Adidja Azim Palmer (born 7 January 1976),better known as Vybz Kartel, is a Jamaican reggae dancehall recording artist, record producer and entrepreneur. Among his various nicknames, he is referred to as “Worl' Boss"and has been recognized as one of the genre’s most prolific and skilled lyricists credited with further popularizing dancehall.
Kartel’s singles have achieved cultural ubiquity across the Caribbean, including “Romping Shop” (2009), “Dancehall Hero” (2010) and “Summer Time” (2011). Having collaborated with a number of internationally prominent hip hop and R&B artists such as Major Lazer, Rihanna and Jay Z, he has also been credited as an inspiration for the dancehall-infused work of a number of Western artists, including Drake, who has cited Kartel as being one of his “biggest inspirations”.
In 2014, Kartel was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his associate Clive “Lizard” Williams. He will be eligible for parole once he has served a minimum of 35 years in prison. Despite being imprisoned, Kartel continues to release new music prolifically, releasing over 50 new songs in 2016 alone.