Nigy Boy didn’t see award coming

Fast-rising 2024 breakout artiste Nigy Boy said that though "humbled" at winning the 2024 'Best New Dancehall Artiste award at the Caribbean Music Awards, he never "saw [it] coming".

"I never even know who I was going up against. I just had a lot of people in my contact saying I would be the recipient of the award - that I would win. Individuals were just sharing a link for persons to vote, and I wasn't even paying much attention because I had a lot going on around the same time. So I wasn't even able to attend [the awards]," he explained. "It was a day after the award show I saw what category I was nominated for, and then on Saturday I just saw people tagging me in their [Instagram] stories saying 'Congratulations', and when I checked, I saw where the Caribbean Music Festival has posted that I won the category for Best New Dancehall Artiste of the Year," he told THE STAR.

However, the trending artiste, who has been dominating the dancehall spaces with his punchlines, lyrics and rhythmic sound since his arrival on the scene, expressed deep gratitude and appreciation for the award.

"I was humbled by it. I was honoured, because with everything that's happening, I just can't believe it's happening so soon, and I was taken aback by this win because I never saw this one coming, and this is a major accomplishment for me," he shared with a great sense of light humour.

"It's a great feeling. It let me know that I'm doing something right and my career is going in the right direction; and whatever path I'm on right now, I need to continue on it. If the work I've put in so far has caused me to win such an award suh soon, among icons in the dancehall space that I look up to, it affi mean mi a do something right," said the Continent singer.

The Caribbean Music Awards was held last Thursday at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York. The event, which was hosted by 'Queen of Dancehall' Spice and comedian Majah Hype, saw several artistes walking away with coveted titles to mark the impact of their work and contributions to the Caribbean music industry. Some of the other Jamaican winners are reggae artiste Buju Banton for Reggae Album of the Year, 450 for 2023 Impact Award for Dancehall, Masicka for Dancehall Album of the Year, Shenseea for Female Dancehall Artiste of the Year, and Valiant, who was named Male Dancehall Artiste of the Year. 'Queen of Reggae' Marcia Griffiths and Cedella Marley both received honorary awards for their lifetime contributions towards the Caribbean musical landscape.

Nigy Boy said that with this win, it proved that his music is a cut above the rest.

"It basically tells me that the type of content that I'm producing has the ability to break barriers, connect with people from different racial backgrounds, age groups and ethnicities because of the content of the songs. There are no in-yuh-face expletives - it's radio-friendly, kids-friendly, even though it might be explicitly coded. [But] it shows me that the quality of my content is more appealing to the ear," shared the Nomad singer.

The artiste was spotted on Monday at the Labor Day Parade in the USA, parading on the carnival trucks and rubbing shoulders with delegates such as the Majority Leader of the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, among other dignitaries, who, he said, were his former associates while working in the New York State Assembly.