Dancehall sensation Buju Banton seems primed to walk away with the most awards yet again, at the 2021 staging of the International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA), after copping a total of 11 nominations.

The nominations announcement for the 39th installation of the show came on Tuesday (March 23) during a virtual press conference held by the organisation and hosted by multi-IRAWMA winner ‘Gramps’ Morgan.

Among the Not An Easy Road singer’s nominations are:

• The Peter Tosh Award for Recording Artiste of the Year
• The Emperor of Reggae and World Music – Bob Marley Award for Entertainer of the Year
• The Gregory Isaacs Award for Best Song (Blessed)
• The Toots Hibbert Award for Best Album/CD (Upside Down)
• The U-Roy Award for Best Male Dancehall/Rap Artiste
• Virtual Entertainer of the Year
• Best Dancehall Stagecraft Entertainer
• Best Collaborated Song (Trust – Buju Banton x Tory Lanez)
• Best Music Video (Blessed)
• Best Caribbean Entertainer
• The Marcus Garvey Humanitarian Award

While sharing the news of this year’s nominations, IRAWMA President Ephraim Martin, congratulated the Blessed singer for his outstanding performance yet again, having walked away with a whopping seven awards from his 11 nominations at last year’s show.

Other artiste nominations of note for this year’s staging include: Bounty Killer, Popcaan, and Koffee, who each amassed six nominations; Skip Marley and Beenie Man with five nominations apiece; ‘Gramps’ Morgan and Tarrus Riley with four nominations each; and Sean Paul, Shenseea, and Rvssian who got three nominations.

What dancehall/reggae fans will most certainly recognise, however, is that award nominations for dancehall’s ‘Worl’ Boss’ Vybz Kartel are notably missing from this year’s staging.

It’s a turn of events that was not lost on the IRAWMA president who stated: “I am very surprised. Every year Vybz Kartel has been consistently nominated in various categories in IRAWMA. I don’t know how or why the persons this year didn’t choose him for anything. This is [the] first in a very long time that this is happening.”

As the conference came to a close, organisers urged fans to visit the IRAWMA website to cast their votes, and, in so doing, consider the social relevance of materials, originality, sales, the scope of local and national performances, the quality of performances, and stage appearances when making their decisions.

This year’s show is being held under the theme ‘Reggae & World Music Still Rise’ and will be broadcasted from Jamaica on Sunday, May 2, 2021.

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