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.
Struggle
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fi di yute dem inna di struggle
Ooh
Tat tada tada
Ghetto yute like di teacher
Ya dig
Tada tada ta tata
But we love life doh
Tat tada tada
Mi grow wid 4 sista one bredda
Madda n mi fadda weh keep we togetha
Altho ghetto life tough like leather
Strong from beneath will survive any weather
To mi family pon di corna
We siddung an bill n burn marijuana
Three mun a wish oneday fi get rich
Gyal stop call mi addy now ah mr palmer
Fi di yutes dem weh sleep pon di streetside
Di gyal dem weh dance gogo gyal still keep you pride
Clothes and food haffi buy
Nuh man nah gi you nut'n
Di system nah provide
Fi di prisoner a gp, spanish town, horizon, guncourt, di boatside
Di deathtrap you fi avoid
From you have life
House we live in an big bike we ride
Dats why mi shed a tear fi all di thugs dat have died
Sing along with me
Dats why mi shed a tears fi all di thugs dat have died
Sing we miss you
Dats why mi shed a tears fi all di yutes dat have tried
Dats why mi shed a tear
Mi know dem try
Mi love life
Tada tada ta tata
Ooh
Tat tada tada
From you cherish di life you live
Tada tada ta tata
Hmm
Tat tada tada
Di most precious ting to mi
Wen mi ah drive inna di lexxus
Fi link ah gyal fi mek a flex just
Like dat! Mi mind flash right back
Too di days wen mi ah walk up n down n haffi tek bus
Notnice
Dem expect us
Fi tun statistic
Drop offah di census
Ghetto yute dem wah fi kill first
Di leaders of society
But a who a build us
Gimme a light too
Fi light mi spliff first
Babylon cyant trick us
We guh school dem ah kick us
We went room dem evict us
But mi meditate like dis
Mi meditate like dis
Nuh matta wah gwan inna mi life
From mi have life everyting kriss
The lyrics of Vybz Kartel's song "Struggle" express the hardships and struggles that he and other individuals who grew up in the ghetto faced. He describes his upbringing with four sisters and one brother, with a mother and father who kept the family together despite the toughness of the ghetto. He uses the lyrics to show his appreciation for life even though it may be a struggle to survive in the ghetto. He speaks to the young people who are sleeping on the streets and urges them to keep their pride and dignity. He notes the necessity of buying clothes and food but laments that the system does not provide for them. He also mentions the prisoners and advises staying away from death traps. He sheds tears for those who died, those who tried, and those who are struggling because he loves life.
Line by Line Meaning
Tada tada ta tata
Introductory sounds to the song
Fi di yute dem inna di struggle
This song is for the young people who are struggling in life
Ooh
Vocal sounds to accompany the music
Tat tada tada
Sounds to accompany the music
Ghetto yute like di teacher
Kids growing up in the ghetto are tough and can teach valuable lessons
Ya dig
Do you understand what I am saying?
But we love life doh
Despite the struggles, we still love life
Ooh
Vocal sounds to accompany the music
Tat tada tada
Sounds to accompany the music
Mi grow wid 4 sista one bredda
I grew up with four sisters and one brother
Madda n mi fadda weh keep we togetha
My mother and father kept us together
Altho ghetto life tough like leather
Growing up in the ghetto is tough, but we are tougher
Strong from beneath will survive any weather
Despite the challenges, we are strong enough to overcome them
To mi family pon di corna
My family lives on the corner
We siddung an bill n burn marijuana
We sit down and smoke marijuana
Three mun a wish oneday fi get rich
Three of my friends wish to become rich someday
Gyal stop call mi addy now ah mr palmer
Girls used to call me by my name, but now they call me by a fake name, Mr. Palmer
Fi di yutes dem weh sleep pon di streetside
This is for the young people sleeping on the side of the road
Di gyal dem weh dance gogo gyal still keep you pride
The girls who dance go-go still have their pride
Clothes and food haffi buy
We need to buy clothes and food
Nuh man nah gi you nut'n
No one will give us anything
Di system nah provide
The system does not provide anything for us
Fi di prisoner a gp, spanish town, horizon, guncourt, di boatside
This is for the prisoners in GP, Spanish Town, Horizon, Guncourt, and the boatside
Di deathtrap you fi avoid
We should avoid the death trap
From you have life
As long as we have life
House we live in an big bike we ride
We live in a nice house and ride a big bike
Dats why mi shed a tear fi all di thugs dat have died
That's why I cry for all the thugs who have died
Sing along with me
Join me in singing
Dats why mi shed a tears fi all di thugs dat have died
That's why I cry for all the thugs who have died
Sing we miss you
Sing with me, we miss you
Dats why mi shed a tears fi all di yutes dat have tried
That's why I cry for all the young people who have tried
Dats why mi shed a tear
That's why I cry
Mi know dem try
I know they tried
Mi love life
I love life
From you cherish di life you live
If you appreciate the life you have
Di most precious ting to mi
The most important thing to me
Wen mi ah drive inna di lexxus
When I am riding in my Lexus
Fi link ah gyal fi mek a flex just
To meet a girl and have some fun
Like dat! Mi mind flash right back
Suddenly, my mind goes back in time
Too di days wen mi ah walk up n down n haffi tek bus
To the days when I had to walk and take the bus
Notnice
Reference to a person named Notnice
Dem expect us
They expect us to fail
Fi tun statistic
To become a statistic
Drop offah di census
To be counted in the census
Ghetto yute dem wah fi kill first
The leaders of society want to kill young people from the ghetto first
Di leaders of society
The people in charge of society
But a who a build us
But who built us up?
Gimme a light too
Give me a light for my spliff too
Fi light mi spliff first
To light my spliff first
Babylon cyant trick us
The authorities can't trick us
We guh school dem ah kick us
We go to school, but they kick us out
We went room dem evict us
We rent a room, but they evict us
But mi meditate like dis
But I meditate like this
Nuh matta wah gwan inna mi life
No matter what happens in my life
From mi have life everyting kriss
As long as I am alive, everything is good
Lyrics Β© Ultra Tunes
Written by: AINSLEY MORRIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Andrew Gabbidon
kartel at his best...reminiscing mood !
Nick Nick
one ah teacha most underrated tunes
ShanNIE Palmer
real wurl boss the greatest dancehall of all time a lyrical and intellectual genuis
Delon Thomas
A masterpiece from the Gaza general vybz Kartel
Shanice White
True!!! Love addi, free vybz kartel to the worldπ£
Lara James
2016 and still listening the king of dancehall
john.j dunbar
Big Up the TEACHA! Much Respect! GAZA! JAH Bless the YOUTHS!! Concious positive this tune Vybz chant down babylon! ''Can't Trick Us''!!! Jah Guide I N I. seen. IRIE!
Gian Grant
I Was Today Years Old Hearing This Tune πΆπ #FREEWORLBOSSππΎ "That's Why Mhii Shed A Tearβπͺ"
Κκ°ΰΏ BAFO
2020 still medz this song
Jamaicalandwelove
2018 still up and gunning