vibes cartel is said to be responsible for much of the modern look and sound of dancehall music
he achieved great success on the charts in his homeland created a loyal fan base
and also weathered the storm dealing with some major controversial moments even though he had
a difficult time breaking into markets outside of the caribbean his influence still managed
to capture the attention of many international stars he's since had the opportunity to work with
such as busta rhymes rihanna and missy elliott everything would come to a grinding hold however
when he found himself arrested charged and eventually convicted of a heinous crime
he'd paid dearly for with multiple decades of his life behind bars jamaican dancehall recording
artist songwriter and producer adija palmer better known as vibes cartel was born in the capital city
of kingston and raised in portmore he grew up with five other siblings in a household not unlike many
caribbean households that emphasized excellence in education adija who was a very intelligent
boy and excelled in many subjects still chose to put his time and energy into the pursuit of his
artistic passions he was always surrounded by his uncles all of which were dj's and
he became fascinated just from watching them work he knew at a very young age music was his calling
adij's refusal to take school seriously eventually caught up with him and he was unceremoniously
expelled from his high school due to truancy eventually he did graduate at another institution
upon the insistence of his father with school out of the way adi bantam the name he originally
used and an homage to fellow jamaican dancehall artist bujubantan was now free and clear to kick
off his professional music career at the age of 17 he released his first solo track called
love fat woman a few years later he decided to join forces with two other artists and form the
group vibes cartel it's not clear what happened but the group dissolved fairly quickly leaving
adija on his own again he decided to adopt the group name made a slight spelling change
and went from addie banton to vibes cartel another homeland star bounty killer would soon play a
very important role in vibes career vibes would become bounty's protege joining his collective
called the alliance after the latter witnessed the former doing his thing on stage by 2003 vibes
had released his debut album that october and risen significantly through the ranks to become
the second highest selling alliance member next to elephant man that same year an onstage altercation
between vibes and another popular dancehall artist occurred a pre-planned clash at annual reggae and
dance hall festival sting between bounty and ninja man suddenly took an unexpected turn
when vibes all of a sudden popped up on stage rumor has it that bounty got cold feet
and decided to send vibes in his place within a matter of seconds vibes crew members as well
as himself began throwing punches and assaulted ninja man vibes quickly apologized to his fellow
dancehall contemporary and festival organizers for the brawl a few days after the incident they
both appeared before the press to announce a settlement of their differences and to end any
animosity later vibes would have another fallout this time with bounty what happened you may ask
well apparently bounty didn't appreciate the support vibes through bounty's nemesis beanie
man's way by not only attending his wedding but bringing bounty's ex-girlfriend as his date
vibes and beanie would also have a fallout of their own when according to beanie vibes reached a
level of success and no longer needed his support vibes personal life would take a positive turn in
2006 when he took a trip down the aisle with new york bank supervisor stacy anne alicia elliott
in a private ceremony in kingston the marriage however wouldn't last long
ending just two years later the reason can be found in papers filed with the jamaican supreme
court where vibes alleges that his wife had given birth to a son who was fathered by another man
it was an easy conclusion to come to since vibes claim that he never even lived with his wife
since the wedding and his wife never visited him in jamaica that would have been the only way for
them to be together since his u.s visa had been revoked vibes definitely didn't need to claim any
more children than absolutely necessary since he would go on to have seven in total after leaving
the alliance vibes formed an alliance of his own called the portmore empire consisting of dancehall
djs and singers from his old neighborhood that he also signed to his new record label
a public feud between vives and his former alliance collaborator movado started towards the
end of 2006. numerous diss tracks were traded back and forth between the artists a press conference
was held several months later to put an end to the hostility but things quickly flared
up again culminating in a lyrical clash between the two at sting 2008 as the new year stepped in
vibes and movado's feud would take an ominous turn not only was the rivalry dominating jamaican media
but it also spilled over into the streets the two artists developed cliques of young people
referred to as gaza for vibe supporters signifying the nickname given to his hometown
and gully representing people or things that come from the gutter or an impoverished area
for movado's allies the gaza gully war as it was often referred to resulted in many acts of
street violence in december of that year after much bloodshed vibes and mobato met with the
jamaican prime minister in an attempt to end the feud once and for all vibe's success in music
also led him to pursue other business ventures namely a line of alcohol as well as condoms
despite his massive popularity in jamaica crossover success has always eluded vibes that is
until the track rompance shop dropped the single off his pondy gaza 2.0 album released in february
2010 and featuring female jamaican dancehall artist spice became his first to impact us radio
the song's accomplishments however didn't come without controversy
it became banned on jamaican airwaves and was at risk of potential copyright accusations
for co-opting the beat from neo's hit miss independent as well as a chorus that's reminiscent
of 50 cent and olivia's candy shop another track that gained much international success
was clarks a widely popular shoe brand that holds a special place in jamaican's hearts in 2011 fives
released his own shoe line called addies as well as cake soap a type of soap primarily used for
clothes but also though less commonly used for skin care to treat various conditions such as acne
his brand however was intended for the purpose of skin lightening or bleaching vibes has come
under major scrutiny and judgment over his admittance of the use of cake soap
to lighten his own skin he summed up the reason why in an interview with on stage tv in jamaican
