The second annual Hits and Jams Mash Awards (HJMAs) became the night of Jumo Primo and Team Jumpstart, as the seasoned Soca veteran took two of the three top awards – Best Power Soca and the coveted Song of the Season, while the Jumpstart radio show swept the Radio categories winning Male Personality of the Year – Gordon Moseley; Female Personality of the Year – Nuriyyih Gerrard; Radio Show of the Year – Jumpstart, and DJ of the Year – “Selector Carl”.
Other winners included Kwasi Ace, who got the My Carib Jam Award for “Forking”; Melissa “Vanilla” Roberts, who won Best Music Video with “Massive”; and Avalanche, who won Best Groovy Soca with “She Ready”.
In the technical categories, the Best Producer Award went to Joel Brown for his production of “Forking” as performed by Kwasi Ace and the Best Songwriter went to Lil Red for “Mash Up The Place”.
The night was noted for its red carpet fashion and interesting selections. Most were unanimous that Ceon La Rose known by his moniker “Gully Ras” and Kerwin Bollers stole the night for the men in their black and white ensembles, while Leslyn Noble, Macaela “The Remix Chick” Cameron and Nuriyyih Gerrard were among the best dressed women.
The show on Wednesday was well hosted by Feliz Robertson and Nuriyyih Gerrard and saw performances from the National Dance Company accompanied by the National School of Dance.
Jumo, Vanilla, 2015 Chutney King Young Bill Rogers and newly-crowned Calypso Monarch King Perai also gave good performances.
Other highlights of the night came from Nuriyyih Gerrard, who broke down in tears when accepting her award for Female Personality of the Year. She thanked all the listeners who tuned in every day for the show, and said she felt privileged to be a part of a team like Jumpstart and the HJ Family.
“Selector Carl”, Carl Primo, who looked surprised when it was announced that he won the DJ of the Year Award , also got a bit emotional when accepting his award, and thanked Hits and Jams for even nominating him in the category.
The Awards is one of the ways Hits and Jams Entertainment seeks to recognise the talent of our local artistes and the annual show coincides with the anniversary of Hits and Jams Radio.