‘Surreal’ Gold Up happy to produce six tracks on Kartel’s album

Production duo Raphael 'Raph' Vivet and Zack ‘Zack Ariyah’ Fostaty are known collectively as Gold Up, an entity that played a major role in the production of Dancehall King Vybz Kartel's just-released album, God & Time. 

Six of the 14 tracks were produced by Gold Up, and they told THE WEEKEND STAR that, for them, the project coming together like this has been "surreal". Giving Kartel and his manager, Linton ‘TJ’ White, props for “believing in them”, Gold Up shared that they met TJ in Jamaica years ago and developed a good relationship, based solely on mutual respect. However, in 2025, they "reconnected properly” and started speaking more seriously about working together.

They noted that, at the start of the God & Time project, TJ shared "a very clear direction and vision for the album", with the focus on a specific sound and energy, rather than the number of songs that Gold Up would be asked to produce.

"We sent him a batch of riddims based on the direction he was envisioning for the project. From there, things started to develop naturally. It became clear that there was a strong creative alignment and, step by step, the project began to take shape. TJ could see the consistency and seriousness in our approach and, step by step, the collaboration expanded," Vivet told THE WEEKEND STAR.

"From there, things evolved organically, and we eventually ended up contributing six tracks to the project, including collaborations featuring Wizkid, Skillibeng, and Spice. It still feels surreal to see it come together that way," he continued.

Speaking about the creativity that ultimately guides the process when working with an artiste of the calibre of Vybz Kartel, Gold Up stated that working at that level requires patience, precision and collaboration.

"All of the direct creative direction with Vybz Kartel was handled by TJ, who played a central role in shaping the vision and guiding the overall direction of the album. Between us and TJ, there was a constant exchange throughout the process ... there was a lot of back and forth, adjustments, and reworking until everything felt right. Nothing is rushed — every element has to serve the vision."

Vivet and Fostaty created Gold Up in 2018, and the duo have experienced what they call “many important milestones and special moments” dating back to their very first release with Shenseea, to working with artistes who they grew up listening to, such as Bounty Killer, Busy Signal, Elephant Man, and Mr Vegas.

“We’ve also had viral and impactful records like Barrel with Badda General, ZJ Liquid, Stylo G, and Shatta Wale, as well as Bird with Laa Lee, which really connected with audiences worldwide. So, yes, we would definitely say [that] being part of Vybz Kartel’s album is a significant milestone in our career. More than anything, it’s motivation for us to keep pushing forward and continue building on everything we’ve achieved so far,” Gold Up stated. 

The album was released on June 5 via TJ Records and Vybz Kartel Muzik.