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.
Why You Doing It
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
La la la la (Up to di time) la la la
(You know it's Kartel!) la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la
(They said the collabo was nice, we had to do it twice!)
Ask him, why you do it when you know you shouldn't be doin' it
Why you chewin' it when you should be screwin' it
Why you doin' it why you why you doin it
Hey! Why you doin' when you know you shouldn't be doin' it
Hey! Why you chewin' it when you should be screwin' it
I know you never see a ackee or a stew in it
So why your chewin' it why your why your chewin' it
Yo sir! If a farin yuh get it from nuh badda bring it out yah
Yuh nuh deal wid di chicken why yuh eat di cole slaw?
A yuh nuh inna vegetable why yuh eat di chocha?
Nyam Shirley biscuit drink juice raw widout straw
Man a pitch him like Mcguire or Sammy Sosa
What him do to Likkle Kim inna di Testerosa
Secret pop out a road like bread pop out a toasta
Deh pon di notice board like a posta
Ask him, why you do it when you know you shouldn't be doin' it
Why you chewin' it when you should be screwin' it
I know you never see a curry or a stew in it
Why you doin' it why you why you doin it
Hey! Why you doin' when you know you shouldn't be doin' it
Hey! Why you chewin' it when you should be screwin' it
I know you never see a ackee or a stew in it
So why your chewin' it why your why your chewin' it
Portmore mi lose offa certain man yuh know
Caught dem tek di gal pussy off a piece a ham yuh know
Man nyam blue draws neither pum pum nyam yuh know
Yuh nuh eat, put up a hand yuh know, cau Portmore man a badman yuh know
Got now fi eat might smell like a ram yuh know
Skin it out wide, then yuh act llike it jam yuh know
Slice it like bread then yuh kill it till ram yuh know
Bow cat fi dead seh badman ban it out, hear mi out now
Ask him, why you do it when you know you shouldn't be doin' it
Why you chewin' it when you should be screwin' it
I know you never see a curry or a stew in it
Why you doin' it why you why you doin it
Hey! Why you doin' when you know you shouldn't be doin' it
Hey! Why you chewin' it when you should be screwin' it
I know you never see a ackee or a stew in it
So why your chewin' it why your why your chewin' it
When she bring mi wonda mek yuh why dem roll ova
Don't tun rollova bredrin and bring anaconda
Like mi wonda, to how mi see yuh deal wid Amanda
Yuh must fi have di meat a tomba tomba
To how yuh draw fah Sandra, yuh caan fi smell di ganja
Like mi come mi saw mi conquer from har head drop di anchor
Hear bomb buss di tanker woman a page mi shelanka
San Francisco, then why yuh nyam Tamika like Sisqo
Ask him, why you do it when you know you shouldn't be doin' it
Why you chewin' it when you should be screwin' it
I know you never see a curry or a stew in it
Why you doin' it why you why you doin it
Hey! Why you doin' when you know you shouldn't be doin' it
Hey! Why you chewin' it when you should be screwin' it
I know you never see a ackee or a stew in it
So why your chewin' it why your why your chewin' it
Yo sir! If a farin yuh get it from nuh badda bring it out yah
Yuh nuh deal wid di chicken why yuh eat di cole slaw?
A yuh nuh inna vegetable why yuh eat di chocha?
Nyam Shirley biscuit drink juice raw widout straw
Man a pitch him like Mcguire or Sammy Sosa
What him do to Likkle Kim inna di Testerosa
Secret pop out a road like bread pop out a toasta
Deh pon di notice board like a posta
Ask him, why you do it when you know you shouldn't be doin' it
Why you chewin' it when you should be screwin' it
I know you never see a curry or a stew in it
Why you doin' it why you why you doin it
Hey! Why you doin' when you know you shouldn't be doin' it
Hey! Why you chewin' it when you should be screwin' it
I know you never see a ackee or a stew in it
So why your chewin' it why your why your chewin' it
The lyrics of Vybz Kartel’s song Why You Doing It reveal the artist’s critical stance on some people’s perplexing habits. He questions individuals who do things that they know they shouldn’t be doing, like chewing gum instead of engaging in sexual activities, consuming food that doesn’t match their preferred diet, or buying questionable items. Vybz Kartel highlights the illogical nature of these actions by pointing out the absurdity of it all. He warns people not to bring foreign food into his town since he won’t be able to identify the ingredients, and anyone caught indulging in these items will be in trouble. Moreover, the artist points out how people indulge in untraditional practices that stray from their culture, questioning their authenticity and loyalty to their roots.
