The 2020 Grammy Nominations For ‘Best Reggae Album’
The new Reggae Grammy Nominations just might give rise to a new reggae star, Koffee. Mikayla Simpson, otherwise known as Koffee, is a 19-years-old Jamaican prodigy. With her album Rapture EP and song “Toast”, the young star managed to remain at the top of the dancehall chart for a long time.
The Reggae Grammy Nominations brings us new happenings in the Reggae and Dancehall, now that Buju Banton has released a new track “Trust” after a wait of 10 years. Maybe Banton’s new album might get nominated for the next year’s Annual Reggae Grammy Awards.
The Nominees for the Reggae Grammy
This year nominees for the Best Reggae Album are:
- Koffee – “Rapture ED”
- Julian Marley – “As I Am”
- Sly & Robbie & Roots Radics – “The Final Battle: Sly & Robbie Vs. Roots Radics”
- Steel Pulse – “Mass Manipulation”
- Third World – “More Work To Be Done”
Koffee is the youngest ever candidate. There are two Marley sons in the nominees. Julian Marley with his album “As I Am”. Also Damian Marley, as the producer of the Third World’s album: “More Work To Be Done”. Additionally, roots reggae band Steel Pulse alongside Sly & Robbie represents the old-school. Steel Pulse is from Birmingham, UK. The other comes straight from Kingston, Jamaica and both have been present from the 1970s.
So far, out of the five contestants, two have already been awarded the Best Reggae Album award. Steel Pulse won their first in 1987 with the album “Babylon the Bandit”. That year, other nominees included Black Uhuru, Jimmy Cliff, Linton Kwesi Johnson, and The Itals. Sly & Robbie took the award in 1999 with “Friends” beating Buju Banton, Beenie Man, The Wailing Souls, and Toots & the Maytals. Sure, Damian Marley holds three awards for Best Reggae Album but this time, he is acting only as a producer and Third World has no awards. For me, I always cheer for the ones who haven’t receive an award so far.
The 62nd Annual Reggae Grammy Awards will take place on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Do you plan on attending the awards or watching online? In any case, share your thought with us. Who would you like to see taking that Reggae Grammy?