Five-time JUNO Award winner Exco Levi is weighing in on the controversial decision to remove the Reggae category from Canada’s biggest music awards show. 

The Reggae singer was doing an Instagram live when Music News asked him how he felt about the move made by the JUNO Awards.

Meanwhile, music insiders have cited factors such as declining streaming numbers, reduced sales, repetitive submissions, and the dominance of a few artists over the years as reasons for the removal of the Reggae category.

However, Exco Levi, who currently resides in Canada and won the JUNO Award from 2012 to 2015, and again in 2017, has a different theory.

According to the Canadian Press, the organizers told committee members last week of plans to put on “hiatus” reggae recording, children’s album, Christian/gospel album and international album of the year.

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences says the decision is part of a “broader set of updates” yet to be announced.

The JUNO Awards first introduced the Best Reggae/Calypso Recording category back in 1985, which ran until 1991. In 1992 and 1993, Reggae tracks were grouped under World Beat Recording category, until 1994 when the Reggae Recording of the Year category returned.

The 2025 JUNO Awards will take place in Vancouver on March 30.