Adidja Azim Palmer was born on 7th January 1976, in Kingston Jamaica. Known as Vybz Kartel he is a reggae and dance-hall artist and also a businessman.
How rich is Vybz Kartel? Sources estimate that his current net worth is over $1 million, accumulated from both his varied musical involvement, including songwriting, and his other business interests.
It was at tutorial technical school where Vybz Kartel completed his education, and it was while pursuing his studies that he became attracted to music, and had wide exposure to different types because of two uncles who were aspiring musicians. He was only 11 when he first worked as a DJ, and also frequented talent shows. He even wrote lyrics for his own songs and practiced music on local sound systems Electric Force and Soul Signal.
Vybz Kartel Net Worth $1 Million
It was in 1993 when Kartel started his professional career and recorded his first song, “Love Fat Women”, after which he became a part of the three-person group “Vybez Kartel”. While working with this group, he wrote 30 songs that included the famous “Gal Clown”. Kartel became more famous in 2003 after he delivered a string of hit songs in Jamaica. He produced major single hits such as “Poor People Land”, “Summertime”, “Clarks”, “Like Christmas”, “Ramping Shop”, “Pon De Floor” and “Dancehall Hero”, which sold widely particularly in 2003, and released two more albums in the same year for the noted UK label Greensleeves.
Vybz Kartel was nominated for several awards that include VIBE, Source and UK MOBO awards. His UK MOBO award nomination in 2004 was withdrawn due to controversy related to homophobic content.
Towards the end of 2006, Vybz Kartel had a public feud with his former collaborator Mavado. It was in 2007 that both of them announced an end to all the differences, and even apologized to their fans. However, in 2008, tensions between both of them flared again and it lead to street violence among Jamaican city youth. Fans loyal to each artist took on to streets and physical war happened. It was in 2009, when Jamaican Government intervened and conducted a meeting between Kartel and Movado. Finally, the so-called ‘range war’ ended with an agreement that both of them would not make war songs.
In relation to other business, Kartel started his own liquor line in 2008 with the brand name “Street Vybz Rum”, and with Corey Todd his business partner. During the same year, both of them launched their condom line by the name of “Daggering Condoms”. The liquor business was stopped in 2011 due to disagreements with Corey Todd but it resumed in 2012 after all the differences were apparently settled.
Kartel then released his own shoe line in 2011, and named it “Addi’s”. His shoe business helped him earn a considerable amount of money.
However, apart from the aforementioned differences, during his career, Vybz Kartel has been involved in several controversies. In 2011 he was arrested for marijuana possession, but more significantly he was charged with two murders in 2012, and although discharged in relation to one, was found guilty of the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams, and is currently serving a life sentence; he will be eligible for parole after serving 35 long years in jail.
In the other part of his less-than-private personal life, Vybz Kartel was married to Stacey Elliot(2006-08), and is now apparently still in a partnership with Tanesha Johnson, with whom he has three children.
