Vybz Kartel (born Adidja Palmer, Jan. 7, 1976) is a Jamaican dancehall deej… Read Full Bio ↴Vybz Kartel (born Adidja Palmer, Jan. 7, 1976) is a Jamaican dancehall deejay.

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.

TUN UP DI SCHEME
Vybz Kartel Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Ayy you tight pum pum gyal (Awhoee)
Mi love when yuh skin out fi mi fuck you (mmmmhmmm)
Mi love fi do di video dem with you
Baby come wine up, come show seh yuh love mi
Yuh done know (yeah)

What a bloodclaat pussy fat (eeeh eeh)
Likkle girl doh gi weh dat (ah ah)

Yuh pum pum clean already
So mi dash weh di boots and mi come inna yuh belly (yeah yeah)
Giddy up pon di cocky nuh (mmhmm)
Mi slap slappin' up yuh batty suh (mmhmm)
Mi love it when mi push it, yuh a shove it, mi a ram it yuh a bruk it
A seh fuck it Addi fuck it (ah ah)

Mi tun up di fuck now, baby mek noise if you wah but doh deady, deady
So bawl fi yuh mamma, fi yuh pappa, mi nuh matter
By time mi fi cum yuh fi done cum already, again
Mi tun up di fuck now, baby mek noise if you wah but doh deady, deady
So bawl fi yuh mamma, fi yuh pappa, mi nuh matter
By time mi fi cum yuh fi done cum already (already, already)

Look inna mi eye nuh
Nah go diss yuh baby
Wine pon di cocky gyal
Wine pon di cocky gyal
Baby from mi find yuh
You alone mi waah gyal
Wine pon di cocky gyal
Wine pon di cocky gyal

Big long cocky gone up inna yuh lungs
Pon yuh batty-jaw mi two balls dem a bounce
Mi mek yuh haffi ask mi if mi a tek drugs
Mi seh no baby, that a nuh fi gaza thugs
Select yuh sound like mi name Jiggy Youngs
Yuh spin like one cash money splice dub
Mi bedroom war, ina history it guh dung
Like "Power" and "Shower" like di Crips and di Bloods

Mi tun up di fuck now, baby mek noise if you wah but doh deady, deady
So bawl fi yuh mamma, fi yuh pappa, mi nuh matter
By time mi fi cum yuh fi done cum already, again
Mi tun up di fuck now, baby mek noise if you wah but doh deady, deady
So bawl fi yuh mamma, fi yuh pappa, mi nuh matter
By time mi fi cum yuh fi done cum already (already, already)

Look inna mi eye nuh
Nah go diss yuh baby
Wine pon di cocky gyal
Wine pon di cocky gyal
Baby from mi find yuh
You alone mi waah gyal
Wine pon di cocky gyal
Wine pon di cocky gyal

Mi love when yuh skin out fi mi fuck you (mmmmhmmm)
Mi love fi do di video dem with you
Baby come wine up, come show seh yuh love mi
Yuh done know (yeah)

What a bloodclaat pussy fat (eeeh eeh)
Likkle girl doh gi weh dat (ah ah)
Yuh pum pum clean already
So mi dash weh di boots and mi come inna yuh belly (yeah yeah)
Giddy up pon di cocky nuh (mmhmm)
Mi slap slappin' up yuh batty suh (mmhmm)
Mi love it when mi push it, yuh a shove it, mi a ram it yuh a bruk it
A seh fuck it Addi fuck it (ah ah)

Mi tun up di fuck now, baby mek noise if you wah but doh deady, deady
So bawl fi yuh mamma, fi yuh pappa, mi nuh matter
By time mi fi cum yuh fi done cum already, again
Mi tun up di fuck now, baby mek noise if you wah but doh deady, deady
So bawl fi yuh mamma, fi yuh pappa, mi nuh matter
By time mi fi cum yuh fi done cum already (already, already)

Look inna mi eye nuh
Nah go diss yuh baby

Wine pon di cocky gyal
Wine pon di cocky gyal

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Vybz Kartel's "Tun Up Di Scheme" are sexually explicit and revolve around the concept of having sex with a girl whose body parts are desirable to the singer. The song starts with a double entendre, "tight pum pum" can literally mean a tight vagina but it can also mean a girl who is good or works hard; he immediately follows it with "mi love when yuh skin out fi mi fuck you", confirming the previous sexual interpretation. Kartel proceeds to express his love for doing video shoots with the girl, while asking her to come and "wine up", demonstrating her love for him. The chorus comes in repeatedly, and we hear Kartel proclaiming that he wants his partner to make noise if she wants, but she shouldn't stop until he's finished. The second verse follows a similar path, with Kartel stating that he loves it when he pushes in, and she shoves back resulting in a broken bed, reiterating sexual intercourse.

