Skippa Accepts 2026 Caribbean Rising Star Award at Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players: ‘This Means a Lot’
Skippa accepts the Rising Star Award at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players 2026 event on Sept. 9, 2026, in New York City. Kristina Bumphrey/Billboard
Skippa is this year’s Billboard Caribbean Rising Star.
The Jamaican dancehall artist accepted the award Wednesday night (Sept. 9) alongside Hip-Hop Rising Star Samara Cyn and R&B Rising Star Destin Conrad.
2026 has been a banner year for the breakout star, largely thanks to “WYFL,” his viral team-up with producers DJ MAC and CrashDummy. The slinky traphall riddim arrived in late 2025 and, by the top of the following year, became one of the buzziest crossover dancehall riddims, drawing inventive renditions from stars across genres and regions, including Buju Banton, Remy Ma, NLE Choppa and Shatta Wale. According to Luminate, “WYFL” has earned more than six million official on-demand U.S. streams since its release.
“I’d like to say thank you to Billboard, not just for acknowledging rising stars, but young Caribbean rising stars,” Skippa said in his acceptance speech. “I’d also like to thank my team … and my fans. Every stream, every show, every like, every reshare helps put Skippa on a pedestal to be acknowledged at something like this. I’m from Jamaica, but I live in Brooklyn, so this means a lot more to me.”
Skippa accepted his award the night before he took the stage at Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop LIVE, alongside a lineup that also featured Cyn, Conrad, Kwn, Yung Miami and Lucky Daye. The performance comes on the heels of Skippa’s latest project, #Skippaholic, a precursor to his debut studio album — as well as his lively clash with fellow new-school dancehall star Malie Donn. On Sept. 4, New York rap icons French Montana and Max B recruited Skippa for their new “Ever Since U Left Me” remix.
Looking ahead, Skippa is up for three awards at September’s Caribbean Music Awards, including the dancehall impact award and dancehall song of the year for “WYFL.” The ceremony will take place in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on Sept. 19.
Check out all of the Rising Star acceptance speeches at Billboard‘s 2026 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players event below:
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