Reggae And World Music Awards To Be Presented May 9

High flying reggae rapper Sean Paul grabbed eleven nominations to top the list of nominees in this year’s Martin’s Inter-Culture, 23rd Annual International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA) to be held Sunday, May 9, at Columbia University’s Alfred Lerner Hall, 115th Street and Broadway, in Manhattan.

The International Reggae and World Music Awards, produced by Martin’s Inter-Culture, annually honors the best in reggae and world beat music at the global level. The experts in the reggae and world music industry recently submitted their nominations for the best in some thirty-eight categories. Last month, at a press briefing in Chicago, Illinois, the nominees in all the categories and special honorees were announced by producer Ephraim Martin and production manager Field Marshal.

Two new categories were added to the Awards this year, they are Best Reggaeton Entertainer and Best Hip Hop Entertainer, while the category for Leading Newspaper/Magazine has been discontinued. The Hip Hop nominees are: Busta Rhymes, 50 Cents, Fabolus, Black Eye Peas and Outcast, while the Reggaeton nominees are: Noreaga, Tego Calderon, Wisin Y Yandel, Queen Ivy and Daddy Yankee.

This promises to be an event to remember when Beenie Man and Elephant Man go head to head in five of the same categories; Sean Paul take on Elephant Man in five of the same categories; then all three square off in the following four categories: Bob Marley Award for Entertainer of the Year, Recording Artist of the year, Best Song and Best D.J/Rapper. Help to select the winner(s) by casting your vote online www.internationalmusicawards.com and let your vote be counted before, April 20, 2004.

Fans and music lovers will be able to participate in the selection of the winners in all the nominated categories, by voting online at www.internationalmusicawards.com, or they may mail in votes to IRAWMA Votes, P.O. Box 5836, Chicago, IL 60680.

Advance early-bird tickets for this star-studded Awards celebration are: $75 for VIP Reception/Awards Show (6:00pm) and $50 for Awards show only (8:00pm), call 877/9-REGGAE (877/973-4423), 212/307-7171 or Ticketmaster.com.