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.
Yuh Me Say
Vybz Kartel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dem kiss, dem hug me so
Some say how u ugly so?
But a nuh nutten if some say so
'Cause dem still wah sen on pussy
All di dumb say so
True mi hot like Mexico
Girls say how u sexy so?
Watch her how she a work her lips on the pepsi so
Mi nuh cowboy from El Paso
Why u love big up pelpa so?
'Cause a bere gal mi pelp yasso
And we don't need help yasso
None a my friend nuh touch man pants
Wi nuh belt yasso
'Bout nineteen man or twenty so
Wid dem two hand empty so
See bad man and a tempt we so
When mi gun buss plenty so
Elementary so
Somiaseh, wha u a seh?
Wha u a seh?
Somiaseh, wha me a seh?
Wha u a seh?
Somiaseh, wha u a seh?
Wha u a seh?
Anyweh di gal dem deh
Addie deh deh
Somiaseh, wha u a seh?
Wha u a seh?
Somiaseh, wha me a seh?
Wha u a seh?
Somiaseh, wha u a seh?
Wha u a seh?
Anyweh di gal dem deh
Mi deh deh
How u love talk dirty so?
Like u wild and flirty so?
If u sit on mi dick twenty-nine minutes after eight
Guarantee u a run off eight thirty so
Yeah a so, a nuh maybe so
(Eh!)
Wha u mean say mi love call u baby so
Wicked slam like Tracy McGrady so
(Bum!)
Me and Jam2 deal wid ladies so
(Somiaseh)
Don how u wicked so?
U get props from DJ Wayne, Colin Hines and Liquid so
How di gun pon u hip big so?
It mek boy haffi jump and prance
Like calypso
Kartel have the business so
Europe, North America and the West Indies so
Gal a drop them panty so
And (it's murder!)
We deal wid Ashanti so
Somiaseh, wha u a seh?
Wha u a seh?
Somiaseh, wha me a seh?
Wha u a seh?
Somiaseh, wha u a seh?
Wha u a seh?
Anyweh di gal dem deh
Addie deh deh
Somiaseh, wha u a seh?
Wha u a seh?
Somiaseh, wha me a seh?
Wha u a seh?
Somiaseh, wha u a seh?
Wha u a seh?
Anyweh di gal dem deh
Mi deh deh
The lyrics to Vybz Kartel's song "So Me A Say" depict the dancehall artist's confidence and sexual prowess. Kartel boasts about his popularity with women, despite some of them questioning his physical appearance. He also mentions his ability to make women "work their lips" and delights in his sexual conquests. Along with his sexual exploits, the song references Kartel's success in the music industry, particularly in Europe, North America, and the West Indies. The chorus, "Somiaseh, wha u a seh?" can be seen as a catchphrase or a call to action for the listener to join in the revelry.
The lyrics to "So Me A Say" are typical of dancehall music, which often features explicit sexual content and representations of hypermasculinity. However, the use of patois language and cultural references may make the song difficult for non-Jamaican listeners to fully understand. The song's catchy chorus and upbeat rhythm have made it a popular dancehall track since its release.
Line by Line Meaning
Most girls love me so
I am attractive to most girls
Dem kiss, dem hug me so
Girls are physically affectionate with me
Some say how u ugly so?
Some people think I am unattractive
But a nuh nutten if some say so
It doesn't matter if some people don't find me attractive
'Cause dem still wah sen on pussy
Because some girls still want to have sex with me
All di dumb say so
Even less intelligent people think I am attractive
True mi hot like Mexico
I am very attractive
When mi pull up inna di tigermart or the Texaco
When I arrive in the tigermart or the Texaco
Girls say how u sexy so?
Girls think I am very sexy
Watch her how she a work her lips on the pepsi so
Look at how she is seductively drinking Pepsi
Mi nuh cowboy from El Paso
I am not a cowboy from El Paso
Why u love big up pelpa so?
Why do you continuously praise Pelpa?
'Cause a bere gal mi pelp yasso
Because I have many girls and Pelpa is also successful with girls
And we don't need help yasso
We don't need assistance with getting girls
None a my friend nuh touch man pants
None of my friends are involved with homosexuality
Wi nuh belt yasso
We don't have any belts here
'Bout nineteen man or twenty so
Around 19-20 people
Wid dem two hand empty so
With their hands free
See bad man and a tempt we so
Criminals are trying to tempt us
When mi gun buss plenty so
When I shoot my gun multiple times
Elementary so
It's very simple
Somiaseh, wha u a seh?
What are you saying, Somiaseh?
Wha u a seh?
What are you saying?
Anyweh di gal dem deh
Wherever the girls are
Addie deh deh
Addie is there too
How u love talk dirty so?
Why do you enjoy talking about sexual acts so much?
Like u wild and flirty so?
You act like you are wild and flirty
If u sit on mi dick twenty-nine minutes after eight
If you have intercourse with me at 8:29
Guarantee u a run off eight thirty so
You will finish by 8:30
Yeah a so, a nuh maybe so
It is definitely going to happen
(Eh!)
Exclamation of agreement
Wha u mean say mi love call u baby so
What do you mean I like calling you 'baby'?
Wicked slam like Tracy McGrady so (Bum!)
Powerful thrust like a basketball slam dunk, like Tracy McGrady's (Sound effect of someone being hit)
Me and Jam2 deal wid ladies so (Somiaseh)
Jam2 and I are skilled with women (Somiaseh)
Don how u wicked so?
Don, how are you so skilled?
U get props from DJ Wayne, Colin Hines and Liquid so
You are admired by DJ Wayne, Colin Hines, and Liquid
How di gun pon u hip big so?
Why is your gun so large on your hip?
It mek boy haffi jump and prance like calypso
It makes people have to jump and dance like in calypso music
Kartel have the business so
I am successful with business
Europe, North America and the West Indies so
I have success in Europe, North America, and the West Indies
Gal a drop them panty so
Girls are taking off their underwear
And (it's murder!)
And it's so easy (expression used to indicate something will be done without trouble)
We deal wid Ashanti so
We deal with Ashanti women
Mi deh deh
I am here
Lyrics Β© Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: ADIDJA PALMER, DONOVAN KEITH BENNETT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mwafrika Kevo
2022 this jam still a vibe!π₯πΉ
J T
And it always will be!!!
Marlon Osborne
Facts
Timothy Mutuma
The pain of searching for this song before Shazam is, well hilarious.
quan ahmad
ππππππππππ
Adrian Springer
Just type kartel mmmmm mmmmmm mmmmmmmπ
conrad mbugua
@Adrian Springer This is what i didπ€£π€£
my comps
@Adrian Springer π€£π€£π€£π€£
Marlon Osborne
@Adrian Springer that was my last resort π
Crystal Dede
2021 and I'm still here