Dancehall star Skippa receives Billboard Caribbean Rising Star Award
Key Points(5)
- Jamaican dancehall artist Skippa has added another major international accolade to his growing résumé after accepting the Caribbean Rising Star Award during Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players celebrations in New York.
- Skippa received the honor alongside fellow Rising Star Award recipients Samara Cyn and Destin Conrad, with Billboard’s Kyle Denis, Michael Saponara and Angel Diaz presenting the awards.
- The recognition comes during a breakout year for the Jamaican deejay, whose growing international audience has helped position him among the leading acts in dancehall’s new generation.
- An excited Skippa welcomed the recognition, particularly Billboard’s decision to spotlight emerging talent from the region.
- “Not for just acknowledging rising stars, but for acknowledging Caribbean rising stars,” he said.
Jamaican dancehall artist Skippa has added another major international accolade to his growing résumé after accepting the Caribbean Rising Star Award during Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players celebrations in New York.
Skippa received the honor alongside fellow Rising Star Award recipients Samara Cyn and Destin Conrad, with Billboard’s Kyle Denis, Michael Saponara and Angel Diaz presenting the awards.
The recognition comes during a breakout year for the Jamaican deejay, whose growing international audience has helped position him among the leading acts in dancehall’s new generation.
An excited Skippa welcomed the recognition, particularly Billboard’s decision to spotlight emerging talent from the region.
“Not for just acknowledging rising stars, but for acknowledging Caribbean rising stars,” he said.
He also thanked his team and growing fanbase, crediting their support through “every stream and every show” with helping him reach the milestone.
Billboard named Skippa its 2026 Caribbean Rising Star following his growing impact on the trap-dancehall sound and the crossover success of his music.
His international breakthrough has been driven in large part by “WYFL,” recorded over a trap-infused riddim produced by DJ Mac and CrashDummy.
The track has generated more than 5.8 million official on-demand streams in the United States, according to Luminate, and emerged as one of 2026's biggest viral dancehall crossover records.
Its popularity spawned remixes and interpretations from artists across several genres, including the legendary Buju Banton, Vybz Kartel, Bronx rapper Remy Ma and Trinidad and Tobago soca artist Patrice Roberts.
“WYFL” also earned Skippa a nomination for Dancehall Song of the Year at the 2026 Caribbean Music Awards. He received three nominations overall at this year's awards.
While Skippa has yet to make his debut on the Billboard charts, his catalog has generated 29.3 million official on-demand U.S. streams in 2026 through August 2.
His seven-track “#Skippaholic” EP, released as a precursor to his forthcoming debut album, has accounted for more than 6.1 million official streams.
The Billboard honor comes as Skippa continues to build on a prolific run of releases. Singles including “Detox” and “Glocks and Chips” have also gained traction and appeared on trending charts.
Skippa is also part of Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop LIVE event at Brooklyn Steel in New York on September 10, where he is scheduled to perform alongside a lineup led by Grammy-winning R&B singer Lucky Daye and rapper Yung Miami.
