When the 30th annual Billboard Latin Music Awards unfolded on Thursday, October 5, inside Watsco Centre in Miami, Florida, international recording artiste Sean Paul was among the attendees.

He was nominated in the category Crossover Artist of the Year. His collaboration Karmika with Karol G and Bad Gyal is featured on Karol G’s 5x platinum-certified album Manana Sera Bonito, which won the awards for Top Latin Album of the Year and Latin Rhythm Album of the Year.

“What I enjoyed about being at the awards was just connecting with people. I met Peso Pluma for the first time; he’s a huge Latin superstar right now. Karol G, I got to bless her up. I’ve known her for quite a few years. She came to Jamaica to work with me when there wasn’t so much attention on her career. Earlier this year we did a song for her award-winning album, so making the connections has always been my thing at these awards,” Sean Paul said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.

Peso Pluma was the big winner at the Billboard Latin Music Awards winning eight awards. Bad Bunny took home seven awards, while Karol G received five.

In recent years, the likes of Sean Paul, producers Rvssian, Stephen “Di Genius” McGregor and Charly Black have tapped into the lucrative Latin market.

According to Sean Paul, this is evidence that the Jamaican culture is strong.

“Well, it’s evident that Jamaican culture is very strong. It’s a small island but our culture has been permeating in different people’s society. We know the rhythms, the artistes themselves, and what the producers are able to do and help other genres develop. A lot of what’s hot right now, most of it contains reggae or dancehall,” Sean Paul disclosed.

He also highlighted that working with Latin acts has been a great experience for him and his brand.

“For sure, I have been working with a lot of people in the Latin market over the years. J Balvin was very cool and also Feid and this kid named Manuel Turizo. I’m gonna release a song with him on the 27th of this month and it’s called Dem Time Deh, and it’s a song about being enthralled with a young lady. Ladies love the song and there’s more to come. Big up, Manuel and his team. The whole experience has been awesome working with Latin artistes; it feels good. Hopefully I can learn a little more Spanish and help a lot more people to understand and respect our culture within that same breath,” said Sean Paul.

He also spoke about the challenges of trying to work with Jamaican artistes.

“Talking to the younger artistes or their managers to get songs done in my own genre is like pulling teeth. You’d think that people would answer my calls and not be unavailable. But it is what it is. If we did work better with each other, we would be a much stronger genre.”

The Billboard Latin Music Awards was aired on Telemundo. It is renowned for honouring excellence in Latin music and is considered one of the most esteemed accolades within the industry. Each year the awards issued recognise artistes who have made a substantial impact on Latin music across various genres and categories.