Grammy-nominated dancehall icon Bounty Killer will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2025 Caribbean Music Awards, which will be held on Thursday, Aug. 28, at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The honor, in recognition of Bounty Killer’s transformative influence across multiple generations of Caribbean artists, comes just over a month after the Kingston-bred artist headlined Brooklyn’s Barclays Center for his first U.S. performance in 15 years on July 5. Bounty Killer has earned three entries on the Billboard Hot 100: 1997’s “Hip-Hopera” (No. 81, with The Fugees), 1998’s “Deadly Zone” (No. 79, with Mobb Deap and Rappin’ Noyd) and 2001’s “Hey Baby” (No. 5, with No Doubt).

Austin “Super Blue” Lyons, a Trinidadian calypsonian giant who pioneered this iconic “jump and wave” style of soca with 1991’s “Get Something and Wave,” will receive the Calypso Honors for his impact on the genre. Notably, Super Blue was the first artist to win Trinidad’s annual International Soca Monarch competition in 1993. That same year, he also won the country’s annual Road March contest (with the same song, “Bacchanal Time,” no less), making him the first artist to do so.

Trinidadian composer, songwriter, producer and artist Kerwin Du Bois, who won International Groovy Soca Monarch in 2014 with “Too Real,” will receive a special Producer Honor.

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.

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:

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

Dexta Daps — Trilogy

Govana — Legacy

Shenseea — Never Gets Late Here

Spice — Mirror 25

Vybz Kartel — First Week Out

Joé Dwèt Filé

Kes

Lady Lava

Shenseea

Skeng

Skillibeng

Vybz Kartel

Yung Bredda

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”

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”

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”

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

Lady Lava

Father Philis

Nelly Cottoy

Sackie

Trinidad Killa 

Yung Bredda

Amanda Reifer

Dexta Daps

D’yani

Kranium

Monéa

Tosh Alexander

5 Two

Kalash 

Kanis

Michael Robinson

Naika 

Stefflon Don

Busy Signal 

Chronic Law

Dexta Daps

Kranium 

Masicka

Sean Paul

Valiant

Vybz Kartel

Anthony B 

Buju Banton

Gramps Morgan

Pressure

Romain Virgo

Sizzla

Tarrus Riley

YG Marley

​​Bunji Garlin

GBM Nutron

Kerwin Dubuis

Kes

Mical Teja

Mr. Killa

Problem Child 

Skinny Fabulous

Jada Kingdom

Shaneil Muir

Shenseea

Spice

Stalk Ashley

Stefflon Don

Vanessa Bling

Alaine

Etana

Lila Iké

Marcia Griffiths

Naomi Cowan

Queen Omega

Tanya Stephens

Anika Berry

Destra Garcia

Fay-Ann Lyons

Jadel

Nadia Batson

Nailah Blackman

Nessa Preppy

Patrice Roberts

Armanii

Daan Chorus

Kman 6ixx

Kraff Gad

Lady Lava

Malie Donn

Monea

Rajah Wild

Blaka Dan

Coutain

Hunter

Imani Ray

Mela Caribe

Star Martin

Th3rd

Trinidad Killa

Halie

Aiesha

Blvk H3ro

Jayden

Joby Jay

Kxng Izem

Royal Blue

Sevana

AKIM

Bad Bunny

El Alfa

Kruziano

La Pana

Prince Royce

Romeo Santos

Shakira