Alkaline Submits ‘Top Prize’ Album For Reggae Grammy Consideration

Dancehall star Alkaline was sure to have his sophomore album Top Prize submitted for consideration at the 64th annual GRAMMY Awards.

In an Instagram post today, the Champion Boy‘s sister and manager Kereena ‘Kereberry’ Beckford confirmed that the 14-track album was now in the first round of voting after it was submitted to the Best Reggae Album category.

The first voting round opened on October 22 and will close off on November 5, 2021.

Alkaline’s Top Prize was arguably the most commercially successful Dancehall album to be released between September 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021, which is also the product eligibility period for submissions to the 64th GRAMMY Awards.  The album had peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart after it sold 1,527 copies and 2,957 units in total consumption from sales and streams during its first week of release on May 14.

Notably, the Recording Academy changed its voting process, earlier this year, in order to eliminate the organization’s secret nomination committees, after The Weeknd’s critically acclaimed and highly successful album, After Hours, was snubbed for a nomination last year.

Additionally—and in an apparent push to be more diverse—the Academy had also announced that 2,710 music professionals were invited to join the 2021 class of voters—among them were Reggae singer Skip Marley.

Alkaline wasn’t the only Dancehall entertainer to release a project during the eligibility period.  If submitted, Dancehall albums such as Vybz Kartel‘s Born Fi Dis, Spice‘s 10, Jahvillani’s Dirt To Bentley, Dexta Daps‘ Vent Deluxe, and Usain Bolt and NJ’s Country Yutes may also be up for consideration.

There were also popular Reggae albums released during the period including U-Roy’s Solid Gold U-Roy, which was posthumously released, California band Rebelution’s In The Moment, Jesse Royal‘s Royal, Etana’s Pamoja, and Joe Mersa Marley’s Eternal EP.

Reggae legend Bob Marley has never won a Grammy, but his son Ziggy holds the record for the most wins in the Best Reggae Album category, with seven wins total.  Ziggy has an eighth Grammy Award for Best Musical Album For Children.

Originally called the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Recording, the Reggae Album award was presented for the first time in 1985 to Reggae group Black Uhuru for their Anthem album. In 2021, the award went to Reggae band Toots & The Maytals for their album Got To Be Tough. 

Among the few Dancehall artists that have copped the coveted award in the years in between are: Shabba Ranks for As Raw As Ever (1992) and X-tra Naked (1993), Shaggy for Boombastic (1996), Beenie Man for Art and Life (2001), and Sean Paul for Dutty Rock (2004), and Buju Banton for Before The Dawn (2011).

Elephant Man, Bounty Killer, Yellowman, Capleton, Wayne Wonder, Sizzla, Jah Cure, Chronixx, Etana, and Protoje all have the honor of being nominated for the Reggae Grammy at least once over the years.  Koffee was the youngest person and the only woman to win a Grammy for Best Reggae Album at age 19.

The nominations for the 64th GRAMMY Awards will be announced on November 23, 2021, by CEO Harvey Mason Jr. during a live stream.  The 2022 Award ceremony is set for January 31, 2022, at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.