The Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) presented its annual Honour Awards on Easter Sunday, April 17, 2022, at 3 p.m. Jamaica time — for the second year running in a predominantly virtual format, streamed on JaRIA’s platforms and partners including Reggaeville, On Stage TV, PBC Jamaica and One Drop Media, according to the pre-show announcement. The association said it would honour 26 industry stalwarts and icons across 16 categories.
The two publicly voted awards closed the show. Yaksta’s “Ambition” was named Song of the Year, beating a field of “Go Down Deh” (Spice, Shaggy and Sean Paul), Koffee’s “West Indies,” Laa Lee’s “Dirt Bounce,” Shenseea’s “Run” and Jah Vinci’s “Virgin.” Joby Jay took Breakthrough Artiste of the Year, presented for the first time by VM Group, over Yaksta, Skillibeng, Moyann, Nation Boss and D’Yani, the official winners list shows.
The honourees
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Pama Records, the London label that carried Jamaican music to Britain from the late 1960s. Guitarist Earl “Chinna” Smith was honoured for mentorship, and posthumous awards went to Hopeton Lewis and Lee “Scratch” Perry, who died in August 2021.
Barrington Levy and Jacob Miller were named Iconic Male Artistes, and J.C. Lodge the female icon. The Abyssinians were recognised in the duo/group category and Britain’s Ruff Cutt Band as band of the year. Producers Tony Kelly and Neil “Mad Professor” Fraser, engineers Rohan Dwyer and Paul Barclay, musicians Hux Brown and David Madden, songwriter Michael “Mikey” Bennett and sound systems Lloyd Matador and Japan’s Mighty Crown were also honoured. Lynval Gibbons of Teen Splash took the promoter award; the media honours went to Winford Williams (radio and television), Nadine Blair (gospel), Germany’s Riddim Magazine (print) and Jamaicans.com (new media). Glacia Robinson and Jermaine Edwards were named gospel icons, and album designer Neville Garrick received the Gregory Isaacs Foundation Award.
A diamond year
With Jamaica marking 60 years of Independence, JaRIA introduced a Diamond Jubilee Commemorative Award for national hero Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Bob Marley and Louise Bennett-Coverley, “for their contribution to the advancement of Jamaican music, language, culture and philosophy across the globe.” Musical tributes were arranged by Michael “Ibo” Cooper, Ewan Simpson, Alex Martin Blanken, Everol “Stingwray” Wray and Dean Fraser, with performances from Hector “Roots” Lewis, Dean Fraser, Jah Lil, Knixx Taylor, Irie Kreshna, StingWray, Nickette Morgan-Williams, Deon Silvera and Steven Golding, backed by the JaRIA JamRock Orchestra. In a pandemic-era touch, hosting duties were shared among frontline workers, farmers, entertainers, educators and transport workers. The CHASE Fund remained principal sponsor.
Listen and dig deeper
- Browse Yaksta, Barrington Levy, Jacob Miller, J.C. Lodge and Earl “Chinna” Smith in the JamaicansMusic library.
Sources: Reggaeville — “JaRIA Honour Awards 2022 – A Diamond Celebration for Jamaica’s Music and Entertainment Industry” (press release, Apr 13, 2022); JaRIA — 2022 Honour Award Winners.
Editor’s note: This story is part of an archive backfill covering Jamaican music news from 2022 to 2026. It is dated to the events it reports.