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.
YOU CAN
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gwan if yuh wah
Gwan if yuh wah
Gwaan
But memba seh you can't say me never give you love
Cya say me treat you badly
Yuh know me will dead fi you yuh kno
Turn on me nuh (yeah)
Turn on me nuh (lawd)
Turn on me nuh
Hold on
A me show you di sunshine
But you gih me showers of rain
Me bring joy and happiness inna your life
But you gih me ache and pain
Me did believe everything yuh tell me
Me did believe when yuh say yuh love me
Me movin on me find a next girlfriend
Cause everyman haffi love somebody yeah
Me wish you di best
Hope yuh find joy and happiness
But what goes around comes back around
Soh when yuh new boyfriend start gih yuh stress
Memba seh you can't say me never give you love
Cya say me treat you badly
Yuh know me will dead fi you yuh kno
But yuh diss me
Turn on me nuh (ooh)
Turn on me nuh (yeah)
Turn on me nuh (lawd)
Turn on me nuh
Sing it again
Turn on me nuh (ooh)
Turn on me nuh (yeah)
Turn on me nuh (lawd)
Turn on me nuh
Hold on
Me and you a come from far
And you and a next man a par
Leng son a Big Yard tell me you inna Fox car
When me drive gone a Savlamar
Yuh neva believe seh this wuda reach yuh
Neva believe di man wuda diss yuh
Now you a beg and a bawl
And a come a mi yard
And a wah me fi hug up and kiss you well
Me wish you di best
Hope yuh find joy and happiness
But what goes around comes back around
Soh when yuh new boyfriend start gih yuh stress
Memba seh you can't say me never give you love
Cya say me treat you badly
Yuh know me will dead fi you yuh kno
Turn on me nuh (ooh)
Turn on me nuh (yeah)
Turn on me nuh (lawd)
Turn on me nuh
Hold on
A me show you di sunshine
But you gih me showers of rain
Me bring joy and happiness inna your life
But you gih me ache and pain
Me did believe everything yuh tell me
Me did believe when yuh say yuh love me
Me movin' on me find a next girlfriend
Cause everyman haffi love somebody yeah
Me wish you di best
Hope yuh find joy and happiness
But what goes around comes back around
Soh when yuh new boyfriend start gih yuh stress
Memba seh you can't say me never give you love
Cya say me treat you badly
Yuh know me will dead fi you yuh kno
Turn on me nuh (ooh)
Turn on me nuh (yeah)
Turn on me nuh (lawd)
Turn on me nuh
Turn on me nuh (ooh)
Turn on me nuh (yeah)
Turn on me nuh (lawd)
Turn on me nuh
The opening lines of the song, "My life is drama, gwan if yuh wah" can be interpreted as a commentary on the complexity of the singer's life. He is saying that his life is full of drama, and if the person he is addressing doesn't want to deal with it, they can leave. However, he is also expressing his willingness to continue to give love to this person despite the drama, saying "cya say me treat you badly, yuh know me will dead fi you." The chorus, "Turn on me nuh," is a reflection of the pain and betrayal the singer feels when the person he loves turns their back on him.
The verses continue to reflect on the relationship between the singer and his lover. He talks about the ways in which he has brought joy and happiness into her life, only to receive pain and heartache in return. Despite this, he still wishes her the best and hopes she finds happiness with someone else. However, he warns her that "what goes around comes back around," suggesting that the hurt she caused him will eventually catch up to her.
Overall, the song explores the complexities of love and relationships, as well as the pain of betrayal and the desire for revenge.
Line by Line Meaning
My life is drama
My life is full of chaos and trouble
Gwan if yuh wah
Go ahead if you want to
Gwaan
Go on
But memba seh you can't say me never give you love
Remember that you cannot claim that I never loved you
Cya say me treat you badly
You cannot say that I mistreated you
Yuh know me will dead fi you yuh kno
You know that I would die for you
Turn on me nuh (ooh)
Don't turn on me
Hold on
Wait a second
A me show you di sunshine
I showed you the good times
But you gih me showers of rain
But you gave me sadness and pain
Me bring joy and happiness inna your life
I brought happiness into your life
But you gih me ache and pain
But you gave me heartache and suffering
Me did believe everything yuh tell me
I believed everything you told me
Me movin on me find a next girlfriend
I am moving on and finding a new girlfriend
Cause everyman haffi love somebody yeah
Because every man needs to love someone
Me wish you di best
I wish you the best
Hope yuh find joy and happiness
Hope you find joy and happiness
But what goes around comes back around
But what you do comes back to you
Soh when yuh new boyfriend start gih yuh stress
So when your new boyfriend starts giving you stress
Me and you a come from far
You and I have a long history
And you and a next man a par
And you're hanging out with another man
Leng son a Big Yard tell me you inna Fox car
A friend from Big Yard told me that you were in a car with another man
When me drive gone a Savlamar
When I drove to Savlamar
Yuh neva believe seh this wuda reach yuh
You never believed that it would come to this
Neva believe di man wuda diss yuh
Never believed that the man would disrespect you
Now you a beg and a bawl
Now you're begging and crying
And a come a mi yard
And coming to my place
And a wah me fi hug up and kiss you well
And asking me to hug and kiss you
Turn on me nuh (ooh)
Don't turn on me
Turn on me nuh (yeah)
Don't turn on me
Turn on me nuh (lawd)
Don't turn on me
Sing it again
Sing it again
Turn on me nuh
Don't turn on me
Lyrics Β© Ultra Tunes
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Zidan [ Xqlusiv Dancers ]
You CanππΏ
I Can πͺπΎ
We CanππΏ
Achieve anything you/I want
Don't let anybody say you can't π―
What more can we ask of kartel?
This man is more than ICon, get it?
ππΎGazanation repππΏ
Gaza Angel6_1983
Iβm unique. Iβm smart. Iβm beautiful. Iβm important. Im intelligent. I Can achieve anything in life as long as I work hard. Thank you Vybz Kartel. #ican β€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈππ΅ππΏπΊπΎ
Ricki GAZA Fi LIFE
Beautiful Yes U Can π₯π₯π₯
Gaza Angel6_1983
@Ricki GAZA Fi LIFE πππΏβ€οΈ Thanks
Henrique Guth Guerrero Trainini
Good Luck! <3
UΓ±Γ₯ΕΓ―mΓΈΕ³Ε GΓ’ΕΌΓ₯
I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH! IT IS REALLY DIFFERENT, THE PLACE IT TOOK ME IS UNDESCRIBABLE! #ICAN #FREEWORLBOSSS ππ½βπΌππ₯
Ricki GAZA Fi LIFE
Gaza Nation A Wi VP Fully Out Here π₯
Nat GlowsUp
We need these uplifting songs
Gaza Angel6_1983
THANK YOU FOR YOUR GIFT THAT YOUβVE SHARED WITH THE WORLD π I LOVE YOU SOOOOO MUCH β€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈ I RESPECT YOU MY KING.DONβT GIVE UPβΌοΈ
Ricki GAZA Fi LIFE
Dont listen to Di Haters π₯π₯π₯π₯π₯
Tshepiso Gæza Jonathan
#Worlbossπβ£οΈ