Line by Line Meaning
Ask him, why you do it when you know you shouldn't be doin' it
Questioning why someone would do something they know is wrong.
Why you chewin' it when you should be screwin' it
Asking why someone is wasting time doing something unimportant instead of engaging in sexual activity.
I know you never see a curry or a stew in it
Implying that the subject is engaging in behavior that is not authentic or genuine.
Why you doin' it why you why you doin it
Repeating the initial question to emphasize the confusion as to why the subject is engaging in undesirable behavior.
If a farin yuh get it from nuh badda bring it out yah
Don't flaunt being able to get things from a foreign country, it is not appropriate.
Man a pitch him like Mcguire or Sammy Sosa
Like a baseball pitcher, subject has launched himself at someone else in an aggressive manner.
Portmore mi lose offa certain man yuh know
Subject has lost a battle in Portmore due to certain individuals.
Caught dem tek di gal pussy off a piece a ham yuh know
Someone was caught stealing sexual favors in exchange for food.
Yuh nuh eat, put up a hand yuh know, cau Portmore man a badman yuh know
Don't put your hands up if you're not eating, as it's associated with being a coward in Portmore.
Got now fi eat might smell like a ram yuh know
Implying that the subject is starving and desperate for food, to the point of smelling like an unclean animal.
Skin it out wide, then yuh act like it jam yuh know
Subject is behaving as if they have a lot of money, but in reality they don't have much at all.
Bow cat fi dead seh badman ban it out, hear mi out now
If someone's cat is bothering a badman, the cat will be killed, plain and simple.
When she bring mi wonda mek yuh why dem roll ova
This line isn't clear in its meaning, but it may suggest that the subject is experiencing feelings of confusion and disorientation.
Like mi wonda, to how mi see yuh deal wid Amanda
Comparing the subject's dealings with someone named Amanda to the confusion and lack of understanding that the singer is experiencing.
Yuh must fi have di meat a tomba tomba
The subject is assumed to have had sexual relations with someone named Tomba Tomba due to their behavior.
To how yuh draw fah Sandra, yuh caan fi smell di ganja
Subject is so fixated on Sandra that they can't even smell the ganja in the air.
Like mi come mi saw mi conquer from har head drop di anchor
Similar to 'I came, I saw, I conquered,' this line suggests that the artist has achieved a certain level of success with a woman named Anchor.
Hear bomb buss di tanker woman a page mi shelanka
This line is unclear in meaning, but may suggest that the subject is receiving messages from women associated with a place named Shelanka.
San Francisco, then why yuh nyam Tamika like Sisqo
This line is also unclear in meaning, but suggests that the subject is eating someone named Tamika like the musician Sisqo.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: ADIDJA PALMER, DONOVAN KEITH BENNETT, WAYNE MITCHELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gazagxrlx2974
One of the many collabs of Wayne Marshall and Kartel.
@unanimusgaza105
Gaza Gxrl \x/ GG yuh listen big big song mi love, ❤❤❤😍😍😍💥🔥💯👏 #FWB fr dem two did had good chemistry together
@anthonym3526
T I M E L E S S🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
@kenardoheslop2833
Ask kartel himself he'll tell u back in the days Wayne Marshall did the best compatible collabs together...❤then here comes the singer the next best collaborator with him...
@venececampbell3811
Still listening this hit in 2023 💯💯💯
@queenmichieboo7467
🔥🔥🔥🔥 #Up2DiTime
@drmatey
I needed to hear this!!
@mediahouseja709
2018 and still bad
@monazaheer2644
gangsta track
@unanimusgaza105
Kartel response fi dancehall after him fwd inna the game