genre hiphop

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Few phrases define the year in music and culture like Moliy’s scintillating directive to “shake it to the max.” The Ghanaian singer’s sultry voice reverberated across the globe, blending her own Afropop inclinations with Jamaican dancehall-informed production, courtesy of Miami-based duo Silent Addy and Disco Neil. Originally released in December 2024, Moliy’s breakthrough global crossover hit ascended to world domination, peaking at No. 6 on the Global 200, thanks to a remix featuring dancehall superstars Shenseea and Skillibeng. Simply put, “Max” soundtracked a seismic moment in African and Caribbean music in 2025. 

Given its blockbuster success, “Shake It to the Max” was widely expected to be a frontrunner in several categories at the 2026 Grammys. In fact, had the song earned a nomination for either best African music performance or best global music performance, many forecasters anticipated a victory. So, when “Shake It to the Max” failed to appear on the final list of 2026 Grammy nominees in any category earlier this month (Nov. 7), listeners across the world were left scratching their heads — none more than gamma. CEO Larry Jackson. 

“It pains me to have to acknowledge this, because Harvey Mason, Jr. is a longtime personal friend, and I also don’t attribute any of this directly to him,” Jackson tells Billboard in an exclusive statement. “But I found it to be deeply disappointing that [the Recording Academy] subjectively chose to disqualify Moliy’s “Shake It to the Max (Fly)” remix – one of the biggest songs in the world this year – from the Best Global Music Performance and African Music categories.” 

The “Shake It to the Max” remix arrived within the 2026 Grammys eligibility period on Feb. 21, with new verses from Shenseea and Skillibeng, and a revised intro from Moliy, which satisfies the Recording Academy’s definition of a “new recording.” As per the 68th Grammy Awards Rules & Guidelines, “new recordings” are defined as material that has been recorded within five years of the release date. 

Beyond the performance and production criteria, the “Max” remix also holds a unique ISRC (International Standard Recording Code), a globally recognized digital identifier assigned to distinct sound recordings and music videos, confirming it as its own distinct master recording. The remix is also the only version of “Max” that has ever been submitted for Grammy consideration, which complies with the Recording Academy’s rule that “only one version/mix of a recording is eligible in the GRAMMY process in any year.” 

Due to its fusion of Ghanaian Afropop and Jamaican dancehall, gamma. submitted the “Shake It to the Max” remix for consideration in the best global music performance category. On Sept. 20, the Recording Academy notified the Jackson-founded label that the song was deemed ineligible in that category but remained eligible for best music video and song and record of the year. The Academy did not allow the “Max” remix to compete in a different genre category, despite compelling arguments for the song fitting within the parameters of pop, melodic rap or African music.

“It really is unfortunate that ‘Shake It to the Max’ isn’t eligible in the best African music performance and best global music performance categories this year,” the Recording Academy says in an exclusive statement to Billboard. “We all acknowledge it is a massive song with significant cultural impact. Unfortunately, but quite simply, it was submitted as a remix, and as per our longstanding and published rules, remixes are just not eligible in these categories. Regardless, our goal is always to honor, respect and fairly represent creators and the music they make — so we will keep working to improve our entry processes and eligibility guidelines.” 

According to gamma., the Recording Academy notified the label of the song’s ineligibility on Sept. 20. The gamma. team tried to appeal the decision from Sept. 20-26, looping in Jackson on Oct. 1 — who then notified Mason Jr. on Oct. 2, the day before first-round voting began.  

“To be disqualified because we decided to call it a remix instead of ‘Part Two’ in our submission process is an interesting choice,” Jackson says. “This is especially odd, given the fact that 50% of it is a new composition…  The answer of ‘That’s just the way we do things, and that’s just the rule’ doesn’t feel respectful toward what these artists achieved.” 

In addition to topping U.S. Afrobeats Songs (26 weeks), Rhythmic Airplay and World Digital Song Sales, the “Max” remix also reached the top 10 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (No. 8), helping the song reach No. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 — one of the best showings for a 2020s dancehall track on Billboard’s marquee singles ranking. Crowned one of the defining songs of the summer by Spotify, “Max” also garnered remixes from Sean Paul, Major Lazer and more major artists. 

Notably, “Shake It to the Max” is not the first time a global crossover collaboration — even one initially dubbed a remix — lit up the nominations ballot. Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito,” which received a Justin Bieber remix three months after the release of the original, earned nominations for best pop duo/group performance and record and song of the year at the 2018 Grammys, ultimately losing all three. The word “remix” does not appear in the title of “Despacito” on any publicly available GRAMMY-related documents or media, despite appearing in the song’s title across DSPs. A similar naming convention was utilized for Ariana Grande’s “The Boy Is Mine.” On DSPs, the Grammy-nominated version of the song featuring Brandy and Monica includes the word “remix” in the title. 

There is also a Grammy category specifically for remixes. The best remixed recording category honors “remixed recordings (‘remixes’) where the remixer takes previously recorded and released material and creatively adds to, alters or transforms it in such a way as to create a new and unique performance.” The 68th Grammy Awards Rules & Guidelines also state that “the addition of a vocal performance by a featured artist without substantive change to the original music recording is not eligible as a remix.” The Skillibeng and Shenseea-assisted “Max” remix does not substantively change the music of the original track beyond the addition of new vocal performances by featured artists, so it would not have been eligible to compete in this category. 

“How symbolically discouraging is it for up-and-coming artists from Africa or the Caribbean that such an undeniable global success may have a likelihood of not being honored by the Academy in the future because of rigid conventionalism,” Jackson continues. “The concept of it all is at best devoid of any common sense or any fluidity in thought, and at [worst], screams the lack of leverage that independent artists and independent music companies systematically have against the machine.” 

Moliy signed to gamma., a fast-growing independent media company rivaling major labels in areas like music distribution, in 2024. At the 2026 Grammys, hundreds of indie artists will compete for golden gramophones, including Durand Bernarr, Destin Conrad and Shaboozey — though they’re still in the minority in the ceremony’s biggest categories compared to artists on majors. 

Despite two global smashes in “Max” and Full Blown & Yung Bredda’s “The Greatest Bend Over” this year, Caribbean music continues to be sidelined at the Grammys. While this year’s all-Jamaica best reggae album lineup is cause for celebration (non-Caribbean winners have courted controversy as recently as 2022), the region’s myriad culture-driving, arena-headlining sounds (soca, konpa and bouyon, chief among them) remain overlooked.

Even though “Max” will not get the chance to compete for a Grammy, hopefully its absence at the 2026 ceremony encourages the Academy to fine-tune their rules regarding remix submissions — and better serve and honor Caribbean artists and music.