Belizean political leader and notable Hip Hop figure , The Honourable, Dr. Moses “Shyne” Barrow has identified Jamaica as a regional blueprint for how culture and governance can work together to build sustainable industry.

Delivering a keynote address entitled, ‘From Stage to State’ at the Island Music Conference (IMC) in Kingston, Jamaica last week, Barrow urged Caribbean governments to move beyond symbolic support of the arts and toward structured public–private partnerships.

“These conferences are so very important,” he told delegates, describing information exchange as critical in an evolving global music economy. Responding to a question from Overtime Media about cultural influence as an economic engine, Barrow pointed to Jamaica’s global footprint. “The work of great musicians such as Bob Marley and Shabba Ranks, as well as the development of Reggae and Dancehall music, has done more for the Jamaican tourism product than anything else,” he said.

According to Barrow, Jamaica exemplifies how successive political administrations, despite partisan rivalry, maintained consistent implementation policies that enabled private-sector investment in the music industry. “They were fighting each other, but giving the same implementation,” he noted, crediting that alignment for helping Jamaican music achieve unmatched global recognition.“There is no one in the world who does not know about Jamaica — its music, its food and its culture,” he noted.

Barrow framed his own political evolution as rooted in Hip Hop’s entrepreneurial DNA. Calling his transition from performer to legislator “quintessential Hip-Hop,” he cited moguls who expanded beyond music into business and influence, arguing that creative thinkers belong in positions of power. “We belong in parliament. We belong in the cabinet. We belong in the Prime Minister’s office and in the President’s office,” he said. He also addressed emerging challenges facing the creative sector, particularly artificial intelligence and intellectual property protection.“We need to protect our rights. We need to protect our work and that can only be legislated,” Barrow warned. “If we don’t get involved in the legislative process, we’re going to wake up one day and find that our rights are gone.”

Calling the human mind “the greatest thing on planet Earth,” he cautioned against over-reliance on technology, stressing that creatives must remain central to innovation. Reflecting candidly on his past, including a decade of incarceration following a 1999 nightclub shooting, Barrow described his return to Belize as a shift toward service. “By then, my dreams had already come true,” he said. “But when I looked around my country, I saw people still struggling. So I chose a life of service.”

Barrow also revealed plans to return to the stage with a world tour marking the 25th anniversary of his debut album, while reaffirming his commitment to public service. Closing his address, he challenged Caribbean leaders to diversify the profiles of those shaping legislation.“The Caribbean’s creative class has already shaped global culture,” he said. “Now we must shape policy.”

– NIGEL TELESFORD / Overtime Media.

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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.