Skip Marley pleased with NAACP Image Award nomination

Recording artiste Skip Marley has snagged a second NAACP Image Award nomination.  He is nominated in the category Outstanding International Song for his latest hit “Close”, in the 2025 staging of the annual awards show.

Also nominated in that category is “Jump” by Tyla featuring Gunna and Skillibeng, “Hmmm” by Chris Brown featuring Davido, “Love Me JeJe” by Tems and “Piece of My Heart” by Wizkid featuring Brent Faiyaz.

Loop News caught up with Marley for a comment about the nomination.

“It's always an honour to be recognized by the NAACP. Maxi really set the song's international appeal when he first took the original "Close To You" all over the world, so I was blessed to continue along on that legacy with my own version,” Marley told Loop News.

“Close”, which samples the song “Close to You, an international hit for reggae singer Maxi Priest in 1990, is currently charting on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 chart.

This is Skip Marley’s second NAACP Image Award nomination. In 2021, he was nominated for Outstanding New Artiste.

The Bob Marley: One Love biopic, actress and singer Sheryl Lee Ralph, and the soundtrack to the Marley film, also earned nominations.

The biopic’s nominations include Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture and Outstanding Motion Picture.

Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, who co-wrote the screenplay with Terrence Winter, Frank E Flowers and Zach Baylin, the Bob Marley: One Love movie spent multiple weeks at the top of the US Box Office, when it opened on February 14 last year.

British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir who plays Bob Marley, earned a nomination in the Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture category, while actress Lashana Lynch who played Bob’s wife, Rita, is nominated in the category Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture.

The soundtrack to the film Bob Marley: One Love is nominated for Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album.

Actress and singer Sheryl Lee Ralph is also up for an award, as she earned a nod in the category Outstanding Supporting Actress in a comedy series, for her role in Abbott Elementary which airs on ABC.

The NAACP Image Awards will take place over two days, February 21 and 22. It will air on BET and CBS.