culture you have a lot of people who bleach which is a large minority i'm if i might say so myself
yeah you know i mean and vibes cartel is a representation of every single group of
people within the sphere of dance our music vibes cartel is a talk so represent for the gangsters
while scattered is an intellect so represent for the intelligent people vibes cartel see a
lot of people in the society skin bleaching and white scar tell us decide that hey people doing
it and vibes cartel is is for the people is by the people and i'm from the people so why not
more controversy followed vibes into the following year when the national communications network of
guyana banned his music from the airwaves the first such action against a specific artist the
company's spokesman said his music contained quote obscene lyrics end quote and brought quote nothing
positive end quote to the entertainment industry throughout vice's career he has always brushed off
the title of role model and rejected the notion that as an artist it's his responsibility to
set a positive example for younger generations world's cartel has no social responsibility but
but to deliver good quality music because i'm an entertainer yeah well and i'm not a social
leader nor a political leader nor a religious leader while scatter is entertainer i get paid
to entertain and all of this is entertainment he's also quick to point out that it's easy for him to
feel absolved from any social responsibility since his songs are so popular and it's clear
that the subject matter is what people want to hear in september 2011 vives was arrested by
police for marijuana possession the issue seemed quite minor and was something he should easily be
able to move on from it wasn't until later when vibes would find himself in the fight of his life
when he was also charged with the murder of jamaican businessman barrington burton
conspiracy to commit murder and illegal possession of a firearm while locked up he published his book
the voice of the jamaican ghetto incarcerated but not silenced in 2012. though vibes was granted
bail for the burton murder in march he remained in prison in connection with a second murder
of clive lizard williams he was charged along with two others including vanessa gaza slim sadler
with perverting the course of justice after she allegedly claimed that clive had robbed her in
order to mislead the police into believing that he was still alive in july a jury found vibes
not guilty of the charge of murder of barrington burton however he remained in custody pending the
second murder case the trial that went on for 65 days the longest in history of kingston's criminal
courts ultimately ended with a guilty verdict one of the most damning pieces of evidence was a text
message from vibe's cell phone claiming that the body was chopped up so thoroughly that it would
never be found it wasn't vibes insist that the message was falsified the following month he was
sentenced to life imprisonment three other men were also convicted in connection to the crime
and also received life sentences vibes would be eligible for parole after serving 35 years while
incarcerated vibes has continued to consistently release new music even though jamaican prison
officials deny allowing him recording privileges and vibes himself has refused to state the exact
source of the recordings a logical explanation which vibes voiced himself is that the material
used to produce his songs were from unused archives he'd made before his sentencing
that though is highly unlikely since the lyrical content includes mention of current events while
there are radio stations with recording facilities at both of the island's main correctional centers
the only inmates allowed to use them are the ones that are a part of the rehabilitation through
music program which vibes is not since the program reportedly requires inmates to show remorse for
their crimes and he has maintained his innocence all through his trial as well as a failed appeal
he did make an amusing comment about the matter to billboard magazine in 2020 saying many people
say yes vibes is recording in prison but where's the proof but this is jamaica where you don't need
proof to imprison someone for the record i'm not authorized to answer such above pay grade
questions so i'll say a tree fell in the forest and no one was there to hear it in 2016 while in
prison vives released his most internationally successful album king of the dancehall
which peaked at number two on the u.s billboard reggae charts the album includes the single fever
which taught various local music charts and became his most successful on streaming websites exactly
six years later in april 2020 a three-member panel of judges in the jamaican court of appeal
reaffirmed vibes conviction one small victory was the reduction of his parole eligibility to 32
years and six months due to the judge's failure to consider time the singer had spent in jail
while awaiting trial vibes will now be eligible for parole in 2046. no matter the accusations
or conviction vibe still commands great respect and support from his fans all over the country
and beyond in august 2021 he surprised everyone when he granted an exclusive audio interview
to fox 5 news in new york lisa evers who conducted the jailhouse discussion claimed that she'd been
wanting to interview him for years to no avail then one night the phone rang and it was vibes
ready and willing to set the record straight since the interview an investigation was launched
to determine how he was able to contact the american tv news station cell phones
are defined as contraband in prisons in jamaica but despite best efforts by the authorities the
devices are still accessible to prisoners vibes had already been reprimanded previously after
phones were found in his possession when asked if he really believed that he would be set free soon
vibes responded yes of course i believe that and to be totally honest the system really wanted me
thrown away it was never about me being charged for a murder it was about getting rid of vibes
cartel not a dj palmer of a person vibes has no idea how many songs he's written while locked up
but he estimates the number to be in the thousands he's not concerned about whether they'll all get
released he just wants to keep at it because he says it makes him better his answer to the
question of how he's able to keep his head up was simple i have to because they want to destroy me
and if you know lisa that somebody wants to destroy you that's where they're going to
get their pleasure from now you have to be on top of your game you have to consistently be
proving them wrong so i think the haters are as much an influence to me in prison
as the fans are thanks for watching please like share and comment also don't forget to subscribe
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