Skippa Accepts 2026 Caribbean Rising Star Award

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. (PHOTO: KRISTINA BUMPHREY/BILLBOARD)

Dancehall artist Skippa is making waves in the industry. At the 2026 Billboard Awards, the artist accepted the Caribbean Rising Star Award.

Tahjay Clarke known as Skippa rose to fame with his DJ MAC and CrashDummy production “WYFL”. 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's R&B/Hip-Hop LIVE. The performance comes on the heels of Skippa’s latest project, #Skippaholic.