Music

Vybz Kartel Returns With New Dancehall Album ‘God & Time’

Fresh off his prison release, the Worl’ Boss returns with a star-packed album, a defiant new mindset, and another bid for dancehall dominance.

Vybz Kartel with New Dancehall Classic, 'God & Time'
Photo by Robert Okine/Getty Images

Vybz Kartel has burst back into the spotlight. On Wednesday, May 20, the self-proclaimed “Worl’ Boss” announced God & Time, a new album arriving June 5 via TJ Records and Vybz Kartel Muzik, and it already sounds like Kartel is aiming for another dancehall takeover.

According to Billboard, the rollout comes with a new video for the project’s title track and a stacked guest list that includes Shenseea, Skillibeng, and Latin Grammy winner Farruko.

Less than a year after walking free following the collapse of the murder case that kept him behind bars for over a decade, Kartel is moving like somebody trying to reclaim every second he lost. Since his 2024 release, he’s already headlined Kingston’s massive Freedom Street concert, touched down at Drake’s Wireless Festival run, launched an international Worl’ Boss Tour, and even jumped onto Chris Brown’s new album.

“I named the album God & Time because it’s a slang that has been popular in Jamaica since we was children,” Kartel told Billboard. “When I was in prison, my lawyer used to always say that to me. I eventually just started believing in myself and applying it to my life.”

That mentality seems baked directly into the album. According to Kartel, fans should still expect the same larger-than-life energy that made him one of dancehall’s most polarizing and influential figures — just sharper.

“The flow will be different, and the lyrics will be amazing,” he said, while teasing additional surprise features still under wraps until the day of release.

The Worl’ Boss never really disappeared in the first place. Even while incarcerated, he kept flooding dancehall with music, releasing dozens of songs and projects from prison while maintaining a near-mythical status across Jamaica and beyond.

Songs like “Fever,” “Clarks,” and “Summer Time” became part of dancehall’s DNA during this time.

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