Hits and Jams on Sunday honored a number of local artistes for staying the course despite the limitations of the music industry here in Guyana. The awards were presented at the inaugural Hits and Jams Music Awards (HJ M-A’s) and BOOM Concert, held at the National Park.
Taking two awards for the evening was Jonathan “Lil Red” King for best songwriter and best music video for his Carib Soca Monarch entry, “Who We Are?”.
The Best Calypso Award went to Lester “De Professor” Charles for his tune “The Truth”, while Fiona Singh was bestowed with the Best Chutney Song Award for “Start Wining”. The Best Producer Award was given to Ken Taylor for his song “Still In The Game”, which was performed by Kwasi “Ace” Edmondson to claim this year’s Soca Monarch title.
The best collaboration was “This Gal Can Wine” by Mystic featuring Jory Hector and Barbadian Soca Sensation, Kirk Brown. The Best Groovy Soca Award went to Shelly “G” for “Party Animal” and the Best Power Soca Award went to Adrian Dutchin with “Bend Over And Roll”.
The Best Newcomer Award went to Kemmy with her tune “Designated Winer”, while the Most Dynamic Performer Award went to Jumo Primo. A special award was presented to Burchmore Simon and an award was conferred on Trevor Rose for his contributions to Mashramani. The award was collected by his sister who reminisced on the contributions made by her brother.
The Song of the Season award went to Edmondson for “Still In The Game”. Unfortunately, the reigning Carib Soca Monarch was not present to receive his award nor were Mystic, Kirk Brown and Jory.