyal
Alpha school does not have enough girls to match mine
Nuff gyal, nuff gyal
A lot of girls, many girls
If yuh no name shawn storm
If your name is not Shawn Storm
Yuh cyaa step inna mi league
You can't compete with me
5 out of ten of every gyal inna di scheme
5 out of every 10 girls in the neighborhood
Gyallis from birth wid di woman weh mi got
I have always been a playboy with the woman I've got
Then anymore gyallis a di one from grands pen
Nowadays, the best playboy is the one at Grands Pen
Nuff a use money fi di day, 30 grand spend
Many guys use money to impress women, spending thirty thousand dollars a day
Nuff a dem a fish but mi straight like mi pants length
Many of them are gay, but I'm straight like my pants length
Gyal a seh mi colder than a speed shiver hto vent
Girls say I'm colder than the air conditioning unit
When mi get di pussy mi no call dem
When I have sex with these women, I don't call them afterwards
Lyrics Β© O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: ADIDJA PALMER, ELVIS REDWOOD, SIMON HOWDEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
S Ma
Feb. 2023 i still come back to these songs. They are Timeless. I dontknow how many times ive said thus but Thank you Vybz For your music you truly are 1 of 1 Da Teacha Addi Da boss Free Da worldboss.
all about activity sharing on fun
Still a listen to this song today. 2020 till death π«π₯
OPPS
Undisputedly the best dance hall artist ever lived
DjKelonMixtapes
2019 an still listening to this trackπ₯π₯π₯π₯π₯π₯π₯π₯π₯π₯ this is a classic gyalist anthem... #GAZA #FREEDOM
Gaza Jade Brown
π₯π
DjKelonMixtapes
Gaza Jade juicy Brown freedom is a must ππΎππΎππΎππΎππΎππΎ ,,, follow me on instagram at BARBERBOYKELON1
ProDuoFoe
Still listening in 2020! π₯π₯π₯
Fuse
This song bring back so much memories π―π
Young Lord
Enjoying this still 2019,boss fever upπ
Karen Mitchell
No matter what people say about you I love you stay strong addi mi number one artists