Vybz Kartel is a Jamaican artiste from Portmore, Jamaica. He is notable for releasing top charting singles and albums despite being imprisoned. Vybz Kartel’s whole life and career has been somewhat of a Hollywood movie.Vybz Kartel released his first single as a teenager. With his music, he brought happiness to the hearts of music lovers in the Caribbean. However, the downhill in his career came when he was imprisoned for being involved in the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’Williams. Despite being behind bars, he has not stopped churning out great music for his fans. In this Vybz Kartel Biography: Hometown, Age, Music, Prison, you will be reading thorough information about Vybz Kartel. You’ll read about his early life, career progress, and other details you never knew about Vybz Kartel.
Profile Rundown
Full Name: Adidja Azim Palmer
Date Of Birth: January 7, 1976.
Age: 48.
Place Of Birth: Portmore, Jamaica.
Nationality: Jamaican.
Occupation: Artiste
Gender: Male.
PEOPLE ALSO READ: Erica Ash Biography: Movies, Net Worth & Death
Vybz Kartel Early Life
Adidja Azim Palmer popularly known as Vybz Kartel was born on the 7th of January, 1976. He is 48 years of age as of 2024. He hails from Portmore, Jamaica.
Vybz Kartel Career
Vybz Kartel started his musical career as a teenager. His famous single as a teenager was “Love Fat Woman” which was released in 1993. The song was released under the record label management Alvin Reid’s One Heart label. While still a teenager, he became a member of a musical group named “Vybz Kartel”. However, the group eventually split up and he ended up passing the name to himself. According to Vybz Kartel, he is deserving of the name because he wrote the majority of the song himself (close to 30 songs).
In 2003, Vybz Kartel gained prominence for his music all over Jamaica. He had a string of hit songs that rocked the Jamaican radio and TV waves that year. However, what was most notable in that year about Vybz Kartel’s career was his clash with Ninjaman at a show in Portmore. The clash became so violent that the show had to come to an end on a bad note. Not so long later, Vybz Kartel and Ninjaman announced that they had settled their beef and apologized for what happened at the show.
After the crises, Vybz Kartel dropped a series of albums through Greensleeves Record Label — a record label owned and managed in the UK. Then, after fulfilling his contractual agreement with Greensleeves, he proceeded to establish his record label. The name of his label was Adidjahiem/Notnice Records. The label gave him major control of some sectors and helped him make bold moves as regards his music.
In 2008, Vybz Kartel signed an endorsement deal through Corey Todd for Vybz Rum. The harmony between Corey Todd and Vybz Kartel became stronger and as a result, they signed many endorsement deals together. Some of which included Deggerin Condom and Street Vybz Rum. After some time, the relationship between the two broke up. It was rumored that the disagreement was a result of the misunderstanding between Vybz Kartel and Corey Todd over the Street Vybz Rum deal. They later ended their feud and began doing business together in 2012 while being behind prison bars.
In September 2011, after the release of several hit tracks Vybz Kartel, he was arrested. The arrest was a result of cannabis possession by the singer. After being arrested for hard drug possession, he was later charged to court for murder. Along with that, he was also charged with firearm possession and conspiracy. While in prison, he wrote a book which was co-written by Micheal Dawson. The book was eventually published even when he was in prison.
In March 2012, Vybz Kartel was granted bail for his murder case. However, he was retained in police custody for a second murder case he was attached to. In March 2014, he was found guilty of being responsible for the death of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams. The case drew attraction from local and international media around the world. It is still regarded as the longest trial in Jamaica’s history to date. The following month it was confirmed that Vybz Kartel would serve life imprisonment and would only be eligible for parole after serving 35 years.
The sentence didn’t stop Vybz Kartel from doing what he loves. He recorded and released singles from prison bars. The news of his song releases from the prisons aroused the interest of many including the prison officials’ superiors. They often questioned prison officials about how Vybz Kartel was able to record and release music from his prison. However, the prison officials denied granting Vybz Kartel the freedom to carry out such activities. This continued and enabled Vybz Kartel to release one of his best-selling albums in 2016 titled, King of the Dancehall.
In 2020, his parole was reduced to 32 years and 6 months. The 3-man judicial panel that oversaw this claimed that the judge who sentenced Vybz Kartel to jail failed to take account of the time spent by Vybz Kartel in custody when he was undergoing trial. This action then allowed him to be eligible for parole in 2046.
In March 2024, the Vybz Kartel conviction case was collapsed by the UK Privy Council. The UK Privy Council collapsed the case claiming that there were errors during jury. As a result of that action, in July 2024, Vybz Kartel along with 3 others gained freedom after the Jamaican court decided not to retry the case.
YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO READ: Riccardo Calafiori Biography: Age, Wife & Current Team
Vybz Kartel Hometown
Vybz Kartel’s hometown is Portmore, Jamaica.
Vybz Kartel Age
Vybz Kartel is 48 years of age as of 2024. He was born on the 7th of January 1976.
Vybz Kartel Prison
Vybz Kartel was sent to prison over his attachment to the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams. He has also been arrested in the past for Cannabis possession, firearm possession, and conspiracy. However, his foremost and known prison sentence was the imprisonment incurred as a result of his connection with Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams’s murder.
Vybz Kartel Net Worth
Vybz Kartel is estimated to have a net worth of $3 million.
Vybz Kartel Relationship
Vybz Kartel was in a relationship with his longtime girlfriend, Tanesha ‘Shorty’ Johnson before his prison sentence. He had three children with his girlfriend. However, his relationship with other ladies produced four children.
In 2020, it was reported that his 15-year-old son was expecting a child with his 18-year-old girlfriend. The birth of this child would make Vybz Kartel a grandfather for the first time.
Two of his notable sons have continued the musical legacy of Vybz Kartel. The name of these sons is Jaheim, AKA Little Vybz, and Akheel Raheim Palmer, AKA Little Addi. They initially released music as a duo with the stage name, “PG 13”.
Vybz Kartel Health
In 2016, Vybz Kartel was revealed to have Graves Disease and a disturbing heart condition. This was one of the points considered by the jury that allowed Vybz Kartel to gain freedom in July 2024.
Vybz Kartel Awards
Vybz Kartel has been a beneficiary of several awards since the start of his career. Here are notable award recognitions that Vybz Kartel has been a beneficiary of:
• In 2003, Vybz Kartel was awarded with the Stone Love’s 30th Anniversary.
• In 2005, Vybz Kartel was honored with the DJ of the Year 2005 award.
• In 2008, Vybz Kartel was recognized at the Caribbean Urban Music Awards.
• In 2009, Vybz Kartel won 4 awards categories at the EME Awards.
Conclusion
Vybz Kartel is a revolutionary Jamaican artiste. He has been responsible for creating new dancehall sounds that have rocked Jamaican charts and stations. What’s more impressive is that he did make all his achievements behind prison bars. This shows that with consistency and hard work, anything is possible.
