Experts pick Vybz Kartel, Shenseea as top artistes of 2025

Despite the rivalries, viral moments and jaw-dropping revelations within the dancehall space this year, when the dust is all clear, music pundits declare dancehall superstars Vybz Kartel and Shenseea as the male and female artistes for 2025.

"Male Dancehall Artiste of the Year is definitely Vybz Kartel. He has been selling out stadiums and arenas all over the world, crowned king at Reggae Sumfest. He also received [three] awards at the CMA (Caribbean Music Awards), World Music Views also rated him highly and recently [Caribbean Entertainment Magazine] rated him as the 'Caribbean Entertainer of the Year'," Professor Donna Hope pointed out.

"For Kartel, 2025 has been a very boom year and the attention level to him and his brand has been spectacular. There's no other dancehall artiste who can take it. He got several awards, he had a spectacular return and keeping that focus for the entire year 2025 has been something no one else has been able to do [while] keeping his fans energised all over the world," the 'dancehall professor' firmly added.

Music analyst Clyde McKenzie agreed that "Vybz Kartel is the man".

"Male artiste of the year has to be Kartel. He started the year with a bang with his first show at the National Stadium [Freedom Street] to ring in the New Year; and then selling out all those shows in the United States, I mean, he is the man. I don't know if there is anybody else who would be able to rival him this year," McKenzie told THE STAR.

He noted that though it was a good year for other artistes such as Bounty Killer, Beenie Man and Buju Banton, "I think Vybz Kartel was the man".

SHENSEEA'S YEAR

Maintaining a balance internationally and with her homeland music, the experts believe dancehall sensation Shenseea's year of success is 2025.

"Shenseea had her moments last year coming into this year and she would be the female artiste with the most prominence for this year," McKenzie stated.

"Spice always has a presence but I think Shenseea might've clipped everybody for the year. With her international collabs, the [ Shake It To The Max] remix etc., she will be the person to choose," he added.

Hope also named Shenseea.

"Coming in from that [Ghanaian-American singer] Moliy collaboration that trended quite a lot from 2024, Shenseea still held firm. Most of her general activities such as winning five CMA awards [which created history] and being very consistent throughout, I believe that she, as an artiste, carried through very consistently," Hope told THE WEEKEND STAR.

Hope said the Shake It To The Max (Fly) (Remix) featuring Shenseea, Skillibeng, Silent Addy and Moliy not only gave Shenseea a significant boost on the global stage, but also strengthened the deep cultural amalgamation among black popular cultures.

"That mixture and that collaborative force across the different borders ... the Caribbean, the African continent, the USA and then pushing it all over, it gave it a really big vibe. It's also a very danceable song, it rode in the right places," said Hope, as she declared Shake It To The Max as the dancehall song of the year that's "still trending well".

Since its original release in November 2024 by Moliy and Silent Addy, it has gained huge global popularity and significant viral traction on social platforms, following its March 2025 remix and TikTok dance challenge, which also went viral. As of this date, it has amassed over 210 million YouTube views and surpassed more than 374 million Spotify streams.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

For Album of the Year, McKenzie's pick was Chronixx's Exile, while Hope gave Lila Ike's Grammy-nominated , Treasure Self Love, the reign for 2025. Hope also quickly noted that Vybz Kartel's Heart and Soul album also stood out among the best and said that fans should look out for either of those albums making an impact at the Grammy Awards ceremony next month.