Skillibeng eyes Grammys after MOBO win

MOBO Award-winning dancehall artiste Skillibeng is not interested in entertaining debates regarding the state of dancehall music, nor the recent declarations of himself as the greatest dancehall artiste of his era.

But the Hot lyricist is not about to retract any of his statements because he believes that "words have power".

"I'm the greatest dancehall artiste of my era ... That's what I am. I'm just doing my job. And I'm good at my job," Skillibeng is quoted during an interview/photoshoot with British style magazine The Face.

Speaking to THE STAR recently, Skillibeng elaborated, "The dream of the EastSyde Records' team is to earn a spot on the Billboard, solely for dancehall. So you know, it's all about going harder and harder."

He continued, "This is me keeping myself relevant and on top, all while pleasing my long-time fans and gaining new supporters with my sound."

The Lyssons, St Thomas-raised deejay strongly believes in speaking things into being and had already manifested that he would walk away from the 25th annual MOBO Awards with the award for Best Caribbean Music Act.

"I'm just getting all the awards I can, doing it for my team. Next up is the Grammy Awards. [Winning the] MOBO Award felt amazing; it also gives me the drive to go out and get more," Skillibeng said.

And he is basking in the success of a career which started with the breakout hit Brik Pan Brik in 2019. It was announced that Skillibeng would be the featured act on international hip hop superstar Chris Brown's highly anticipated 'Under The Influence' tour for 2023, where they will take the stage in Dublin in the Republic of Ireland, as well as London, Birmingham, and Manchester in England in February. The tour is also expected to touch Glasgow in Scotland, as well as Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam.

Skillibeng, whose given name is Emwah Warmington, expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming show dates. He said that he is bringing authentic dancehall and a unique perspective of the culture to the tour, despite critics saying that what he is doing is trap dancehall.

"He (Brown) is a global superstar (so) me and him sharing a stage, or even being on tour together just gets me excited to go show my work and our culture. I'm bringing me, I'm bringing real dancehall. My goal is to let Chris Brown and his audience feel the energy of our culture," he said.

"Also, there's a lot of collaboration coming, few on my album that's coming out and some singles not only with persons from London [where he has spent much time over the past three months] but a lot across the US," Skillibeng continued.