Vybz Kartel is a stage name for a famous artist, producer, businessman and legen in Jamican music. He has a lot of nicknames and people like to call him “Worl’ Boss” too.

His fame can be owed to the fact that he is an awesome lyricist and the words he writes for his songs are very well remembered and very respected.

He made dancehall, a Jamaican genre that sounds like faster reggae, very popular and thanks to him tickets for this genre were sold out all of the time!

Some of his most popular songs are Romping Shop from 2009, Summer Time from 2013 and Dancehall Hero from 2013.

Many people think of him as an old artist, but he worked with some great people of the modern age such as Major Lazer, Rihanna and Jay Z.

Kartel is much more famous than people think. He left a great influence on the world and some artists in it. For instance, Drake had said many times that Kartel has inspired him and he can owe his style to him.

In 2014, Kartel got in prison and he will be there for life because he murdered his friend Clive “Lizard” Williams.

When he serves 35 years, he will be getting a new trial to get out, but by this time he will be very old and therefore his life will be spent in prison.

However, prison does not stop him from making music. He published 50 songs in 2016 from jail!

Early years

His stage name Vybz Kartel is the one he goes by, but his real name is Adidja Azim Palmer.

He was born on January 7th in 1976 in Kingston Jamaica, but his roots are from Portmore.

As a teenager, Kartel had it all figured out and he knew that he was going to be famous for his songs one day. Because of this, he decided to start out pretty early.

Career development

His first song was from 1993 and it was called “Love Fat Woman”. He called himself Adi Banton. This was because a singer called Buju Banton was pretty popular back then.

Not much attention was gained and he soon joined a small group. It was him and two other people and they named themselves “Vybz Cartel”.

The group didn’t really do great and they had to split up, but he still kept the name.

Vybz hadn’t become a singer right away, but he was always writing songs. He started to write them for Bounty Killer and he made this dancehall artist over 30 songs. He even wrote some of his most popular songs, like “Gal Clown”.

However, in early 2000s he decided to take things in his hands and he made a few hits that made him famous amongst the Jamaican nation by 2003.

There was a planned controversy he and Ninjaman did at one festival in Portmore and it included a fake fight. Both of the artists did get attention, so you could say it was pretty successful.

Even the crew’of both of the guys got included into the fight and that was why it was probably so huge!

Kartel’s manager blaimed Ninjaman because he didn’t know of this plan they made, but Kartel apologized to Ninjaman and the orginanizers.

Only half a week later, they were both on a press conference and they settled this “problem”. They gained quite some attention.

Kartel worked very hard and he published a number of albums for a label based in Great Britan, Greenseleeves Records.

This included Up 2 Di Time, More Up 2 Di Time and J.M.T.

However, he knew that he wanted to be more established and therefore he made his own record label soon. This was a huge thing and he was very proud of himself for doing it.

It was called Adidjahiem/Notnice Records because he made it with Ainsley Morris, often nicknamed “Notnice”.

At this time, in 2006, he had to part ways with Bounty Killer and he joined a group of deejays from Portmore in order to make a pact of people he can sign to his new label.

Some o theme people were Popcaan, Deva Bratt, Gaza Slim, Shawn Storm, Sheba, Gaza Indu, Singing Maxwell, Singa Blinga, Lenny Mattic, Lisa Hype, Gaza Kim, Blak Ryno, Jah Vinci, Dosa Medicine, Merital Family and someone who actually got famous through this label: Tommy Lee.

In 2008, he presented his own liquor line. He loved the fact that he got to design everything on his own. He called it the Street Vybz Rum.

At the time, he was famous for the weekly dance parties he made called Street Vybz Thursdays. He collaborated with a club owner and therefore this lead to great events.

In 2008, he also made a condom line called Daggerin Condoms. However, his rum producing had to stop because he had some disagreements with the man he collaborated with in order to make these.

In 2012, they continued their collaboration because they made up and, although Vybz was in jail at this time, the liquor was selling like crazy.

He was promoted by DJs and MCs. He was famous in the US and in UK, in Europe and he toured all over the world. He flew every ocean and had so many concerts he says he cannot count them.

In 2009, he made a song with a female artist called Spice. The song was names “Ramping Shop” and it did pretty well on the Billboard charts.

In 2010, he made “Clarks”, a single he will never forget for it was so popular and brought him so much attention.

He also got some TV attention on the show So You Think You Can Dance Canada. This was really fun for him and around this time there were already rumors about him going to jail.

In 2011, he decided to get creative with the things he made and so he made a shoe line. He called them Addi’s and they sold really well.

He also made a soap called Cake soap, it is usually used for acne, but lately it has been used for skin bleaching which cause quite some controversy in Jamaica.

While he was in prison, in 2016, he released his mos popular album called King of the Dancehall. All of the attention he got because of the charges probably did good for his career. But what does he have of the money when he can’t spend it?

The album was number 2 on the Billboard Reggae Charts and this was huge success.

He made a single “Real Bad Gal” in 2017 and this is his last work to this day.

Personal life

Kartel was charged for having marijuana at his place in 2011 and later also with murder of a businessman that he had a fight with. The fact that he had illegal firearm didn’t make it any better.

In jail he made a book called The Voice of the Jamaican Ghetto: Incarcerated but not Silenced. He wrote it with Michael Dawson.

He did get a money offer where they would let him out for three million dollars, but they soon found the connection with the second murder. Clive Williams was the victim.

There also have been various convictions of perversions and even robbing action. He was supposed to go to the court in 2013, at the very beginning, but he ended up having it in July.

In November of 2013, although he was not guilty for the first murder, he did get prison time for the rest of the things he had done. The trial lasted over two months and it had been one of the longest of the kind.

People in Jamaica have never seen such a complicated trial.

In 2014, he was sentenced to life and he has to serve 35 years in order to get a chance to go out.

In 2004, he was accused of spreading homophobic lyrics. Later people said that he advocated skin bleaching because of the soap he produces. However, this was kind of known already so it was not a big fuss.

However, in 2011, the National Communications Network decided not to air his music anymore because it contained obscene lyrics.

He is also famous for the fights he had with Mavado, an artist. This started in 2006 and they dissed each other, fought, said mean things in interviews and decided to stop all of it in the end when Vybz got in jail.

Quick summary

Full name: Adidja Azim Palmer

Date of birth: January 7th , 1976

Birthplace:  Kingston, Jamaica

Age: 42

Profession: deejay, singer

Height: 183 cm

Weight: 65 kg

Net Worth: $2 million