Dancehall Artiste Vybz Kartel might be incarcerated, but his music is still making waves, and he is getting rightful recognition as he won the Caribbean Music Awards: Artiste of the Decade award on Thursday night.
The Caribbean Music Awards was held for the first time on Thursday night and featured Reggae, Dancehall, and Soca artists converging at Kings Theatre in Flatbush, New York. Reggae legend Beres Hammond and Soca’s Machel Montano were specially recognized at the event, which sought to highlight and celebrate the dedication and hard work of Caribbean artistes over the last year.
The Artiste of the Year award was presented by Spice, who spoke about continually repping her friends and colleagues. Vybz Kartel also reacted to the award on Instagram, thanking Spice and homaging his former mentor, Bounty Killer.
“Nuf Respect to C.M.A. , Nuf love to #GAZANATION & the Queen @spiceofficial WITHOUT @1unogeneral NONE OF THIS POSSIBLE,” she wrote.
In the comments, Vybz Kartel received love from fans and friends alike.
Bounty Killer responded, “Salute son the has been done it’s only right to give due credit congratulations.”
“THE GREATEST!!” Busta Rhymes wrote with many fire emojis.
“Whew! What an incredible night! Long live the GOAT! The lyricist, the original influencer! The metaphor king! The prototype! The LEGEND! Your fav artist’s inspiration! Ah woahhhhhhhh!” another wrote.
The awards covered 26 categories and saw five (5) Jamaicans being nominated for the Artiste of the Decade Award, including Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Vybz Kartel, Chronixx, and Mavado. Dozens of Jamaicans were nominated in several categories, including Collaboration of the Year, People’s Choice, Artiste of the Year for both Males and Females, as well as others.
According to event host Wyclef Jan, the event was to celebrate the immense influence of Caribbean music on the world.
“We’ve contributed so much, think about that, the swag, food, fashion, the whining,” Grammy-winning artiste Wyclef Jean, who hosted the event, said.
In the meantime, Spice also won Artiste of the Year (Female) ahead of other nominees: Shenseea, Shaneil Muir, Jada Kingdom, Hood Celebrity, and Stefflon Don.
“I’ve been in the business for 20 years. It’s not an overnight success. It’s only because of the grace of God that I am standing here tonight,” Spice said as she thanked her fans- her “Bestie Dem.”
“This is not a small thing, this is a very big thing,” she added.
Ding Dong also won Best Dance Song of the Year, while Dexta Daps also won the Dancehall Performer of the Year award.
“I swear mi nuh know what fi say. So, this is my first official award. Give thanks to CMA for that,” Dexta said. The artiste thanks God and his fans for continually supporting him. “Jamaica Seaview we deh yah doh,” the artiste added as he admired the award and did a little dance.
Ding Dong added, “Listen to mi… fi win an award like this it means the world. Mi deh pan a high right now, mi deh a New York and mi deh a Brooklyn and yasso bad man fawud and badman pull up,” he said.
The other winners are- Masicka for Album of the Year Award for Dancehall. The award was based on the project with the most streams/sales and is a fan favorite. The award recognizes the artists, engineers, songwriters, and producers of the album.
Masicka also won Dancehall Artiste of the Year (Male).
Caribbean Music Awards list of winners
Artist Of The Decade – Vybz Kartel
Album of the Year – Dancehall – “438” Masicka
Dance Song of the Year – “Bounce” Ding Dong
Collaboration of the Year (Reggae/Dancehall) – Skeng feat. Nicki Minaj – “Little Miss”
Collaboration of the Year (Soca) – GBM Nutron (feat. DJ Spider) – “Down Dey”
Best New Artist (Dancehall) – Valiant
Best New Artist (Soca) – Tempa
Best New Artist (Reggae) – Samora
Male Artist of the Year (Dancehall) – Ding Dong
Female Artist of the Year (Dancehall) – Spice
Video of the Year – Reggae/Dancehall – Popcaan feat. Toni-Ann Singh “Next To Me”
People’s Choice Award (Fan Favorite) – Kes
2022 Impact Award (Reggae) – Kabaka Pyramid
