My name is Adidja Palmer. I am one of six siblings grew up in the Portmore districts Waterford in the parish St Cathrine. I attended Calabar High School in Kingston but was expelled. I was keen to finish my education at a Technical College. Due to my Uncle, being a DJ. I was exposed to wide range of music from a young age. I would listen to amongst other Country & Western,Sam Cooke and Ninjaman. My cites his own musical heroes as Bounty killer, Charlie Chaplin, Papa San,Buju Bontan, Will Smith and KRS-1. All this have help me to creat my own brand of dancehall."Can one man be a cartel?"Occasionally, perhaps very occasionally, an artist will come through who stands head and shoulders above the competition and in the world of Jamaican dancehall music the competition does not get much tougher. But whether it's Jamaican Mean Time (JMT), Eastern Standard Time or even Greenwich Mean Time the time for Vybz Kartel is right now. Undoubtedly the deejay of the moment after working his way to the top of Kingston's musical maelstrom Vybz Kartel can be numbered as one of those select few Jamaican performers able to command the total and unquestioning respect of their rapping American counterparts in the world of hard core hip hop."The people want the real stuff? and that's where I fall in."In many ways Vybz Kartel's background is a typical 'rags to riches' story but, even if we have all heard many similar stories many times before, it does not make his own meteoric rise to international stardom any less remarkable or fascinating. Vybz Kartel, 'The War Angel', was born Adidja Palmer in 1978 in Kingston but was raised with his five brothers and sisters by his grandmother in Waterford in the Portmore district where he was known to his childhood friends as 'deejay'. Expelled from Calabar High School in Kingston perhaps because "I never went to High School but I went to school high!" he subsequently completed his education at Technical College.Young Adidja's uncle was a deejay and as he grew up he listened to music that ranged from Ninja Man through Sam Cooke to a variety of Country & Western artists but he lists Bounty Killer and Charlie Chaplin together with Will Smith and KRS1 as his musical mentors. Adidja made his first steps towards a musical career by writing his own lyrics and holding the mic. at local dances with sound systems such as Electro Force and Supa T and, by the age of ten, he began attending a weekly talent show known as Gong in Kingston's now defunct Coney Amusement Park. Gong followed in the tradition of New York's infamous Apollo Theatre show of the same name where, if the performer failed to make the grade, he would be 'gonged' off the stage. The audience at Coney Amusement Park were notoriously unforgiving and Adidja was forever being 'gonged' off! However, this served only to strengthen his resolve and, by the age of twelve, he had recorded his debut single 'Adi Love Fat Women' for veteran producer Alvin Reid's One Heart label at Gussie Clarke's Music Works studio. Released under the name of Adi Banton (after Buju Banton) the song sank without a trace but, once again, Adidja took this as a signal to fight on.After seeing a film detailing the exploits of South American gangster Pablo Escobar in 1996 Adi and two friends, 'Mr Lee' and 'Escobar', formed a collective that they called Vibes Cartel after Escobar's notorious drugs cartel. The team did not stay together for too long:"The reason why we split is the first big show I got the management team thought that in order to move on it was best if one of us did it?"Adidja retained the name (with a subtle change of spelling) and became Vybz Kartel which led one observer to ask "Can one man be a cartel?" and the answer is a definite yes if he carries as much in the way of vibes as Adidja:"I'm pushing the vibes of a whole cartel. My energy is like a group thing."Now literally a one man vibes cartel he built and consolidated his reputation in the rough and tumble of Kingston's dance halls. After handing in an outstanding home turf performance in 1998 at Portmore's 'Champions In Action' show Bounty Killer, one of his musical heroes, recognised his precocious and prodigious talent and Vybz Kartel's manager, Rohan Butler, introduced them. Vybz began to write lyrics for Bounty Killer including the hits 'High Grade Forever' 'Warlord Rule The World' and 'Gal Clown'. His association with Bounty Killer ensured that, from here on in, he would always be in the eye of the storm. Bounty Killer was the ideal role model for someone looking to make a way through Jamaica's dance hall scene. 