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.
Wine Up
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nuh man to man dancing around here
Eh gyal come whine up
Come turn around and whine up
When yuh see addi gyal whine up
Yuh see the mountain come climb up
Whine up like yuh want me mi seh
Tsunami me seh the night stormy mi seh
Understand seh mi want yuh me seh
Weh you a do fi me, Weh you ago do fi me
Weh you a do fi me, Weh you ago do fi me
Can you gee mi love we fi build a family
Can you gee mi love we fi build a family
Yuh pride
Nuh deh pan the grung yuh nuh toe ring
Ehh ehh
And yuh nuh hang around like a nose ring
Eh eh
Is not a soccer field fi yuh scoring
Yuh love squeeze me tighter than a close pin
Baby
From wi meet yuh keep me smiling
Heh heh
The world turning when yuh whining
Today, ball a thunder strike a lightning
She seh ten thousand duppy show nuh suh frightning (awoy)
Whine up like yuh want me mi seh
Dash it out deh like yuh want mi me seh
Tsunami me seh the night stormy mi seh
Understand seh mi want yuh me seh
Weh you a do fi me, Weh you ago do fi me
Weh you a do fi me, Weh you ago do fi me
Can you gee mi love we fi build a family
Can you gee mi love we fi build a family
Her exman a ride bicycle meanwhile she a ride round pan addi bike
Mi nah guh crash har inna the city like mike
And that make she affi gee me ticky like nike
She tell me seh har boy friend dead
And she ago bright light guh keep the nine night
She seh him nuh really dead inna real life him
A just a bucher weh nahave a real knife (Awoy)
Whine up like yuh want me mi seh
Dash it out deh like yuh want mi me seh
Tsunami me seh the night stormy mi seh
Understand seh mi want yuh me seh
Weh you a do fi me, Weh you ago do fi me
Weh you a do fi me, Weh you ago do fi me
Can you gee mi love we fi build a family
Can you gee mi love we fi build a family
Yuh pride
Nuh deh pan the grung yuh nuh toe ring
Ehh ehh
And yuh nuh hang around like a nose ring
Eh eh
Is not a soccer field fi yuh scoring
Yuh love squeeze me tighter than a close pin
Baby
From wi meet yuh keep me smiling
Heh heh
The world turning when yuh whining
Today, ball a thunder strike a lightning
She seh ten thousand duppy show nuh suh frightning (awoy)
In “Wine Up,” Vybz Kartel sings about a woman in a club who catches his eye. He urges her to come and dance with him, with lines like “Come turn around and whine up” and “When yuh see addi gyal whine up/Yuh see the mountain come climb up.” He’s into this woman and wants her to know it. Throughout the song, he affirms his interest in her and asks what she can do for him. “Can you gee mi love we fi build a family” is one such line. Kartel also takes a few swipes at the woman’s ex, suggesting he’s not up to the same level as Kartel.
This is very much a dancehall song, with a beat that moves from slow to fast and back again throughout its runtime. Some interesting elements include the use of the phrase “the mountain come climb up” – it’s unclear what exactly Kartel means by this, but it implies some sort of physical or sexual prowess. The reference to the “night stormy” could suggest a kind of wildness or passion, and the line “Yuh love squeeze me tighter than a close pin” is both funny and suggestive. Overall, the song is a fun, danceable expression of attraction.
Line by Line Meaning
Tell them TJ,
This line serves as an introduction to the song
Nuh man to man dancing around here
There's no man to man dancing around here
Eh gyal come whine up
A girl is invited to come and dance (whine up)
Come turn around and whine up
The girl is asked to turn around and dance (whine up)
When yuh see addi gyal whine up
When you see Addi's girl dance (whine up)
Yuh see the mountain come climb up
The excitement is so high that even the mountain seems to climb up
Whine up like yuh want me mi seh
The girl is asked to dance (whine up) as if she wants the singer
Dash it out deh like yuh want mi me seh
The girl is asked to dance provocatively as if she really wants the singer
Tsunami me seh the night stormy mi seh
The girl is asked to dance in a way that's so intense like a tsunami or a stormy night
Understand seh mi want yuh me seh
The girl is told by the singer that he truly wants her
Weh you a do fi me, Weh you ago do fi me
What are you going to do for me?
Can you gee mi love we fi build a family
Can you give me love so we can build a family together?
Yuh pride
Your pride
Nuh deh pan the grung yuh nuh toe ring
Don't stay on the ground, you have no toe ring
Ehh ehh
Interjection used to express agreement or approval
And yuh nuh hang around like a nose ring
Don't just hang around like a nose ring
Eh eh
Interjection used to express surprise, laughter or agreement
Is not a soccer field fi yuh scoring
This is not a soccer field where you score goals (not that easy)
Yuh love squeeze me tighter than a close pin
The girl is told that her love squeezes the singer tighter than a clothespin
Baby
an affectionate term used in addressing the girl
From wi meet yuh keep me smiling
The girl has been keeping the singer happy since they met
Heh heh
Interjection used to express amusement or laughter
The world turning when yuh whining
The world seems to turn when the girl dances (whine)
Today, ball a thunder strike a lightning
The atmosphere seems electrified and charged with energy today
She seh ten thousand duppy show nuh suh frightning (awoy)
The girl tells the singer that witnessing ten thousand ghosts is not as frightening as it may seem
Her exman a ride bicycle meanwhile she a ride round pan addi bike
The girl's ex-boyfriend is riding a bicycle while she's riding around with Addi (the singer)
Mi nah guh crash har inna the city like mike
The singer is not going to get into an accident with her like Mike (possibly a reference to Michael Jackson's song Smooth Criminal)
And that make she affi gee me ticky like nike
This makes her want to give the singer all of her attention/action (ticky) like the Nike brand's slogan 'Just Do It'
She tell me seh har boy friend dead
The girl tells the singer that her boyfriend is dead
And she ago bright light guh keep the nine night
She's going to go to a wake to light a candle for him for nine nights
She seh him nuh really dead inna real life him
She reveals to the singer that her boyfriend is not actually dead in real life but it's unclear what she means
A just a bucher weh nahave a real knife (Awoy)
He's just a butcher who does not have a real knife (unsure if there's any deeper meaning behind this line)
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@madgyal1675
this song will never get old 😤
@overcomeego3893
This does got me thinking of my ex...wooiii
@libra1love216
Neverrrrrrrrrr…🔊🔊🔊🔊
@shekeragayle1385
@Libra1Love♎️ à⁶
@itsshonni3013
Talk truth ❤❤❤
@BRADBCrazy
i love when you find music that you havent heard in a long time, nice refresher its on repeat for a long time now💥💥🇬🇾🇬🇾
@donnavictor9330
Vybz Kartel world boss for life they can't stop him even if he is behind bars he is still releasing lots of songs determination is the key
@BIGGLO061
2022 and I’m still listening to this like it just came out 🔥🔥🔥
@pineappleonpizza395
Yess we are 🔥 🔥 🔥
@TripswithJWD
2023