Worl Boss: The Vybz Kartel Story, an eight-part podcast series from SALT, Big Wave More Fire and Gulfstream Studios, is set to debut on December 16, 2024. 

Created by Tahir Garcia and Sam Griesemer and executive produced by Nick Panama and Max Musina, the audio series will explore the life, career and influence of the dancehall icon. The team behind Dave Chappelle’s The Midnight Miracle is back with this sprawling new series chronicling the life and career of dancehall icon, Vybz Kartel. 

“There’s so many incredible stories that exist within dancehall and reggae music and the culture here in Jamaica, and so many of them don’t get shared with the public. The only time you hear these stories is if you’re lucky,” Garcia, who also narrates the series, tells Billboard. 

The new podcast series is told entirely by Jamaican voices and will exclusively feature interviews with important figures within Kartel’s circle, including the first female member of Kartel’s Portmore Empire crew Lisa Hyper, Kartel’s former DJ Creep Chromatic, and famed musician Wayne Marshall. 

These key players will be joined by Winford Williams, host of On Stage TV, the longest-running dancehall interview series as well as University of the West Indies (UWI) Professor Carolyn Cooper. They will also be joined by author and UWI Professor, Donna Hope as well as Milk and Jay Will, two important collaborators on Teacha’s Pet, Kartel’s reality show. 

Concept behind the podcast 

Explaining the idea behind the podcast, Garcia said, “We took a step back, two or three years ago, and decided that we wanted this space to be able to tell the story properly. Obviously, podcasting has become this huge thing. But one thing that’s missing, especially in Jamaican culture, is this concept of [podcasts] being scripted. There’s so much more that can be brought to it with sound design and actually sitting down and editing interviews to tell the narrative in a way that captures everything and really preserved the essence of [Vybz Kartel’s] story.”

Earlier this summer (July 31), a week before Jamaica’s Independence Day, 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 will not face a new trial for the 2011 murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams.  He was originally sentenced to 35 years in prison after a historic 64-day trial back in 2014.

Known for hits such as Fever and his Spice-assisted Romping Shop, Vybz Kartel’s raunchy music and slick wordplay have soundtracked multiple generations of dancehall listeners, and Garcia promises the new series will be for everyone from first-time listeners to lifelong fans.

“If this is your first introduction [to Vybz Kartel], it’s supposed to be just as impactful as it would be to someone who’s listened to him forever,” Garcia promised. Although there are currently no additional details about the podcast’s distribution, co-producer Panama stressed that the podcast series is just one part of the story they hope to tell.

“The second [part] is a documentary series and feature film that are in development with arguably one of the biggest Jamaican directors, and UTA’s representing the project,” Panama revealed.

Since his release, Kartel has remained outside partying and enjoying his freedom ahead of a massive “Freedom Street” concert at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica on December 31, 2024, his first performance in 13 years. 

Early start to Worl Boss: The Vybz Kartel Story

Production and filming for Worl Boss began before Kartel regained his freedom, but now “there’s a third act to his story”, Panama muses. 

“He wasted no time walking out of prison and getting his entrepreneurial and music endeavours back up and running and continuing to build his mythology,” the co-producer asserted.

From February’s box office-topping Bob Marley: One Love biopic to Worl Boss, Jamaica has remained at the forefront of global popular culture throughout 2024. For his part, Garcia hopes this new podcast series is the beginning of several projects chronicling and preserving Caribbean culture and music history.