Jamaican dancehall artiste, Vybz Kartel has reunited with his female counterpart in music, Shenseea delivering a brand-new single called, “Panic.” The track was produced by TJ Records and Vybz Kartel Muzik and serves as the first official single from Kartel’s highly anticipated upcoming studio album, God & Time, carded for release later this year.

“Panic” arrives exactly 10 years after their first and only collaboration, Shenseea’s breakout 2016 anthem “Loodi.” That record introduced Shenseea to the world under Kartel’s co-sign and helped launch her into international stardom. Now, a decade later, the student and the teacher reunite as two fully realized Jamaican icons at the top of their global influence. The result is a provocative, easy-breezy summer anthem – a poppy, bounce-heavy, dancehall rhythm built for clubs, TikTok timelines, and late-night speakers, worldwide. The chemistry is effortless, the energy magnetic, and the moment symbolic for the culture.

“We made a statement with ‘Loodi’ a decade ago, one that helped put Shenseea on the map. ‘Panic’ is another one for the history books. This is for the fans who’ve been there from day one and for the new generation running with the sound now. It’s God & Time — everything aligning when it’s supposed to,” said Kartel.

The accompanying video, shot in Miami and directed by Shane Creative delivers pure dancehall vibes – towering speaker boxes, bold Caribbean color, batty riders, nonstop waistlines, and steamy island heat. It’s vibrant, unapologetic, and rooted in authentic dancehall tradition, all while capturing the globally polished vibe both artistes now command.

The upcoming album release signals another powerful chapter in Vybz Kartel’s historic return to the spotlight, following his release in 2024. Since being freed on July 31, 2024 after serving 13 years incarcerated for a conviction that was overturned, Vybz Kartel has reasserted his dominance as one of the most important figures in modern Caribbean music. In 2025 he delivered the highest-grossing dancehall tour of the year, selling out more than 25 arena and stadium shows across three continents and averaging over 20,000 fans per night, including a landmark 30,000-capacity show at Jamaica’s National Stadium and multi-night runs at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, London’s O2 Arena, and Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, marking his return to U.S. and European stages for the first time in over two decades. He earned his second consecutive GRAMMY® nomination for Best Reggae Album, secured a Top 5 Billboard Rhythmic Airplay hit alongside Travis Scott and Tyla, and expanded his cultural footprint with over 2 billion YouTube views, millions of monthly Spotify listeners, major features in The New York Times, GQ, Rolling Stone, and Billboard, and fashion collaborations with Nike x NOCTA and Guapi. While battling Graves’ disease during his incarceration, Kartel emerges renewed, sharper in perspective, humbled by experience, and creatively revitalized, says a media release. God &Time reflects that evolution, with “Panic” serving as the opening statement of a new era from an artiste whose pen, presence and global impact remain in tact.

Even as he celebrates his 12th Road March title win, Machel Montano’s words uttered earlier in the season, has left a tremendous mark on those who were lucky enough to hear him speak. At the premiere of his documentary, ‘Like Ah Boss,’ on February 10th, Machel called on the government of Trinidad and Tobago, and corporate bodies operating in the country, to invest in the country’s youth, from an earlier age.

“Let’s not wait that long to know who we are,” urged Montano, in response to Ebuzztt’s question as to what he would say to his 9-year-old self. Machel said while he was able to go back to school to study Carnival Studies at the age of 50, his hope was that children who are in touch with who they are, even at the age of 9, would be given the opportunity to develop their skillsets and talents, from an earlier age. “Let them learn the history of where Chutney music come from and where Calypso come from and if we teach that you will see how deep this is and then, let’s teach that along with classical music training and vocal training and piano playing and reading music and writing music. Let’s make these youths not have to struggle how I had to struggle,” he pleaded.

Referring to young Angelo Gore who appeared on stage with him at Monday Madness, one night prior, Machel said, “This little boy is singing in key. This little boy is amazing and you know nobody have nowhere to go and put him tomorrow to make him 10X. We not doing that in this country. Like we don’t care!” he expressed.

Machel said in Trinidad and Tobago there are people across society who are so incredibly talented, however with no proper programs to their benefit, the talent is wasted. “We have people making roti, who playing pan. We have people driving taxi and playing pan. How they remembering all ‘dem’ notes for eight minutes?” he questioned.

The artiste said while there is a lot of talent in the country that is not recognized and often bypassed, he is no longer going to be waiting for government or private corporations to recognize that. “I am going to use my money and other people money – my friends money, Junior Sammy and I will build it,” he said, to some laughter. He was not kidding though. The artiste and his Monk team have already begun working. “We have SoundBridge,” said Che Kothari- Montano’s manager. “We have a SoundBridge programme now where we did interviews and we built a whole system that will live online that will teach youths about Marketing, Producing, Songwriting, Performing – every single thing, all the secrets; and we will be there to hold their hand,” said Machel.

Kothari said SoudBridge will break down Machel’s journey in an educational way. “Elizabeth has an incredible book and then there’s the documentary and the next phase is this SoundBridge programme which is essentially Machel’s journey but in an educational way – workshops, tutorials, interviews with collaborators, management books. It’s going to break down Machel’s journey and his team, and the behind the scenes of how to make it happen,” said Che. He said the programme would be online but there would also be physical workshops as they tour everywhere they go.

WHAT WOULD MACHEL SAY TO HIS 9 YEAR OLD SELF.

“I know the education that was coming to me, was not serving me – not everybody have to be a doctor or a lawyer or a politician or some kinda office worker. In Trinidad we think big job is administration- yuh in de bank, yuh is ah executive. We look down on pan tuners, we look down on calypsonians and we think they are just jesters. We are not. This is creativity. Creation is the highest form of human existence,” said the entertainer.

Machel says youths today should educate themselves on the things that they like. “Whatever it is, hone a skill. I drop out of school. My mother start to cry. My father say, “ok.” I went and find somewhere to become a Sound Engineer. Learnt production, learnt recording, learnt troubleshooting, learnt engineering. That is why I always a step ahead of them. I know things. I went to school and I have some things under my bel,” said Montano.

Machel says he would have liked to have been better vocally trained at a higher level, in Trinidad and Tobago. “I would’ve liked to have been learning my thing, in a highly professional environment and I think that’s what is missing. I often bawl out and say we need a school for the Arts that looks like QR – big concrete, big windows, big stained glass windows and it have the best- Boogsie and Carl Jacobs and David Rudder working – all de men who know things, working alongside people from Julliard and Berkley – we mix it up nah, so we know making sure we getting people who understand the highest of heights.”

On Ash Wednesday, it was announced that Machel Montano had sealed the deal, once again, securing a Road March title in his country. It was his 12th title which has secured his place in history, having surpassed Aldwyn ‘Lord Kitchener’ Roberts for the most Road March titles in T&T.