Machel Montano Surprise 2025 Caribbean Music Awards: Best Moments

Since the Aug. 28 ceremony was taped to air on BET on Sept. 12, if there was an error in the program, we had to run it back in real time in Kings Theatre. During one particularly funny moment, DJ Puffy — who won International DJ of the Year at the 2024 ceremony — had to run back his lines three different times. He missed his cue the first time, the audience applause was a bit lackluster the second, and the third time just felt like Majah Hype was in a silly, goofy mood. All in all, it was an admirably human moment that kept the night a bit more grounded than your average awards spectacle.

This year marks 20 years of Rihanna’s debut single, the iconic dancehall-inflected “Pon de Replay.” Although the Bajan Bad Gyal was not in attendance — after all, she’s nearing the end of her third pregnancy! — soca icon Alison Hinds gave a sweet shoutout to the pop icon for her towering legacy, drawing cheers and applause from those in the room.

To kick off the show, Elephant Man — fresh off of serenading Love Island USA’s Chelley Bissainthe with his viral remix of the late Connie Francis’ “Pretty Little Baby” — delivered a rousing medley of hits, including “Pon de River, Pon de Bank” and “Nuh Linga.” Decked out in a glitzy navy blue sweatsuit and flanked by endlessly energetic dancers to evoke the relentless fervor of the dancehall, Elephant Man instantly brought Kings Theatre to his feet — and that was before his special guests took the stage.

Ding Dong, who recently spoke with Billboard about releasing his debut album two decades after his initial musical breakthrough, joined Elephant Man onstage with his classic hit “Badman Forward, Badman Pull Up.” For a night that began with a lovably hectic extended family reunion on the red carpet, Elephant Man and Ding Dong maintained that energy as the ceremony commenced.

Bounty Killer brought out all the stars for his lifetime achievement honor, including Grammy-winning producers DJ Khaled and Swizz Beatz. To honor the dancehall icon, the two producers shared anecdotes they’ve accumulated over the years, including one cricket match in Spanishtown where Bounty pulled out “the biggest ratchet” Swizz had ever seen at the time. The mutual love and respect were apparent throughout their speech, but when they finished and a career montage began to play, Khaled and Swizz wasted no time brushing the dirt off Bounty’s shoulders and making sure he looked as sharp as possible for his big moment. It’s that kind of camaraderie and brotherhood that makes both dancehall and hip-hop so special.

Notably, the afternoon of the ceremony, Khaled dropped a new single featuring Bounty, Vybz Kartel, Buju Banton, Mavado, Rorystonelove and Kaylan Arnold called “You Remind Me.”

A few weeks before he accepted the Rock the Bells Visionary Award from LL Cool J at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards (Sept. 7), Busta Rhymes received the Elite Icon Award from the Caribbean Music Awards. Presented by Buju Banton, who took home reggae collaboration of the year for “Thank You Lord” (with Bugle and Damian “Jr Gong” Marley), the honor allowed Busta to wax poetic about the impact of his Jamaican parents and heritage on his approach to hip-hop and cross-genre collaboration.

“I’m super honored and super blessed and super grateful to Jamaican culture for raising me and gifting me with the Jamaican parents that I have,” he said. “I want to thank Brooklyn for making me experience this beautiful Caribbean community…. I take Jamaica everywhere I go. It don’t matter what song, what video, what stage, the reason why a lot of artists can’t see me in hip-hop is because of that Caribbean cheat code that I be using all the time. It’s my weapon when I want to respectfully compete… or disrespectfully compete!”

Between performing NPR Tiny Desk’s first-ever soca set to headlining the inaugural Planet Brooklyn music festival and winning his 11th Road March title, it’s been quite a year for Machel Montano. While the Trini legend did not perform “Pardy,” he did make a surprise appearance during Full Blown’s “Big Links” medley, which was easily the night’s strongest performance, emphasizing the riddim’s impressive domination this past year.

With a stage setup reminiscent of a family cookout, Trinbagonian brother duo Full Blown tore through their hit-packed “Big Links” riddim, which includes smashes like Yung Bredda’s “The Greatest Bend Over” and their own “Good Spirits.” Machel, who was not a previously announced performer, stormed the stage to belt out “The Truth” — once again reasserting himself as the King of Soca — before bringing out fast-rising dancehall star Ayetian for a winning rendition of “Truth & Balance.”