Despite Shenseea’s impressive five wins, including dancehall album, collaboration, and song of the year, the third annual Caribbean Music Awards showcased a variety of talent. Hosted by Majah Hype at Brooklyn’s King Theatre on August 28, this year’s awards celebrated artists across genres such as reggae, dancehall, soca, R&B, gospel, bouyon, zess-steam, konpa, and more, emphasizing the diverse styles that contribute to Caribbean music’s global influence.
Masicka followed closely with four awards thanks to his collaborations with Shenseea (“Hit & Run”) and Romain Virgo (“Been There Before”). Most artists with at least three nominations left with an award, except for Nailah Blackman, Chronic Law, Kranium, Bunji Garlin, Problem Child, Trinidad Killa, and Jada Kingdom — all of whom went home empty-handed. Notably, last year’s female artist of the year winners repeated their success: Shenseea won in dancehall again, Lila Iké took home the reggae award, and Patrice Roberts secured the soca trophy for the third consecutive year.
Alongside over 40 competitive awards, several Caribbean music legends were recognized for their significant contributions. DJ Khaled and Swizz Beatz presented Bounty Killer with the lifetime achievement award, Mýa honored Sizzla with the humanitarian award, and Buju Banton celebrated Busta Rhymes with the elite icon award. Other special honorees included Austin “Super Blue” Lyons (calypso honors), Kerwin Du Bois (producer honor), Carimi (legacy award), and Shirley Ann Cyril-Mayers (gospel honors).
Here are six of the biggest snubs and surprises from the 2025 Caribbean Music Awards.
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SNUB: Chronic Law
Chronic Law has been a prominent name in dancehall over the past year with hits like “NY Girls” and his ongoing clash with Malie Donn. His clever lyrics and catchy melodies have earned him a loyal fanbase; according to Jamaica Observer, he was the most-streamed artist in Jamaica on YouTube in 2024 with over 163 million views.
It was surprising to see Chronic lose all five of his nominations. He was nominated for dancehall collaboration of the year (“Higher Life,” with Kranium and “St. Thomas Native,” with Popcaan), dancehall song of the year (“Higher Life”), reggae/dancehall video of the year (“Higher Life”), and male dancehall artist of the year.
Given that Shenseea, Masicka, and Di Genius’ “Hit & Run” won every category that “Higher Life” was nominated for, Chronic’s best chance was in male dancehall artist of the year against Vybz Kartel in his comeback year. Nevertheless, Chronic Law deserved to leave with something.
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SURPRISE: Rutshelle Guillaume Beats Out Joé Dwèt Filé for Konpa Honor
Joé Dwèt Filé achieved global success with his konpa hit “4 Kampé,” which even received a remix from Burna Boy. This should have positioned him favorably for konpa artist/band of the year.
However, Rutshelle Guillaume emerged victorious after achieving a top 10 hit on World Digital Song Sales last year alongside Michaël Brun and John Legend (“Safe,” No. 6). Filé still had a successful night by winning French-Caribbean artist of the year against strong competitors like Maureen and Blaiz Faiyah.
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SNUB: Bunji Garlin
Clearly, “Carnival Contract” alone should have guaranteed Trinbagonian soca superstar Bunji Garlin at least one win. Additionally, his songs “Carry It” and “Thousand” placed second and third at Trinidad’s 2025 Road March competition. Even Nicki Minaj featured on a remix of “Carry It!”
Despite four nominations — soca song of the year (“Carnival Contract”), male soca artist of the year, soca video of the year (“Carnival Contract”), and soca performer of the year — Bunji went home empty-handed. If we had to choose one category for him to win, male soca artist of the year would have been well-deserved — while Kes would still take home soca performer of the year!
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SURPRISE: Trinidad Killa Shut Out Despite Major Chart Success
A few soca stars made significant international impacts this year, with Trinidad Killa being a notable example. He collaborated with fellow Trinbagonian Nicki Minaj on a remix of his hit “Eskimo,” which reached No. 2 on World Digital Song Sales this spring (chart dated March 15). He also featured in Billboard’s Reggae/Dancehall Fresh Picks column with “Enjoy Yourself,” alongside DJ Big Skipp and Moyann.
This year, Killa received nominations for zess-steam artist of the year, the 2025 soca impact award, and best new soca artist. Realistically speaking, Yung Bredda was likely unbeatable for the impact award while Lady Lava was favored for zess-steam artist of the year. Nonetheless, many expected support for Killa as best new soca artist.
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SNUB: Jada Kingdom
Jada Kingdom made waves in dancehall early in 2024 with her clash against Stefflon Don and released one of the year’s biggest hits with “What’s Up (Big Buddy),” which earned a nomination for dancehall song of the year. She was also nominated alongside Govana for “Pull Over” (dancehall collaboration of the year) but unfortunately left empty-handed at this year’s ceremony.
Given that it was Shenseea’s standout year and Jada faced her in all three categories she was nominated for, it is difficult to determine where she had her best chances. However, it would have been nice to see Jada receive some recognition this time around.
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SURPRISE: Buju Banton, Bugle & Damian Marley Win Reggae Collaboration of the Year
On paper, this win wasn’t too surprising; Buju Banton, Bugle, and Damian Marley are three highly respected figures in contemporary reggae music.
This category was highly competitive as well. Romain Virgo and Masicka’s “Been There Before” posed a strong challenge (and could be seen as a more deserving winner), especially since both Virgo and Masicka won multiple awards this year. Lila Iké also had two nominations in this category but likely split her votes between “Fry Plantain” (with Joey Bada$$) and “Bruises” (with Mortimer and Kabaka Pyramid). Imeru Tafari’s Queen Ifrica-assisted “I Love Rastafari” also had some momentum since Tafari was additionally nominated for the 2025 reggae impact award.
In summary, Buju Banton, Bugle, and Damian Marley proved unbeatable in this year’s reggae collaboration category.
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