Vybz Kartel has added another distinction to his extensive Billboard history, becoming the only dancehall artist to debut three new projects on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart over the last two years.
The Jamaican dancehall star accomplished the feat with First Week Out, Viking: 10 Year Anniversary, and God & Time, giving him three separate chart debuts between August 2024 and June 2026.
First Week Out debuted and peaked at No. 8 on the Reggae Albums chart dated August 17, 2024. The project arrived shortly after Kartel’s release from prison and marked his return to the Billboard reggae ranking.
He followed that achievement with Viking: 10 Year Anniversary, which debuted at No. 10 on the chart dated February 15, 2025. The anniversary project revisited material associated with his 2015 release Viking (Vybz Is King), which had reached No. 3 on the chart a decade earlier.
Kartel extended the run in 2026 when God & Time debuted at No. 6 on the June 20 chart. It became the highest-charting of his three projects during the two-year period.
The three releases add to a Billboard Reggae Albums chart history stretching back more than a decade.
According to Billboard chart history, Kartel has registered 12 entries on the Reggae Albums chart, with 10 reaching the Top 10.
His highest-charting album remains King of the Dancehall, which debuted and peaked at No. 2 on July 2, 2016. It also produced his longest run on the ranking, spending 19 weeks on the chart.
Viking (Vybz Is King) reached No. 3 in March 2015, while Of Dons & Divas peaked at No. 6 in July 2020. Other Top 10 entries include Vybz Kartel Roots & Culture: The Voice of the Jamaican Ghetto, Kingston Story, Reggae Love Songs & Other Things, Born Fi Dis (Prelude), First Week Out, Viking: 10 Year Anniversary, and God & Time.
Kartel’s Billboard Reggae Albums chart history, based on the supplied data, includes:
- King of the Dancehall — No. 2, 2016
- Viking (Vybz Is King) — No. 3, 2015
- Of Dons & Divas — No. 6, 2020
- Vybz Kartel Roots & Culture: The Voice of the Jamaican Ghetto — No. 6, 2013
- God & Time — No. 6, 2026
- Kingston Story — No. 7, 2011
- Reggae Love Songs & Other Things — No. 7, 2014
- First Week Out — No. 8, 2024
- Born Fi Dis (Prelude) — No. 9, 2021
- Viking: 10 Year Anniversary — No. 10, 2025
- Kartel Forever: Trilogy — No. 11, 2013
- Kingston Story — No. 12, 2012
Meanwhile, Bob Marley debuted four albums on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart over the last two years.
Marley’s first two debuts during this period came in 2024, with two projects released simultaneously in February to support the biographical film Bob Marley: One Love.
Bob Marley: One Love (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) debuted at No. 9. The 17-track compilation features original and remastered recordings by Bob Marley & The Wailers.
Its companion project, Bob Marley: One Love – Music Inspired by the Film, debuted at No. 10. The album features contemporary artists—including Kacey Musgraves, Wizkid and Leon Bridges—covering Marley classics. It later won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.
In 2025, Marley added a third debut when his 1980 classic Uprising entered the chart at No. 9 for the week ending July 12, following an anniversary reissue.
Then, in September 2026, Roots, Rock, Reggae: Live at the Hammersmith Odeon became his fourth album to debut on the chart during the two-year span, entering at No. 4.
