Shock waves as JUNO Awards drops reggae category
News that the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) has removed the Reggae Recording of the Year category from the 2025 staging of the annual JUNO Awards in Canada has sent shock waves across the reggae fraternity there.
The news was quietly delivered to members of the JUNO reggae committee, sparking confusion and concern.
According to sources familiar with the message, the announcement lacked extensive detail, but it hinted at several factors behind the decision, among them declining streaming numbers, reduced sales, repetitive submissions, and the dominance of the same artistes year after year.
Several individuals from the reggae fraternity in Canada whom this writer reached out to declined to comment on record.
One music producer who is a former JUNO winner said: “It’s unfortunate; I don’t really have a proper comment to make.”
The JUNOS introduced the Best Reggae/Calypso Recording category in 1985 and it was maintained until 1991. No award was presented in 1992 or 1993, during which time reggae albums were subsumed under the new World Beat Recording category.
The Best Reggae Recording category was introduced in 1994 until 2002 when the name was changed to Reggae Recording of the Year.
Carrie Mullings, a second-generation Jamaican residing in Canada, speaking with the Jamaica Observer on Sunday, said: “I had the pleasure of being the chair for the reggae category for 12 years, a bit long, and I was on the committee for five years before that. So I was involved 17 years in total.”
She resigned from the position in 2022.
“My resignation came about because of many reasons. I was in the position for 12 years and when trying to seek another chair to take on the position there were no volunteers, so I remained in the position. I had a mission while I was there, and that was to defend reggae and to defend our Canadian reggae artistes,” Mullings said.
She went on to say that news of the removal of the reggae category from the JUNOS has had a negative reaction across Canada with her taking calls from various leaders of black organisations and entertainers alike, who shared their concern about the move by the Junos.
“I can’t even count the ways that this news has affected the community. To have the most prestigious award in Canada remove reggae is so disheartening. When we’re in a time of peace, love, and unity, in trying to raise a flag of consciousness across the world, in a time where people are suffering the most, we know that mental wellness can be achieved by the words and lyrics spoken and sung by reggae musicians and ambassadors in reggae music… to have that same conscious message that needs to resonate around the world, so it is affecting our community a great deal,” Mullings shared.
Asked how the move by the Junos has affected the community, Mullings said: “I can only speak on what may be affecting our community. And, out of the categories that have been removed, I understand that what is affecting our community the most are reggae and gospel.”
Still, Mullings is of the view that greater coordination of the voices among the fraternity could reap better treatment.
“We need to come together, we need to organise, and we need to be a collective voice about the decision-making. We’ve spent many years involved in the JUNOS [and] we’ve also had many submissions. We have to learn to stop fighting one another. I’ve spent many years defending reggae and defending artistes; it’s time for us to do better, be better,” she charged.
The Junos are recognised as Canada’s equivalent to the Grammy Awards. Among those who have won in the reggae category over the years are Leroy Sibbles, Nana McLean, Lenn Hammond, Blessed, Mikey Dangerous, Sonia Collymore, Humble, Exco Levi, Kairo McLean, and Kafinal.
Dread by Kirk Diamond and Finn won the award earlier this year.
Reggae artiste Kirk Diamond (left) and Allan Reid, president of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Science.
