Rising Latin, R&B, and hip-hop artists take center stage at the Boston Music Awards - The Boston Globe (2025)

Following a brief video tribute to past BMA winners and an introduction by Valdez, the night’s performances kicked off in style thanks to local Latin artist Yelena Rodriguez, who got the audience going with her songs “DIABLA” and “La Rosa,” as well as covers of songs by Selena and Karol G. Rodriguez told the Globe that she was “super happy” with her performance, and admitted that she felt “emotional” about being nominated — and ultimately winning — again for Latin artist of the year.

“I feel so grateful, because it’s very important for the Latin community,” said Rodriguez, who won the inaugural Latin artist of the year award in 2022. “The artists that are in the community, not just myself, need to be highlighted more. This is just one of those things where it really helps us bring awareness to the Latin community, to Latin artists.”

On the R&B side, Boston singer-songwriter Tyler Loyal made a splash as the evening’s second performer, with the crowd vibing along to a number of his songs, including the track “internet ruined us.” Loyal would go on to win R&B artist of the year, beating out last year’s winner, ToriTori.

Yanna G was another local up-and-comer who earned her flowers at the show, scoring a win for 2024’s new artist of the year. The Dorchester singer took the stage later in the evening, performing tracks like her hit song with noted producer Chase N. Cashe, “Brighter Dayz,” which was nominated for video of the year. Mattapan rapper Nay $peaks, who won new artist of the year in 2023, also joined Yanna G during her set.

As a first-time BMA performer and nominee, Yanna G admitted she was “really excited” to take part in the night’s festivities, calling her time on stage “complete vibes.” As an artist coming up in Boston’s music scene, she praises the city for its diversity, which she says, “really comes into play when it comes to the music.” And while she cites legends like Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu as her musical idols, her biggest inspiration is her family.

“I grew up in Dorchester, I grew up with my mom, my dad, my sister,” said Yanna G. “The main thing about it was to be yourself, be completely authentic, and just love each other, show up as love. That’s my inspiration.”

Local hip-hop artists shined as well on Wednesday, with Massachusetts rapper Millyz appearing in a video message to accept the prize for hip-hop artist of the year, a repeat of his 2023 victory in the category. Millyz also earned a nod for album/EP of the year (1 million+ streams) for his record “Katrina’s Son.”

Closing out the night’s performances was Roxbury rapper Cakeswagg, who brought the house down with showcases of her infectious hits, like “Bad [expletive] Link Up.” Before taking the stage for her set, Cakeswagg teased attendees with a mini-rendition of the song while accepting the award for video of the year.

“People started singing it, so I started rapping,” Cakeswagg said. “The energy was in the room, so you know what, forget it, we’re going to do it anyway.”

The awards served as a nice cap to Cakeswagg’s 2024, a year in which she also performed at Boston Calling in May. Overall, Cakeswagg is honored to call herself an artist from Boston and credits the camaraderie among the city’s different artists.

“It feels so good as an artist who continues to choose to create in Boston and give back to Boston,” Cakeswagg said of her “very special” night at the BMAs. “It’s nice to feel like your city sees you and they’re acknowledging all of that hard work that you do.”

Rounding out the evening’s performers were pop artist of the year nominee Copilot and rock band of the year winner The Ghouls. As for the rest of the night’s top honorees, winners included Latrell James, who won album/EP of the year for “Running In Place”; kei, who won song of the year for “Hello”; Alisa Amador as singer-songwriter of the year; and Amanda Shea as spoken word artist of the year.

Additional artist of the year winners were Mallcops (alt/indie); GA-20 (blues); Other Brother Darryl (country); Rilla Force (dance/electronic); SuperSmashBroz (DJ); Grace Kelly (jazz); Converge (metal); Rebuilder (punk/hardcore); The Elovaters (reggae/ska); Miranda Rae (vocalist).

Allston’s O’Brien’s Pub won live music venue of the year (capacity under 250), while the Sinclair (250+) and Roadrunner (1,000+) won in the larger categories.

“Tonight, we honored the brilliance of Boston’s music scene — from an artist who commanded two sold-out nights at Fenway Park to performers debuting new music this year — and the people behind the scenes who make the shows we all love possible,” BMA owner and producer Paul Armstrong said in a statement. “This year’s winners represent the most diverse and dynamic group in our storied history, a powerful testament to the vibrant, inclusive direction our music community is forging.”

Matt Juul can be reached at matthew.juul@globe.com.