Caribbean Music Legends Receive Prestigious Awards at 2025 Caribbean Music Awards

Grammy-nominated dancehall icon Bounty Killer will accept the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2025 Caribbean Music Awards. The ceremony is set to take place on Thursday, August 28, at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York. Bounty Killer was honored for his innovative influence across multiple generations within the Caribbean music scene. The Kingston-born artist received this award just over a month after headlining his first U.S. performance in 15 years at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on July 5. Bounty Killer has had three songs reach the Billboard Hot 100: “Hip Hop Opera” with Fugees in 1997 (ranking at 81), “Deadly Zone” with Mobb Deep and Rappin’ 4 Life in 1998 (at 79), and “Hey Baby” with No Doubt in 2001 (reaching position 5). The 2025 Caribbean Music Awards also recognize the contributions of several other legends. Trinidadian calypso giant Super Blue will receive the Calypso Honors award. He pioneered the iconic “jump and wave” style of soca with his 1991 track “Get Some Ting and Wave.” Super Blue became the first artist to win the annual International Soca Monarch competition in Trinidad in 1993 and also claimed victory at the country’s Road March competition that same year with “Bacanal Time,” making him the first artist to win both events simultaneously. Trinidadian songwriter and producer Kevyn Du Bois will receive the Special Producer Honors award for winning “Two Real” at the 2014 International Grubby Soca Monarch competition. Meanwhile, the top nominees for this year’s Caribbean Music Awards are Grammy-nominated pop dancehall artist Princess Shannisha and Jamaican dancehall hitmaker Masika. Both have been nominated in seven categories. Shannisha won the Dancehall Female Artist award last year and is also nominated for her first solo Grammy this year. Her second album, “Never Gets Late Here,” was nominated for Best Reggae Album but lost to the soundtrack for “Bob Marley: One Love.” Soca superstars Patrice Roberts and Kes follow closely behind with six nominations each. Dancehall legends Vibes Cartel, genre-blending soca star Nyla Blackman, Jamaican dancehall stars Chronic Low and Cranium each have five nominations. Trinidadian soca titans Bunch Gallin, reggae giants Romano Virgo, and Lila Ike each have four nominations. This awards ceremony serves to honor artists, producers, and industry professionals who have made significant contributions to the Caribbean music industry. This year, over 150 nominees are competing in more than 40 categories spanning various genres including reggae, soca, dancehall, calypso, R&B, and gospel. Notably, seven new categories were introduced this year, such as the “Caribbean R&B and Jazz-Steam Artist Award” and the “International Female DJ Award.”