When summertime calls, the King of Dancehall answers.
On Wednesday (May 20), Billboard can exclusively reveal that Jamaican dancehall icon Vybz Kartel will unleash his new God & Time album on June 5 via TJ Records and Vybz Kartel Muzik, with Zojack Worldwide handling distribution. Pre-order is available now, alongside the release of the album’s faith-rooted title track and accompanying music video.
Featuring several high-profile guest stars — including Latin Grammy-winning reggaetonero Farruko, Grammy-nominated pop-dancehall princess Shenseea and contemporary Jamaican music star Skillibeng — God & Time follows two consecutive Grammy-nominated projects from the King of Dancehall. Both 2024’s Party With Me, which arrived around the time of his release from prison, and 2025’s Heart & Soul earned nods for best reggae album, marking Kartel’s first nominations at the ceremony.
“I named the album God & Time because it’s a slang that has been popular in Jamaica since we was children,” Kartel tells 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.”
For God & Time, Kartel re-teamed with the same creatives behind 2015’s Viking (Vybz Is King) and 2016’s King of the Dancehall, the latter of which spawned “Fever,” a defining song for 2010s dancehall. Introduced by the Shenseea-assisted lead single “Panic,” God & Time is set to feature Kartel’s signature blend of self-reflection, waist-wining riddims and genre-bending crossover records. “You can expect Vybz Kartel energy; the flow will be different, and the lyrics will be amazing,” he says, also teasing a few more surprise collaborations on the album.
Notably, God & Time will also survey the depths of Kartel’s psyche and the full range of his emotions following his triumphant release from prison in 2024. On Aug. 6, 2024, Kartel regained his freedom after the Court of Appeal unanimously ruled that he and his co-accused — Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones and Andre St. John — would not face a new trial for the 2011 murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams. Although he was originally sentenced to 35 years in prison after a historic 64-day trial back in 2014, Kartel (and his co-accused) have always denied their involvement in Williams’ death.
Since his release, Kartel has seized his second chance at life beyond bars, mounting a massive Freedom Street concert in Kingston to bring in 2025, popping out at Drake’s Wireless Festival takeover that summer and playing his own Worl’ Boss Tour in venues across the U.K., Europe and the United States. Earlier this month, he appeared on Chris Brown’s “F—k and Party,” a cut from the R&B superstar’s Brown LP, which debuted at No. 7 on the May 23-dated Billboard 200 ranking.
Watch the “God & Time” music video below.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.billboard.com ’
