In a year marked by a growing number of collaborations between Caribbean acts and Afrobeats stars, the Caribbean Music Awards 2025 is set to be streamed on the African music channel Trace TV.
Consultant producer for the event, Janelle Abraham, explained she was excited to broker such a deal to further promote Caribbean music but also highlight the similarities between Caribbean music and afrobeats while also giving greater exposure to artistes in the region.
“In the US, a lot of times, when you go into like, network subscription channels. They pay attention to numbers. Africa has the numbers. They definitely have the numbers. And getting them to stream it. I think Trace TV has about 350 million viewership, and the subscription numbers are insane,” she said. “So just having the opportunity to have them come and stream it, and to show Africa what the Caribbean is about and how similar we are to that. You know, I think that’s a major blessing, and I’m very grateful for that.”
Abraham said she was pleased that when the option was pitched to Trace’s chairman, Olivier Laouchez, he was eager to make the connection.
She said the timing of the event was also great, given Yung Bredda’s recent remix featuring R&B star Chloe Bailey and rising Afrobeats act Moliy for his hit Greatest Bend Ova.
Abraham, who is the daughter of Calypso legend Brigo, said she is grateful to give Caribbean music the wider exposure it often lacked.
“I know that we are bigger than that, so just being able to see us go global and collaborate with some of the top artistes in the world, I’m very grateful for that. And I think this is just the beginning, because this year we also have BET streaming the Caribbean Awards. So that’s a major collaboration. I just got JetBlue to come in as a sponsor for the Caribbean Awards. So I think we are looking great.”
The event, which will be held on August 28, will feature several top soca, dancehall, and afrobeats acts and will even feature a tribute to hip hop star Busta Rhymes.
