TONY ANTHONY... RNMA provides a platform fully dedicated to the [reggae] genre
Thirty-seven categories are being contested at the second staging of Reggae North Music Awards (RNMA), which takes place on September 28 at Rose Theatre in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.
Among the honours on offer are Top Vocalist (male and female), Top Album/EP of The Year, and Top Entertainer of The Year.
Veteran singer Tony Anthony launched the event last year, two weeks after organisers of the Juno Awards (Canada’s Grammys) announced it would cut its reggae category.
Although that cancellation was short-lived, he saw the need for an exclusive ceremony for Canadian reggae.
“There’s historically been a lack of stable recognition platforms for reggae/dancehall in Canada. When the Junos briefly tried to remove the Reggae Recording of the Year category in 2025 that sparked backlash. RNMA provides a platform fully dedicated to the genre,” Tony Anthony told the Jamaica Observer.
Interestingly, multiple Juno reggae winner Exco Levi leads the nominees with 10 nods. Those are for Top Male DJ, Top TrapFusion Dancehall Song of The Year, Top Songwriter, Top Album/EP, Top Entertainer (Male/Female), Top Male Vocalist of The Year, Top Reggae Song of The Year (Male), Top Trap/Dancehall Song of The Year (Male), Songwriter of The Year, and Top Entertainer of The Year (Male/Female).
Ammoye earns seven nominations — Top Female Vocalist, Top Reggae Single (Female), Top Entertainer (Male/Female), Top Female Vocalist of The Year, Top Reggae Song of The Year (Female), Songwriter of The Year, and Top Entertainer of The Year (Male/Female).
There is one new category: Top Club/Party Reggae Dancehall DJ, which is garnering much attention.
Singer Nana McLean, a fixture in Canadian reggae for over 45 years, and sound system operator Carl “Grandmaster Rosa” Green, will receive Living Legends Awards.
“With the inclusion of Living Legend Awards, and by honouring veterans and pioneers (sound systems, older artistes), the RNMA helps preserve the history and lineage of reggae in Canada. It acknowledges that current artistes stand on the shoulders of those who came before,” Tony Anthony noted.
Canada was home to many Jamaican artistes and musicians during the 1970s and 1980s. Singers Alton Ellis, Johnny Osbourne, Leroy Sibbles, and Willi Williams, keyboardist Jackie Mittoo and bassist Larry Silvera were all part of a vibrant Toronto reggae scene.
Their story is told in Sounds & Pressure: Reggae in A Foreign Land, a 2024 documentary by Australian Chris Flanagan and Canadian Graeme Mathieson.
— Howard Campbell