Shenseea & Masicka Lead 2025 Caribbean Music Awards Nominations
The Brooklyn-based ceremony adds seven new categories this year.
Grammy-nominated pop-dancehall princess Shenseea and Jamaican dancehall hitmaker Masicka lead the nominations for the 2025 Caribbean Music Awards, with seven nods each.
Notably, Shenseea, who won her first Caribbean Music Award last year for female artist of the year (dancehall), scored her first solo Grammy nomination earlier this year. Her sophomore album, Never Gets Late Here, was recognized in the best reggae album category, ultimately losing out to the Bob Marley: One Love soundtrack.
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Soca superstars Patrice Roberts and Kes follow with six Caribbean Music Awards nominations. Dancehall legend Vybz Kartel, genre-fusing soca star Nailah Blackman and Jamaican dancehall stars Chronic Law and Kranium each have five nods. In addition, Trinidadian soca titan Bunji Garlin and reggae luminaries Romain Virgo and Lila Iké are next in line with four nods each.
The Caribbean Music Awards recognizes artists, producers and industry professionals who have significantly contributed to the Caribbean music landscape. This year’s nominations list includes more than 150 nominees across 40-plus categories spanning a diverse range of genres including reggae, soca, dancehall, calypso, R&B and gospel.
This year, the Caribbean Music Awards is introducing seven new categories: Caribbean R&B and Zess-Steam Artist of the Year, International DJ of the Year (Female), Reggae Collaboration of the Year, and Reggae, Gospel, and Caribbean Fusion Song of the Year. The new categories reflect the breadth of Caribbean music and the increasing consumption of particular styles and sounds. “The Greatest Bend Over,” Yung Bredda’s Full Blown-produced smash, became one of the biggest soca crossover hits of the year thanks to its incorporation of Zess.
“Zess has a very large following among the youth in Trinidad, but [those artists] have been struggling to be accepted by mainstream Trini music – which is soca,” Kevon Hart of Full Blown told Billboard in March. “For us, this was a very clever way of combining the two and showing the Zess artists that they do what we do, just in a different way.”
Other notable nominees include Jada Kingdom, Spice, Mical Teja, Lady Lava and Dexta Daps — last year’s most nominated artist — with three nods each.
The awards are presented by the Caribbean Elite Group, which also produces Caribbean Elite Magazine – a print and digital publication that highlights Caribbean entertainers, artists, producers, promoters, cuisine, travel, fashion and entrepreneurs.
Voting is currently underway at the Caribbean Music Awards website, and will conclude on Friday, May 1. Winners will be celebrated on Thursday, Aug. 28, at King Theatre in Brooklyn, N.Y.
For the complete list of nominations, visit the Caribbean Music Awards website. Here are the nominees in selected categories:
Reggae — Album of the Year
Various Artists — Bob Marley: One Love – Music Inspired by the Film (Deluxe)
Bugle — Apex
Etana — Nectar of the Gods
Mortimer — From Within
Romain Virgo — The Gentle Man
UB40 — UB45
Dancehall — Album of the Year
Dexta Daps — Trilogy
Govana — Legacy
Shenseea — Never Gets Late Here
Spice — Mirror 25
Vybz Kartel — First Week Out
People’s Choice Award
Joé Dwèt Filé
Kes
Lady Lava
Shenseea
Skeng
Skillibeng
Vybz Kartel
Yung Bredda
Dancehall Song of the Year
Squash, “Big Breeze”
Vybz Kartel, “The Comet”
ArmaniI, “HAAD (Fiesta)”
Busy Signal, “Happy Birthday”
Kranium & Chronic Law, “Higher Life”
Shenseea, Masicka & Di Genius, “Hit & Run”
Jada Kingdom, “What’s Up (Big Buddy)”
Masicka, “Whites”
Reggae Song of the Year
Romain Virgo & Masicka, “Been There Before”
Bugle, Buju Banton & Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, “Thank You Lord”
Lila Iké & Joey Bada$$, “Fry Plantain”
Pressure Busspipe, “Haunted”
Protoje, “Legend Legend”
Marlon Asher & Sizzla, “Never See Us Fall”
Alaine & Usain Bolt, “Pile Up”
YG Marley, “Praise Jah in the Moonlight”
Soca Song of the Year
Patrice Roberts, “Anxiety”
Nailah Blackman & Lyrikal, “Best Self”
Blaka Dan, “Blessing”
Bunji Garlin, “Carnival Contract”
Problem Child, “Carnival Jumbie”
Mical Teja, “DNA”
GB Nutron & Farmer Nappy, “In the Center”
Trilla-G, Lil Boy & Quan, “Someone Else”
Musical Event of the Year
Buju Banton — Long Walk to Freedom
Dominica World Creole Festival
Patrice Roberts — I Am Woman
Konpa Kingdom
Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival
Soca Brainwash
Stink & Dutty
Vybz Kartel — Freedom Street
