Music and marketing consultant Sean Anthony ‘Contractor’ Edwards said Vybz Kartel’s dominance is impossible to ignore.
The Jamaican dancehall superstar received the 2026 MOBO Award for Best Caribbean Music Act at the ceremony held in the United Kingdom on Thursday. Edwards said after a year of relentless touring, his consistency and energy in the dancehall space have set him apart.
“Nobody has done the work he has over the past year with the dancehall genre,” he said.
“Sean Paul and Shaggy have their fans but in terms of dancehall energy in the marketplace, nobody has done that. He has toured the Caribbean, Europe, UK and Canada flying the flag for hardcore dancehall so he definitely deserves it. What it does is open up the door for him to do greater things in the industry.”
The Unstoppable deejay earned the MOBO win after receiving the Impact Award in 2025. Vybz Kartel was shortlisted in the Best Caribbean Music Act category alongside fellow Jamaican artistes Masicka, Shenseea, Lila Ike and Ayetian, as well as Trinidad and Tobago soca artiste Yung Bredda.
Vybz Kartel was also nominated for Best International Act, but the title went to Nigerian singer Ayra Starr, with the wider category including Cardi B, Clipse, Gunna, Kehlani, Leon Thomas, Mariah the Scientist, Moliy and Tyla.
Shenseea also performed at the ceremony. She previously made history as the first woman to win Best Reggae Act in 2021 and later captured Best Caribbean Music Act in 2025. The Best Reggae Act award was renamed to Best Caribbean Music Act in 2022. The award was previously taken by Valiant in 2024 and Skillibeng in 2022.
Opening her set with Shenyeng Anthem, she delivered on her promise that she had told THE WEEKEND STAR earlier this month on giving flavour throughout the performance and representing her island.
“It’s important to stay true to my roots because it is simply just what makes me who I am. I’ve been open to other cultures and none quite seemed to entice me like my own. I’m proud to be a product of Jamaica,” she said.
