After several false starts, summer finally seems to have settled in. That means music festivals, various carnival celebrations, and the search for a song of the summer are in full effect.
May featured album releases from dancehall stars like Valiant (Prove Them Wrong) and Ding Dong (From Ding Dong to World Ding), but the month’s buzziest news story arrived in its very last weekend. Vybz Kartel, who recently announced his first world tour in over 20 years, and Moliy, whose global Afro-dancehall smash “Shake It to the Max” recently entered the Billboard Hot 100, were both set to play Trinidad’s One Caribbean Music Festival on May 31. However, due to “non-fullfilment of contractual obligations,” as per Kartel’s management, the King of Dancehall pulled out of the festival just hours before he was set to hit the stage. According to Kartel’s team, the dancehall titan did not receive his full payment before the festival took place.
“Vybz Kartel was formally contracted to perform at [One Caribbean Music Festival] 2025 for a total sum of $1.35 million. To date, $950,000 has been paid directly to the [artist], while an additional $150,000 was disbursed to his legal representative,” the promoter explained. “The remaining balance due was made available in full; however, due to legal and financial regulations in Trinidad and Tobago, the organisers were unable to disburse the final amount in cash.”
As for Moliy, the Ghanaian-American singer pulled out of the event, citing the promoter’s failures to meet “key contractual obligations.”
“Moliy arrived in Trinidad ready and excited to perform, but since landing, her team has not received any communication from the festival organizers,” her management team explained in a press release. “Combined with their failure to meet key contractual obligations, this has made it impossible for the performance to proceed.”
Nonetheless, One Caribbean Music Festival continued as planned, with performances from artists such as Chronic Law, Rvssian and Sizzla Kalonji.
Outside of that festival kerfuffle, Caribbean artists are enjoying a particularly notable moment in the live entertainment space. Beenie Man headlined a blockbuster show at Long Island’s UBS Arena on May 24, and Bounty Killer will headline Brooklyn’s Barclays Center next month (July 5), underscoring Caribbean music’s transition to arena-headlining status in the 2020s.
Naturally, Billboard’s monthly Reggae/Dancehall Fresh Picks column will not cover every last track, but our Spotify playlist — which is linked below — will expand on the 10 highlighted songs. So, without any further ado:
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Freshest Find: Asa Bantan, “God Is Good”
Dominica-bred Boyoun artist Asa Bantan blends gospel and soca on his latest offering, “God Is Good,” and the result is one of the best soca songs of the year so far. Blending timeless gospel refrains like “God is good all the time, and all the time God is good,” Bantan attacks the thrilling drum-forward production with a vocal performance brimming with gratitude and elation. Whether your sanctuary is in a church, on the road, or somewhere in between, Bantan’s “God Is Good” reminds us how music’s energy can effortlessly permeate seemingly disparate spaces.
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Original Koffee, “Koffee”
Back with her first solo single in three years, Grammy-winning reggae star Original Koffee is back under a new moniker, with her new single paying tribute to the artist name that secured hits like 2019’s “Toast.”
“I almost drop my liquor, ’cause right now nobody sicker/ Except the one Masicka, I tell my dawgs, ‘Go sick ’em’/ They wanna study me, but they couldn’t copy my rigor/ In the drop top, my nigga, go tell badmind fi keep up,” she nimbly spits over bouncy production from Ghanaian beatmaker GuiltyBeatz. She offers a healthy serving of her much-missed wordplay (nobody sicker/Masicka) while still honoring the age-old tradition of popping your s–t — regardless of how long you have may have been absent from the game.
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Bayka & Spice, “Miss Pretty”
Jamaican artist Bayka has been packing on the international collaborations this year, but it’s his link-up with fellow JA star Spice that’s the hottest track on his new Gyal Dem Shift EP. “Face pretty, and my two stiff titty/ Come from Lube City/ Wet, fat clean kitty/ Pum pum fluffy, this grippy and grip/ Buss off mi panty, Miu Miu, not Vicky,” Spice slickly spits at the onset of her verses, injecting her signature verve to remix the DJ Mac’s Spanish guitar-laced production.
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A!MS, Julian Marley & Anateus feat. Hypertone, “Light & Love”
British-Cypriot artist A!MS has joined forces with Grammy-winning reggae star Julian Marley and Grammy-winning producer Anateus for the Hypertone-assisted “Light & Love,” the lead single from A!MS’ forthcoming Peak Season LP.
