Vybz Kartel has released Viking (Vybz Is King): 10th Year Anniversary on Friday, January 31, 2025, through Adidjahiem Records and TJ Records — a special edition of his 2015 album that pairs four of the original tracks with seven new songs, the first he has recorded since his release from prison last July, according to the press release carried by Reggaeville.
Eight of the eleven tracks — the seven new songs plus “Dancehall Cyah Stall” — are gathered on the anniversary edition’s page in the JamaicansMusic library: press Play all above, open the album page, or jump to the player below. The three other carry-overs live on the original Viking album page.
The timing is deliberate: the album lands on the eve of the 67th Grammy Awards, where Kartel is a first-time nominee for Best Reggae Album with last May’s Party With Me EP, and weeks after his homecoming concert in Kingston. “This album is special because we are celebrating many milestones,” Kartel said. “We are recognizing the impact of the Viking album 10 years later, and then my ability to create new music for the first time since I have been out. Plus it’s with my day one producer TJ Records and engineers Ricard ‘RedBoom’ Reid and Dominic ‘Troublemekka’ McDonald. It’s a full circle moment, and like I said on the first track God Is The Greatest.”
Old and new
From the 2015 record come “Gon’ Get Better” — later sampled by Fifth Harmony — “Enchanting,” “Unstoppable” and “Dancehall,” retitled “Dancehall Cyah Stall.” The new material runs from the opener “God Is the Greatest” through “It A Tape,” “Polite,” “Dreams Are Made Of,” “Str8 Vybz” — named for his new rum brand — “Porn Flick” with Ishawna, the album’s only guest, and the closing “#AmOut.” “All the new songs on the album were recorded since his release from prison, so it was nice to reunite all together, this time in the studio, with him on the other side,” said TJ of TJ Records. “Vybz always delivers.”
Since July Kartel has also put out the singles “Comet,” “White Rum” and “Cloudy,” the compilation First Week Out and Party With Me.
Tracklist
New songs are marked with an asterisk. Titles link to the song pages in our library.
- God Is the Greatest *
- It A Tape *
- Polite *
- Dreams Are Made Of *
- Str8 Vybz *
- Porn Flick (feat. Ishawna) *
- Gon’ Get Better
- Enchanting
- Dancehall Cyah Stall
- Unstoppable
- #AmOut *
Update, February 11: charts
The album debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes reggae albums chart on release day, music marketer Sean “Contractor” Edwards told the Gleaner — “strategic thinking again,” he said of dropping it on the heels of the Grammys — and enters Billboard’s Reggae Albums chart at No. 10 on the chart dated February 15, Kartel’s tenth appearance there, DancehallMag reports. The original Viking spent six weeks on that chart in 2015, peaking at No. 3.
Listen and dig deeper
- Play the anniversary edition on its album page — official audio and music videos from VybzKartelVEVO, with the “God Is the Greatest” and “Dreams Are Made Of” videos as alternates. “Gon’ Get Better,” “Enchanting” and “Unstoppable” remain on the 2015 Viking page.
- Browse the Vybz Kartel artist profile and Ishawna in the JamaicansMusic library.
- Related: Kartel walks free after 13 years (July 2024). From our archive: the Voice of the Jamaican Ghetto stream (2013).
Sources: Reggaeville — “Vybz Kartel – 10th Year Anniversary Album Release with 7 New Tracks” (press release, Jan 30, 2025); DancehallMag — “Vybz Kartel Earns 10th Entry On The Billboard Reggae Albums Chart” (Dani Mallick, Feb 11, 2025); Jamaica Gleaner — “‘Bob Marley’s legacy continues’ Grange says of Grammy win” (Feb 3, 2025).
Editor’s note: This story is part of an archive backfill covering Jamaican music news from 2022 to 2026. It is dated to the events it reports.