#USA, September 9, 2023 – The first ever annual Caribbean Music Awards was held on Thursday August 31st in Brooklyn, New York at King’s Theatre in Flatbush.

Being held in Brooklyn is a poetic move as the area is also known as New York’s “Little Caribbean” according to reports.

It was hosted by Wyclef Jean, Grammy winning Haitian rapper and musician, and it is described as a display of vibrance and a  spirited celebration of music, people and culture with West Indian roots, as reported by Dancehallmag.

Clef, speaking, said, “tonight is a very, very important night as we celebrate the Caribbean region. Tonight is history.They steal our culture and they change the name of it. They call it ‘pop.’ Tonight, we’re taking everything back to the Caribbean.”

The shows, as it’s a Caribbean representation in music, recognized artists from Caribbean music genres, including Soca, Dancehall, and Kompa, among others.

Award winners were decided by fans who voted for their favorite songs, artists, and music videos online, months prior to the event, according to reports.

There were various performances by popular artists such as Jamaican artists such as Dexta Daps, Kranium, Toni-Ann Singh and Romain Virgo who delivered a wonderful medley of Beres Hammond’s hits, honoring him, who was the the Elite Icon Award Honoree as well as male artist of the year

Hammond was also officially honored by the New York City Council for his contributions to the Caribbean community.

Another music legend Buju Banton of Jamaica, received a humanitarian award for his philanthropic foundation, the Buju Banton Foundation.

Other performers include Wayne Wonder, Alison Hinds, Jada Kingdom, Nailah Blackman, Ding Dong, Rupee, Baby Cham,  Angela Hunte and Stone Love.

Also, there were appearances from Doug E. Fresh, Skeng, MYA, Spice, Morgan Heritage, Konshens, Karlie Redd, Michael Rainey Jr. and Nicki Minaji among others.

Here’s a full list of  other award winners.

• EP of the year (dancehall): Alkaline, The Ripple EFFX
• Impact award (dancehall): Chronic Law
• Impact award (reggae): Kabaka Pyramid
• Impact award (soca): Viking Ding Dong
• Performer of the year (soca): Mr. Killa
• Album of the year (dancehall): Masicka, 438
• Female artist of the year (dancehall): Spice
• Male artist of the year (dancehall): Ding Dong
• Male artist of the year (soca): Machel Montano
• Female artist of the year (soca): Patrice Roberts
• People’s choice award: Kes
• Artist of the decade: Vybz Kartel
• Collaboration of the year (soca): GBM Nutron & DJ Spider, “Down Dey”
• Collaboration of the year (dancehall/reggae): Skeng & Nicki Minaj, “Likkle Miss”
• Video of the year (dancehall/reggae): Popcaan & Toni-Anne Singh, “Next to Me”
• Video of the year (soca): Patrice Roberts, “Mind My Business”
• Best new artist (dancehall): Valiant
• Best new artist (reggae): Samora
• Best new artist (soca): Tempa
• Kompa band of the year: Klass
• Dance song of the year: Ding Dong, “BOUNCE”
• Performer of the year (dancehall): Dexta Daps
• Album of the year (reggae): Kabaka Pyramid, The Kalling
• Lifetime achievement award: Machel Montano