The Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards for quality works in the reggae genre. Originally called the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Recording, the honor was presented to artists for eligible songs or albums. The Jamaican group Black Uhuru received the first award in 1985. Beginning with the 1992 ceremony, the name of the award was changed to Best Reggae Album. Starting in 2002, awards were often presented to the engineers, mixers, and/or producers in addition to the performing artists. According to the category description guide for the 52nd Grammy Awards, eligible works are vocal or instrumental reggae albums “containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded music”, including roots reggae, dancehall and ska music.[1]
At the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020, Koffee became the youngest person. Ziggy Marley holds the record for the most wins in this category, with seven wins as of 2017. Sharon Marley and Cedella Marley of Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers hold the record for most wins and nominations by a female artist, with three wins out of eight nominations. The current recipient of the award is Keznamdi, who won at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards with his album Blxxd & Fyah.
Recipients
1980s
| Year[I] | Work | Performing artist(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 [2] | ||
| Anthem | Black Uhuru | |
| Captured Live | Peter Tosh | |
| King Yellowman | Yellowman | |
| “Reggae Night” | Jimmy Cliff | |
| “Steppin’ Out” | Steel Pulse | |
| 1986 [3] | ||
| Cliff Hanger | Jimmy Cliff | |
| Alive in Jamaica | Blue Riddim Band | |
| Play the Game Right | Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers | |
| Resistance | Burning Spear | |
| Working Wonders | Judy Mowatt | |
| 1987 [4] | ||
| Babylon the Bandit | Steel Pulse | |
| Brutal | Black Uhuru | |
| Club Paradise | Jimmy Cliff | |
| Linton Kwesi Johnson in Concert with the Dub Band | Linton Kwesi Johnson and the Dub Band | |
| Rasta Philosophy | The Itals | |
| 1988 [5] | ||
| No Nuclear War | Peter Tosh | |
| Brutal Dub | Black Uhuru | |
| Hold on to Love | Third World | |
| People of the World | Burning Spear | |
| UB40 CCCP: Live in Moscow | UB40 | |
| 1989 [6] | ||
| Conscious Party | Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers | |
| “Breakfast in Bed” | UB40 and Chrissie Hynde | |
| Hanging Fire | Jimmy Cliff | |
| Toots in Memphis | Toots Hibbert | |
| UB40 | UB40 |
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
^[I] Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.
2010 controversy
Buju Banton‘s (real name Mark Anthony Myrie) nomination for the 2010 award sparked controversy and protest due to homophobic lyrics within his music.[41][42] Banton’s most controversial song, released in 1988, is “Boom, Bye Bye”, which “promote[s] the murder of gay men by shooting or burning”.[43] Following the artist’s nomination, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center placed an advertisement in the Daily Variety encouraging Grammy officials to denounce music that “promotes or celebrates violence against any group of people”.[41] The advertisement, which took the form of a letter signed by gay rights and civil rights activists, asserted that honoring Banton was awarding “extraordinary hateful work”. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences responded by insisting that artists are honored for quality music “regardless of politics”. Banton has been quoted as saying that he sees “no end to the war” between himself and gay men.[41][44] The 2010 award was presented to Stephen Marley. Banton was nominated in 2011 for the album Before the Dawn.[28] Other reggae musicians that have been accused of promoting anti-gay lyrics include Beenie Man, Elephant Man, Shabba Ranks and Sizzla.[45][46]
See also
- List of reggae musicians
- List of roots reggae artists
- List of ska musicians
- Music of Jamaica
- Reggae genres
References
General
- “Past Winners Search”. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on December 19, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2011. Note: User must select the “Reggae” category as the genre under the search feature.
