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 a Me Baby
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
See it 'ya
See it 'ya
See it 'ya
Di people dem weh yuh woulda die for
Ah dem quick fi bruk your vibes dawg
Treat you like a light bulb, on and off
You go out a yuh way fi hurt me
And me go out a mi way fi hurt you
We keep going 'round inna circle
No, this a cyaan' love, this a surgery
You too lie, me too jealous
Me so cross, you so fed up
A long time you wah fi cut
Mi cyaan' stay, mi cyaan' leave
See it 'ya
See it 'ya
If people wait 'til when you're down
Fi do you wrong, dem never did right
Made up excuses come suddenly like
Bring up something from 1999
So you go out ah your way fi argue
Cah you know seh me nah go call you
Dat ah your signal fi do weh you waan' do
When me start talk yuh say me a evil
You go out a yuh way fi hurt me
And me go out a mi way fi hurt you
We keep going 'round inna circle
No, this a cyaan' love, this a surgery
See it 'ya
See it 'ya
See it 'ya
Me scared fi lose you
Me nuh know what's outside, yeah
But me know mi certain
If me stay me ah go die from heartbreak, yeah
(If me stay mi ah go die from heartbreak, yeah)
(If me stay mi ah go die from heartbreak, yeah)
See it 'ya
See it 'ya
See it 'ya
You go out ah your way fi argue
Cah you know seh me nah go call you
Dat ah your signal fi do weh you waan' do
When me start talk yuh say me a evil
You so go out a yuh way fi hurt me
And me go out a mi way fi hurt you
We keep going 'round inna circle
No, this a cyaan' love, this a surgery
See it 'ya
See it 'ya
See it 'ya
The song "You a Me Baby" by Vybz Kartel is about a tumultuous and toxic relationship where both people constantly hurt each other. The lyrics describe how they both go out of their way to hurt each other and how they cannot seem to break the cycle of their dysfunctional relationship. The chorus, "See it ya, see it ya, see it ya" emphasizes the futility of the situation and how they are stuck in an endless loop.
The verse about people who would die for you, but are quick to betray you, speaks to the false sense of loyalty that some people have. There is a sense of frustration in the lyric "But ah weh me do you dat so cruel?" which expresses the confusion of the singer as to why their partner treats them so badly. The line "If people wait 'til when you're down" relates to how some people only show their true colors when you are in a vulnerable position.
Overall, the song portrays a hurtful and turbulent relationship, where both people are at fault, but neither can seem to leave. The lyrics are a warning about the dangers of staying in toxic relationships, as they can lead to emotional pain and heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
Me heart you wan' rip out
I love you so intensely that it feels like my heart is being ripped out of my chest
Di people dem weh yuh woulda die for
The people you love the most are the ones who are most likely to hurt you
Ah dem quick fi bruk your vibes dawg
Those same people are quick to ruin your good mood and bring you down
Treat you like a light bulb, on and off
They switch their affection on and off, making you feel insecure and confused
But ah weh me do you dat so cruel?
I don't understand why you would be so hurtful to me
You go out a yuh way fi hurt me
You actively try to hurt me
And me go out a mi way fi hurt you
And in turn, I do the same to you
We keep going 'round inna circle
We are stuck in a destructive cycle
No, this a cyaan' love, this a surgery
This is not love, it's like surgery where we keep wounding each other
You too lie, me too jealous
We both have our faults: you lie and I get jealous
Me so cross, you so fed up
I am angry and you are tired of the arguing
A long time you wah fi cut
You have wanted to end things for a while
Mi cyaan' stay, mi cyaan' leave
I feel trapped and can't make a decision to stay or go
If people wait 'til when you're down
People who claim to care about you will only show their true colors once you are vulnerable
Fi do you wrong, dem never did right
They will do you harm instead of helping you, even if they had the chance to do right by you before
Made up excuses come suddenly like
They will come up with excuses out of nowhere to justify their mistreatment of you
Bring up something from 1999
They will bring up past mistakes or misdeeds from centuries ago to try and hurt you
Me scared fi lose you
I am afraid of losing you
Me nuh know what's outside, yeah
I am unsure of what is outside of this relationship
But me know mi certain
But I am certain that staying in this relationship will only bring me heartbreak
If me stay mi ah go die from heartbreak, yeah
If I remain in this relationship, it will eventually break my heart and kill me emotionally
See it 'ya
Do you see what I am saying?
You so go out a yuh way fi hurt me
You try really hard to hurt me
And me go out a mi way fi hurt you
And I do the same to you
No, this a cyaan' love, this a surgery
This is not love, it's like surgery where we keep wounding each other
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Adidja Azim Palmer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@reneeroyalty5935
2023 and I’m back because this song can’t stale 💃🏽
@dwaynewadejunior7998
This is amongst the best tracks from vybz kartel...Mr officer lyrics and this track makes you realize Mr Palmer is a genius!!..2021 and probably 2032 I'll still be jamming to this .. insha'Allah
@MALIRIPPA
Inshallah 👍🏾
@mohamedcoulibaly5463
When I think back to the good old days of pon di Gaza ... it's just amazing☄☄☄
@tzofficialpage2294
I feel like Kartel speaks on behalf of 75% of all the men in the world. Free Worl' Boss
@ChaitanyaParab
Yaar sach main so real faxxx 💥💥💥
@shalanathomas7751
Lol
@Alister94
Vybz taught me the ways of life
@simmz9158
Still one of the baddest gyal chune out there #GAZA
@nathanmonasingh7888
One of the best tapes he ever dropped