Line by Line Meaning

Ayy you tight pum pum gyal (Awhoee)
Addressing a woman deemed physically attractive in a slang term that loosely translates to 'hello'.

Mi love when yuh skin out fi mi fuck you (mmmmhmmm)
Expressing pleasure in a woman's willingness to undress and engage in sexual activity with the singer.

Mi love fi do di video dem with you
Enjoys recording videos of sexual activity with the woman.

Baby come wine up, come show seh yuh love mi
Invites the woman to dance in a sexual manner while showing affection towards the artist.

Yuh done know (yeah)
Confirming that the woman is aware of the artist's intentions and desires.

What a bloodclaat pussy fat (eeeh eeh)
Commenting on the woman's genitalia in a derogatory and objectifying manner.

Likkle girl doh gi weh dat (ah ah)
Suggesting that the woman should not easily give away her sexual favors.

Yuh pum pum clean already
Acknowledging the woman's hygiene and cleanliness of her genitalia.

So mi dash weh di boots and mi come inna yuh belly (yeah yeah)
Removing clothing and engaging in sexual activity with the woman.

Giddy up pon di cocky nuh (mmhmm)
Encouraging the woman to ride the artist's erect penis.

Mi slap slappin' up yuh batty suh (mmhmm)
Engaging in the act of slapping the woman's buttocks for sexual pleasure.

Mi love it when mi push it, yuh a shove it, mi a ram it yuh a bruk it
Expressing enjoyment in the aggressive and forceful nature of sexual activity with the woman.

A seh fuck it Addi fuck it (ah ah)
Discarding inhibitions and engaging in unrestricted sexual activity.

Mi tun up di fuck now, baby mek noise if you wah but doh deady, deady
Amplifying the level and intensity of sexual activity while encouraging the woman to vocalize, but not to fear or worry about the consequences.

So bawl fi yuh mamma, fi yuh pappa, mi nuh matter
Assuring the woman that the singer is unconcerned with any potential familial or societal objections to their sexual activity.

By time mi fi cum yuh fi done cum already, again
Expecting the woman to have experienced an orgasm before the artist ejaculates.

Look inna mi eye nuh
Asking the woman to make eye contact with the artist.

Nah go diss yuh baby
Stating that the singer is not disrespecting the woman.

Wine pon di cocky gyal
Encouraging the woman to engage in sexual activity with the singer's penis.

Baby from mi find yuh
Since first encountering the woman, the artist has been interested in her exclusively.

You alone mi waah gyal
The artist desires only the woman.

Big long cocky gone up inna yuh lungs
The artist has inserted their large penis deeply into the woman's body, possibly causing a sensation of breathlessness.

Pon yuh batty-jaw mi two balls dem a bounce
The singer's testicles are rhythmically hitting the woman's buttocks or lower back during sexual activity.

Mi mek yuh haffi ask mi if mi a tek drugs
The artist's sexual performance is so impressive that the woman wonders if the artist is under the influence of drugs.

Mi seh no baby, that a nuh fi gaza thugs
The singer denies the use of drugs, and claims that they are performing at such a high level due to their natural ability or skill.

Select yuh sound like mi name Jiggy Youngs
Making a reference to a Jamaican DJ, the singer praises the woman's sexual technique or enthusiasm.

Yuh spin like one cash money splice dub
The woman's sexual movements are fluid and impressive, comparable to a type of music production technique.

Mi bedroom war, ina history it guh dung
The sexual activity between the artist and the woman is intense and memorable.

Like 'Power' and 'Shower' like di Crips and di Bloods
The artist compares their sexual activity to two Jamaican soap operas and two notorious American street gangs, indicating that their sexual activity is similarly intense or dramatic.

Writer(s): Adidja Azim Palmer, Linton White, Donald Kevin Medder

Contributed by Alex S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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