For Your Grammy® Consideration

(Latin, Global, African, Reggae, & New Age Ambient or Chant)

Best Reggae Album

SUPERNOVA album artwork by Runkus

Runkus

Supernova

  • 13 original compositions · 50:56
  • Guest appearances by Sean Paul and Peter Tosh
Listen to the album Stream on all platforms

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Runkus in the studio

Tracklist & Listen

13 tracks · 50:56

Critical Praise

“Named one of Billboard’s 50 Best Albums of 2026 (So far).”

Billboard

“Supernova is easily one of the year’s most thrilling front-to-back listens….A rich, cinematic collection of songs that lean on juxtaposition to explore the malleability of Caribbean music.”

Billboard

“SUPERNOVA was well-named because this is the most imaginative, progressive, and totally mind-blowing album you’ll likely hear all year. It’s a masterpiece - every track’s different, and Runkus is not only master of all styles, but he knows exactly where and when to use them. 5 stars out of 5.”

John Masouri, ECHOES MagazineMarch issue · Reggae Album of the Month

“…One of the most original and exciting new albums in recent times. That’s high praise, isn’t it? But I think it’s worthy of it. It’s entitled SUPERNOVA. Believe me, this album is going to take the reggae world by storm. People will want to hold this and play it on repeat for years to come. Quite frankly, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing when I first sat down and listened to it in its entirety. Because, you know, I just, next track, next track, what? No fillers, every single track is absolutely stunning.”

David Rodigan, BBC1 Radio

“Some records unfold. Others ignite. On SUPERNOVA, Runkus does both at once – compressing a universe of ideas, references, riddims and revelations into something that feels less like a linear album and more like a living constellation. It’s a body of work that overflows with language and sound – dense, playful, layered – yet never collapses under its own weight. Instead, it breathes, expands, and pulls you deeper in with every listen.”

Reggaeville

“SUPERNOVA isn’t just an album. It’s a glow-up, a statement, and a full-on cosmic moment.”

One West Magazine

“Tracks like ‘SUPERNOVA,’ ‘LIFE OVER DEATH,’ and ‘EVERY GHETTO YOUTH IS A STAR’ linger in the mind like a great film you can’t quite shake.”

Reggae Francetranslation

About the Album

Runkus

A unique voice in modern reggae, RUNKUS has established an avant-garde reputation, fearlessly breaking down borders, weaving together both modern and ancient into one sound. He’s worked as an artist, producer, songwriter, and scorer for the past decade, winning a MOBO (for his work on Bashy’s Being Poor Is Expensive), a Juno (for his work on Naomi Cowan’s Welcome To Paradise), as well as being nominated for GRAMMY® and Ivor Novello Awards, along the way.

Recently, Runkus felt a deeper calling towards the world of visual art, which has led to working with Bahamian artist Tavares Strachan, whose multi-disciplinary output has earned him a MacArthur Genius Prize. With the new album, SUPERNOVA, which includes guest appearances by Sean Paul and Peter Tosh, they have reignited a seamless collaboration of music and art, following in the footsteps of pairings like The Velvet Underground & Andy Warhol, Kanye West & Virgil Abloh, and (closer to Runkus’s home country of Jamaica) Bob Marley & Neville Garrick. Roots reggae, thumping bass, dancehall energy, and deep lyricism merge together to tell a story of life and death, the sheep and the wolf, the version of you that has to die for the next one to be born, all elements of SUPERNOVA.

Runkus