Over an infectious electro-dancehall beat, Marley and South London native Hypetone croon an ode to the healing properties of the natural world, singing, “When it hurts/ Look to the Earth/ Don’t bother with chemicals/ God works miracles that you deserve/ Long life, good light and love.” Later, A!MS brings some of his signature melodic rap to carry forward the guarded skepticism of roots reggae songwriting. “They wanna leave us out in the jungle alone/ Don’t believe them, they just want the control,” he warns on the bouzouki-inflected track.
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Ding Dong & Skillibeng, “Di New Pull Up”
“Badman Forward Badman Pull Up” has ruled dancefloors for two decades now, and dancer-turned-deejay Ding Dong finally dropped his debut album at the top of last month (May 2). Among the album’s standouts is a new Skillibeng-assisted take on Ding Dong’s signature song, titled “Di New Pull Up.” Bridging two generations of dancehall stars, Skillibeng brings a tasteful, melodic energy to the high-octane track, which also features production from Ricky Blaze. At the same time, Ding Dong adds new verses that properly flesh out the original track.
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Michaël Brun & Shirazee, “Elevate”
With BAYO, his highly anticipated single-day musical festival, just a few weeks away (June 28), Grammy-winning Haitian DJ Michaël Brun has shared some new music ahead of his Barclays Center takeover. Linking with Shirazee, the pair’s second collaboration following 2018’s “Soweto,” Brun continues bridging Benin and the Caribbean with shimmering Afro-house production that cradles Shirazee’s melodious voice. With the track’s percussive elements equally nodding to Caribbean riddims and Afrobeats drums, Brun has delivered something of a calmer successor to Moliy’s “Shake It to the Max.”
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Hector Roots Lewis feat. KA$E & Johnny Cosmic, “Battle Cry”
A little over a year after starring in the box office-topping Bob Marley: One Love film, Jamaican multi-hyphenate Hector Roots Lewis has delivered Cosmic Roots, his debut album. Produced by Johnny Cosmic, the album explores Lewis’ take on roots reggae through solo joints and collaborations with the likes of Busy Signal, J Boog and KA$E, the latter of whom appears on standout cut, “Battle Cry.”
“You will never walk alone/ The voice inside will guide you home/ Sound the bell and let it ring/ Hear the souls, the songs they sing,” he sings in the pre-chorus, invoking centuries of defiant, resilient voices against various forms of oppression across Cosmic’s militant production.
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Collie Buddz & Stick Figure, “Good Life (2017)”
Originally recorded in 2017, “Good Life” is the progeny of a studio session that was lost to time. Now, the mix has been recovered, and Grammy-nominated reggae stars Stick Figure and Collie Buddz have shared it with the world. “One shot cause mi need it baaad/ Next shot for the week weh mi had/ Three shots make me bun out mi job when me look pon mi check mi feel like me get robbed,” Collie sings, setting the emotional stage for his search for the “good life” through whatever vices are at his disposal.
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Konshens, “Back That Azz Up”
Juvenile’s turn-of-the-century smash “Back Dat Azz Up” is an eternal anthem — but it’s also a beat that can lend itself to virtually any genre, as proven by Jamaican dancehall star Konshens. Across a sample of Mannie Fresh’s original beat, Konshens fully leans into his dancehall foundation, sacrificing neither his cadence nor lingo as he brings the NOLA bounce production to JA. He kicks off his verse with, “Cock up yuh body, yow, fling it pon di riddim,” expertly embodying the cross-genre mantle of master of ceremonies.
“I was working out at Hit Factory in Miami and Birdman sent the beat to my manager and told me to do [something] on it,” Konshens explained in a press release. “At the same time, I was in the middle of an argument that raw dancehall can fit on any beat and work… what you’re hearing is literally, exactly what we did that night [in the studio] ….100% authentic dancehall lyrics.”
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DJ Cheem feat. Jagwa De Champ, “Shots”
Klassik Frescobar’s “Dansa” has been the most popular track on DJ Kalli and Boogy Rankss’ riddim, but Bajan-American soca artist DJ Cheem has now entered the chat. With some help from Jagwa De Champ, DJ Cheem’s “Shots” captures the same dance and party-forward energy of Frescobar’s original, but he infuses it with a lyrical focus on the hypnotic powers of good liquor. Listen out for more takes on this riddim as “Dansa” continues its global ascent.
