The Caribbean Music Awards returned to the Caribbean for the first time in three years last Saturday, and Shenseea made sure the night belonged to her.
The ceremony touched down at the National Academy for the Performing Arts in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, after three consecutive years of being staged in Brooklyn, New York.
Shenseea walked away with three dancehall wins, the most of any artist in that category. She took Female Dancehall Artiste of the Year, and her collab with Moliy, Silent Addy and Skillibeng on Shake It to the Max (FLY) [Remix] claimed both Dancehall Song of the Year and Dancehall Collaboration of the Year.
On the reggae side, Lila Iké had her own strong night with two wins. She was named Female Reggae Artiste of the Year, and her Masicka-featuring track Romantic picked up Reggae Collaboration of the Year.
Masicka himself crossed genre lines on the night, winning Dancehall Video of the Year for Rich Sex. That gave him a win in both dancehall and reggae, a rare double that few artists managed across the evening.
The rest of the dancehall category spread the love around. Valiant took Male Dancehall Artiste of the Year, Ding Dong secured Dancehall Performer of the Year, and Prince Swanny’s Saint was named Dancehall Album of the Year, a solid showing for Trinibad dancehall on home soil. Ayetian picked up both Dancehall Best New Artiste and the Dancehall Impact Award.
Reggae had its own set of big names collecting hardware. Buju Banton was named Male Reggae Artiste of the Year, Chronixx’s Exile won Reggae Album of the Year, and Protoje’s BIG 45 took Reggae Song of the Year.
Cholita was named Reggae Best New Artiste, while Keznamdi received the Reggae Impact Award, a recognition that lands just months after he won his first Grammy for Blxxd and Fyah back in February.
Several Jamaican artists were honoured outside the main genre categories too. Patra received the Lifetime Achievement Award, a long-overdue nod to one of dancehall’s most enduring figures. Alkaline won the People’s Choice Award, and Reggae Fest, organised by CJ Milan, was named Music Event of the Year.
The biggest winner of the entire night was actually a soca artist. Trinidadian Lady Lava took home four awards across the soca, zess and chutney soca categories, claiming Female Soca Artiste of the Year, Zess Artiste of the Year, Zess Song of the Year for Bob the Builder, and Chutney Soca Song of the Year for Cyah Pick, her collab with Ravi B.
The return of the CMAs to the Caribbean feels like a statement in itself, with the region reclaiming a ceremony that had been hosted abroad since the pandemic era.
How the awards grow from here, and which artists use this platform to build momentum heading into the rest of 2025, is already a conversation worth watching.
