Organisers of the Caribbean Music Awards (CMAs) are moving to settle a bitter fallout with dancehall star Kranium, who accused them of “disrespect and unprofessionalism” after an embarrassing award blunder at the recently concluded ceremony in New York City.
Kranium, in a fiery social media rant earlier this week, claimed he was humiliated when the CMAs first declared him winner of Caribbean R&B Artiste of the Year, only to retract the title days later and hand it to fellow entertainer Dexta Daps.
“Unnu disrespect mi and unu tek mi fi idiot… all I do in this business is mind my business,”
Kranium fumed, adding that he would “never forgive” the organisers for the slight.
The singer revealed that after giving what he described as a “phenomenal performance” at the late-August gala and collecting the trophy, officials later informed him it had been awarded in error. To soften the blow, they allegedly offered him a win in another category — one he said was never listed on the show’s programme.
“That was not even a category, period,” he told fans, before posting a video of himself tossing the trophy into a trash bin.
Organisers Admit Error
In a lengthy statement released Thursday, CMAs executives conceded there had been “an internal mix-up” over the R&B prize. They said deliberations initially wavered between recognising an artiste overall or awarding a single standout track.
To address the debate, they explained, they created two titles — Caribbean R&B Artiste of the Year and Caribbean R&B Song of the Year — but planned to introduce the latter in 2026. Confusion over the timeline, they said, caused the results to be misreported.
According to their data:
- Dexta Daps led the Artiste of the Year poll with 40.8% of votes.
- Kranium trailed at 12.6%, but his track Higher Life topped streaming metrics.
Organisers said they attempted to correct the error by awarding Dexta Daps the artiste title and offering Kranium a belated “Song of the Year” recognition.
However, they claim Kranium’s camp declined the new award and asked that the mishap not be mentioned in revised press materials — a request the CMAs say they respected.
Kranium Still Unimpressed
Despite the apology, Kranium doubled down, dismissing the statement as another act of disrespect. He argued the show’s voting rules and judging criteria remain unclear:
“It’s clear that one artiste had more votes and the other had more streams.
This shows that there were no clear guidelines to determine a winner.”
Moving Forward
Seeking to douse the controversy, CMAs officials pledged to strengthen procedures before their 2026 staging.
“We are implementing new measures to ensure accuracy and transparency,”
the statement concluded, noting plans to finalise category definitions well ahead of next year’s event.
For now, though, the damage seems done: the “Higher Life” singer insists the experience has left a sour note on what should have been a career-highlight moment.
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