'The Warlord' has maintained his position at the top for over a decade through a combination of unbridled talent, business acumen and a deep knowledge and understanding of exactly what the audience wants and his prot? was not slow to pick up on all of this.From 2001 onwards Vybz Kartel has released hit record after hit record on a run that has never ceased or ever looked like ceasing. He was now in the enviable position of being able to work with the best producers in Kingston and his lyrical inventiveness was backed at all times by the hottest rhythms such as 'Da Rolling' ('Scarecrow') and 'Woman A Cry' ('Bun Bun'). Bounty Killer had introduced singer Wayne Marshall to Vybz Kartel and together, in the tried and trusted 'combination' style, they struck gold with 'New Millennium' on the 'Mad Ants' rhythm which introduced a brand new catch phrase to the reggae world:"Inna me Karl Kani with a bottle of tall Canei ..."Uncompromising both with and without the microphone Vybz Kartel's committed stance led to a "nasty on stage brawl" with Ninja Man at the Sting Stage Show on Boxing Day 2003 where a fight broke out between Ninja Man, Vybz Kartel and their respective entourages and Vybz Kartel later publicly apologised to Ninja Man. In many ways this type of behaviour is typical of the pre big fight posturing between heavyweight boxers: everyone involved is aware that it helps to sell tickets and/or records but it is also indicative of a very real tension and cut throat competitiveness.Named deejay of the year at Stone Love's Thirtieth Anniversary Dance Vybz Kartel's popularity in Jamaica is boundless. Deejaying on countless semi-bootleg 'juggling' cassettes that circulate the real reggae underground, appearing on stage shows such as Fully Loaded, Saddle To The East and Sting together with a constant stream of hit records has ensured that he is never too far from his adoring public. His lyrics rarely stray too far from the dancehall staples of girls, guns and ganja but they are invariably delivered with tongue twisting, verbal dexterity and a sense of humour, insight and intelligence that sets him apart from lesser talents:"Dancehall with lyrics. Crazy lyrics! Witty lyrics! Intellectual lyrics! You know what I mean? A lot of poems! A lot of metaphors! A lot of similes! ?Vybz Kartel is the teacher!"In a business where this week's sensation is quickly knocked off the top spot by next week's sensation and where a famously fickle audience are constantly on the look out for the next big thing Vybz Kartel currently stands alone as a man who has reached beyond the traditional reggae audience without ever compromising his roots. His dancehall fans have followed him as he broke onto the international stage after he supported 50 Cent on his sell out stage show in Kingston in 2003 backed up by his searing appearances on both Federation Sound and Cash Money mix tapes, storming duets with Rhianna on 'No No No' and Missy Elliott on her latest album, endless spins on Hot 97, bootleg remixes with Akon & Young Jeezy and with Sizzla on 'Soul Survivor' and a current mix up release that includes not only Vybz Kartel but also Notorious B.I.G., Shabba Ranks and Bob Marley! In the past too many reggae artists have changed direction once the outside world started to take an interest in their work. They ended up pleasing no one as they abandoned their traditional audience for a new one that failed to materialise but the reggae fans have joined in and enjoyed the worldwide success of Vybz Kartel. Fully aware of the importance of gaining a new audience he is never going to forget where he's coming from and Vybz Kartel will always be all about doing it his way:"Right now dancehall reggae music wants some more talented people weh know how fi build melody and lyrics and stop pirate from the rapper them. Cah them a tek from the rap music too much and when the rapper them hear that it comin' like them a laugh and seh 'A wha dat?'"His second album, 'JMT', follows the runaway success of 'Up 2 Di Time' and undoubtedly consolidates his position as the performer for the noughties as it pulls together many of the various different strands of his multifaceted output so far. The pace never lets up throughout as a whole host of Kingston's current top producers work their magic; each one bringing something a little way different to the proceedings to form a unified whole that defies easy categorisation. From the combination of the old meeting the new with a novel twist as an almost unrecognisable Barrington Levy sample serenades Vybz Kartel on 'Vybsy Versa Love' to the rise of the cell phone in Jamaica with the H20 produced 'U Nuh Have A Phone (hello Moto)' through to two combinations with his long time sparring partner Wayne Marshall on 'Late Night' and 'Need U Girl' the music of Vybz Kartel is always "up to the time, down to the hour?"The Story So Far ...* Regular appearances on sought after Cash Money and Federation Sound jugglin' mix CD's.
* Supports Rap star 50 Cent on his sell out show in Kingston, Jamaica.
* Kartel's heavily anticipated debut album "Up 2 Di Time" drops in 2003.
* After countless spins on Hot 97 Kartel is invited to perform at legendary Hot 97's stage show in New York
* Collaborations with some of R'n B and Hip Hop's biggest artists to date include Pharrell Williams, Missy Elliott, Rhianna, Akon & Young Jeezy, Notorious B.I.G., Bob Marley & Shabba Ranks.
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