Nigy Boy elated with IRAWMA win

Following his meteoric rise in 2024, Nigy Boy has received several awards, the latest being 'Best New Entertainer' at the 42nd annual International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA) held last Sunday.

"It was definitely great to be honoured as one of the best entertainers for 2024," Nigy Boy told THE STAR in an exclusive interview. "The IRAWMA awards is a prestigious event that has been going on for 42 years now and I really appreciate them extending such [an] invite to me. It really goes to show, as far as the award is concerned, I have both a strong local and international audience that is tapped into me and throwing their full support behind me which I'm extremely grateful for," he stated.

With the title being a "shared" win with YG Marley, Nigy Boy said that it shows that he has work that matches up to the calibre of the Marleys.

"It proves that my work has substance and there's longevity to it which, to me, is a great thing to be in a category as the legendary Marley family. They definitely have a strong hold but there are other contenders out there yuh nuh," Nigy Boy laughed, adding that his fans "are elated right across the globe for my win and I'm happy I got a chance to celebrate with them".

Ephraim Martin, founder and producer of the 'Caribbean Grammy' as local acts have termed IRAWMA, shared why both reggae and dancehall entertainers couldn't be separated for the win.

"When you have thousands of voters and it falls between one per cent, then over the years, that's what we'd do. So we decided to 'tie it'. It's a voting process and every now and then you have people having the same amount because you have thousands of people voting for over 160 different artistes. Suh every now and then that happened," Martin told THE STAR.

The 'Continental Boss' Nigy Boy, who has been on a consistent path since his breakthrough, shared how he retains steady growth and achievements in just a year.

"It's just my passion for the music, coupled with my zeal and my drive to populate as many markets as I can get into and reach as many people across the globe as possible. So I'll always make it my priority and my mission to try to be in the running at all times," said Nigy Boy. The artiste, who attended the awards show, described his first-time experience at the event as "a night to remember".

"There were a lot of big acts present such as D'Angel, Beenie Man, Wayne Wonder and Everton Blender - a lot of legends in the reggae and dancehall scene who have done monumental things for the music and it was just such a great feeling to be among such grand icons in the business and have that opportunity to fellowship," he stated.

The 42nd staging of the show was held at the Coral Springs Center For The Arts in Florida, and saw a room filled of booming local and international talents, all suited for the occasion in their most trendy and classy wears. The ceremony came to a spectacular close with the live performances of creatives from all fields of the arts. However, Martin said one of the greatest highlights was the 'Special Kings Awards' presented to three Jamaican musical giants.

"Beenie Man, Bounty Killer and Buju Banton were all named kings and all three kings were selected based on the last 30 years they've been here representing consistently - never been off the scene since 1995. They are the most outstanding dancehall/reggae artistes who have always been present throughout their performances, their music and just overall presence consistently, and as a result they remain 'Kings of Reggae/Dancehall' for over 30-years," Martin shared. He noted that Vybz Kartel never fell in this category based on the criteria outlined, but "going forward, he is one to watch in [achieving] this award in the future".

Martin said that with the legacy and prestige that the show holds as a global awards event for Caribbean music, it will definitely continue to implore young and established talents to be inspired to create good, timeless music so as to be recognised by their own and "given their flowers before it's too late".