SALT, Big Wave More Fire, and Gulfstream Studios announce the launch of Worl Boss: The Vybz Kartel Story, an eight-part podcast series exploring the life, career, and influence of dancehall icon Vybz Kartel. Created by Tahir Garcia and Sam Griesemer and executive produced by Nick Panama and Max Musina, the audio series thoroughly examines the pivotal and controversial figure in Jamaican dancehall who is widely considered to be the most influential musician from the country since Bob Marley.

The podcast explores Kartel’s journey from Kingston to global dancehall fame, covering his musical impact, murder trial, and recent release with precision and depth. SALT, recognized for its award-winning production on Dave Chappelle’s The Midnight Miracle, delivers their most ambitious project to date, with each episode featuring narration from Tahir Garcia alongside immersive sound design, scoring, and recordings captured entirely on location in Jamaica. The series will be released this Fall in the lead-up to Kartel’s highly anticipated Freedom Street concert which is expected to be the largest Jamaican concert of all time.

Co-creator and narrator, Tahir Garcia comments, “Vybz Kartel’s story is one of the most fascinating in music history. He has remained the most significant artist in our country (Jamaica) even while spending thirteen years behind bars. Our goal has been to bring the details of his saga to a worldwide audience. Through this level of project, we are presenting modern Jamaican culture in a way most of the world has never experienced.”

Featuring interviews exclusively with important figures in Jamaican culture who possess an intimate knowledge of the island and its culture, listeners will get an in-depth and nuanced account from the insiders who were there and from academics who can put it all into perspective. Among them are Kartel’s collaborators, friends, rivals, and some of dancehall’s premiere names such as the first female member of Kartel’s Portmore Empire crew, Lisa Hyper; the former DJ and for both Kartel and Popcaan, Creep Chromatic, who remains one of the most in-demand dancehall selectors in the world; and musician Wayne Marshall, known for his work with Sean Paul, Beenie Man, and Elephant Man. These figureheads are joined by Winford Williams, the host of the longest-running dancehall interview series On Stage TV and Milk, the co-host of Kartel’s reality show Teacha’s Pet alongside the show’s director Jay Will. These recountings, paired with cultural analysis from essayist Carolyn Cooper and acclaimed author Professor Donna Hope, provide unique insights into Kartel’s career and influence as well as his impact on contemporary Jamaican culture.

Gulfstream Studios’ Max Musina states, “We are thrilled to join forces and work alongside Tahir Garcia and Sam Griesemer of BWMF, and Nick Panama and all the incredible talent on SALT’s team, to bring Vybz Kartel’s story to audiences in both audio and video formats. Vybz Kartel’s story is truly larger than life in every way, full of injustice, adversity, wrongful murder convictions, theft of freedom, redemption, perseverance, and triumph; Kartel has gone from artist and entertainer to social and cultural icon, inspiring millions every step of the way.” Musina continues, “A feature film and docu-series on Kartel are also currently in development with these same talented teams. We believe discovering Kartel’s story will be as entertaining, impactful, and inspiring for everyone who gets a chance to watch and listen, as it has been for us working on these projects.”