Vybz Kartel, Shenseea Reunite On ‘Panic,’ 10 Years After Their First Collab

Dancehall stars Vybz Kartel and Shenseea have reunited on Panic, their second collaboration and their first together since 2016’s Loodi.

The new single is being positioned as the first release from Kartel’s upcoming album God & Time , due later this year. The release also comes with a much bigger production roster than their first link-up, with the credits showing Fever hitmaker Linton “TJ” White as producer and several Jamaican composers behind the song, including Ricardo “Redboom Supamix” Reid, Christopher Birch, and Jordan “Chimney” McClure.

A music video, shot in Miami and directed by Shane Creative, was released alongside the single. Watch it above.

Birch told DancehallMag that he was brought in late, after the track was already finished.

“TJ linked me and asked me to put the magic on it, so I played the keyboards. I sent the files to TJ and I believe that Jordan did the mix, it’s a really great production,” he said. “At the time TJ linked me, the song was actually finished, but TJ felt it needed something more and he contacted me, and I put the Birchill flavour on it,” added Birch, who has produced hits such as Konshens’ Bruk Off Yuh Back and Shaggy’s Hey Sexy Lady.

Kartel, in a statement shared with the release, described Panic as a sequel of sorts to the record that helped introduce Shenseea to a wider audience.

“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,” he said. “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.”

Loodi first debuted in October 2016 as Shenseea featuring Vybz Kartel, who was at the time serving a life sentence in prison. The song became the center of a public dispute after Kartel released what was described as the “original” version in 2017 and said it was not meant to be a collaboration. That triggered accusations that Shenseea had “stolen” the song, including a 2020 social media post Kartel later deleted.

That claim was disputed at the time by producer Elvis Redwood of So Unique Records, who said voicing Shenseea on the track was his decision and not something that required Kartel’s approval. Shenseea’s manager Romeich Major also backed that account, saying the producer approached him for a female artist and denying that Shenseea’s camp ever claimed ownership of Kartel’s original song.

Even with that dispute, Shenseea later publicly credited Kartel as a major influence on her writing. In a 2022 Apple Music Up Next interview, she called him one of her biggest inspirations and said she often challenges herself by thinking about what Kartel would write on a track.

Kartel was freed in July 2024, after serving 13 years on a conviction that was overturned. More details on his God & Time album are expected in the coming months.