Specific
- ^ “52nd OEP Category Description Guide” (PDF). National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 27, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
- ^ “Nominations Listed by Categories for 27th Annual Grammy Awards”. Schenectady Gazette. Schenectady, New York. January 12, 1985. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
- ^ Hunt, Dennis (January 15, 1988). “U2, Jackson Top Grammy Nominees”. Los Angeles Times. p. 5. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Hunt, Dennis (January 9, 1987). “Grammy Nominations: Highs And Lows”. Los Angeles Times. p. 5. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ “Grammy Nominations”. The San Diego Union-Tribune. January 15, 1988. Archived from the original on August 8, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
- ^ Hunt, Dennis (January 13, 1989). “Chapman, McFerrin Lead Grammy Race: Baker, Sting, Michael, Winwood Also Capture Multiple Nominations”. Los Angeles Times. p. 6. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Silverman, David (January 12, 1990). “Grammy Nominations Break With Tradition”. Chicago Tribune. Tribune Company. p. 3. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ “List of Grammy nominations”. Times-News. Hendersonville, North Carolina: The New York Times Company. January 11, 1991. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
- ^ “34th Grammy Awards – 1992”. Rock on the Net. Archived from the original on February 22, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
- ^ “35th Grammy Awards – 1993”. Rock on the Net. Archived from the original on February 27, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
- ^ “36th Grammy Awards – 1994”. Rock on the Net. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ “The 37th Grammy Nominations”. Los Angeles Times. January 6, 1995. p. 7. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
- ^ “List of Grammy nominees”. CNN. January 4, 1996. Archived from the original on December 7, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
- ^ “The Complete List of Nominees”. Los Angeles Times. January 8, 1997. p. 7. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
- ^ “Complete list of Grammy nominations”. USA Today. Gannett Company. Archived from the original on February 10, 1999. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
- ^ “41st Grammy Awards – 1999”. Rock on the Net. Archived from the original on December 19, 2010. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
- ^ “And the nominees are…” USA Today. Gannett Company. February 22, 2000. Archived from the original on July 8, 2001. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
- ^ McCallister, Jared (January 28, 2001). “Air Jamaica Flying to Trinidad”. Daily News. New York City, New York: Mortimer Zuckerman. Retrieved June 21, 2010. [dead link]
- ^ “Complete List Of Grammy Nominees”. CBS News. January 4, 2002. Archived from the original on October 10, 2003. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
- ^ “Complete list of Grammy nominees; ceremony set for Feb. 23”. San Francisco Chronicle. January 8, 2003. p. 4. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
- ^ “46th Grammy Awards – 2004”. Rock on the Net. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
- ^ “47th Grammy Awards – 2005”. Rock on the Net. Archived from the original on February 1, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
- ^ “Blues, Folk, Reggae and World Music Nominees and Winners”. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
- ^ “49th Annual Grammy Awards Winners List”. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on December 20, 2006. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
- ^ “50th annual Grammy Awards nominations (part II)”. Variety. Reed Business Information. December 6, 2007. Archived from the original on July 25, 2010. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
- ^ “The 51st Annual Grammy Awards Winners List”. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on January 29, 2010. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
- ^ “The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards Nominees List”. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 18, 2010. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
- ^ a b “53rd Annual Grammy Awards nominees list”. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- ^ [List of 2013 nominees “Nominees and Winners | GRAMMY.com”. Archived from the original on 2012-02-01. Retrieved 2016-02-23.]
- ^ “57th Grammy Nominees”. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 13, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
- ^ Unterberger, Andrew (6 December 2016). “Here Is the Complete List of Nominees for the 2017 Grammys”. Billboard. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- ^ Grammy.com, 28 November 2017
- ^ “Grammy.com, 7 December 2018”. 6 December 2018. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ Cooper, Andre (26 January 2020). “Koffee Wins 2020 Grammy For Best Reggae Album”. Archived from the original on 26 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ “Toots And The Maytals Win ‘Best Reggae Album’ At 2021 Grammys”. DancehallMag. 2021-03-14. Archived from the original on 2021-03-14. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
- ^ “2022 GRAMMYs Awards: Complete Nominations List”. GRAMMY.com. 2021-11-23. Archived from the original on 2021-11-25. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
- ^ Mallick, Dani (2023-02-05). “Kabaka Pyramid Wins ‘Best Reggae Album’ At 2023 Grammy Awards”. DancehallMag. Archived from the original on 2023-02-10. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
- ^ Mallick, Dani (2024-02-04). “Julian Marley, Antaeus’ ‘Colors Of Royal’ Wins ‘Best Reggae Album’ At 2024 Grammy Awards”. DancehallMag. Archived from the original on 2024-02-04. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
- ^ “2025 GRAMMYs: See The OFFICIAL Full Nominations List | GRAMMY.com”. grammy.com. Archived from the original on 2024-10-30. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ “2026 GRAMMYS: See The Full Nominations List | GRAMMY.com”. grammy.com. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
- ^ a b c Serjeant, Jill (January 29, 2010). “Gay groups urge Grammys to denounce Buju Banton”. Reuters. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
- ^ Brown, August (January 29, 2010). “Buju Banton’s Grammy nomination angers gay rights groups”. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 6, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
- ^ Furse, Jane H. (December 14, 2009). “Grammy-nominated Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton faces 20 years after 11-pound cocaine bust”. Daily News. New York City, New York: Mortimer Zuckerman. Archived from the original on December 17, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
- ^ “Grammy Doesn’t Honor Buju Banton”. The Advocate. Here Media. January 31, 2010. Archived from the original on February 5, 2010. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
- ^ “Beenie Man concerts cancelled over anti-gay lyrics”. CBC News. August 27, 2004. Archived from the original on May 4, 2007. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
- ^ Adebayo, Dotun (October 18, 2002). “Don’t blame the music”. The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2011.