Alborosie named his album after the most sacred few acres in reggae, and now he’s asking the Recording Academy to take a look.
The Sicilian-born, Kingston-based artist posted a straightforward “For Your Consideration” message on Facebook, putting Nine Mile forward for Best Reggae Album at the Grammys.
The post is short and to the point. It reads simply, “For Your Consideration / Best Reggae Album / #NineMile by #ALBOROSIE,” capped with a #GRAMMYs tag and no extra pitch.
The title alone does a lot of talking. Nine Mile is the village in Jamaica’s St. Ann parish where Bob Marley was born and where he’s laid to rest, a pilgrimage stop for reggae fans from every corner of the world.
Naming a record after it is a bold move for anyone, and it carries extra weight coming from an artist who wasn’t born on the island.
That outsider-turned-insider story has followed Alborosie, born Alberto D’Ascola, for most of his career. He left Italy for Jamaica and built a reputation there as both a singer and a producer steeped in roots tradition.
To his supporters, a title like Nine Mile reads as earned devotion from someone who has spent years proving himself in Kingston’s studios.
There’s a second way to read the post, though, and it’s less about symbolism and more about strategy. For Your Consideration” campaigns are a routine part of Grammy season, with artists and labels nudging Academy voting members toward their work before nominations are set.
Some listeners see these posts as savvy self-promotion in a crowded field, while others view them as the kind of industry box-ticking that rarely moves the needle on its own.
Best Reggae Album is one of the more closely watched categories for the genre’s global audience. Every year it sparks debate over which corners of reggae get recognized, from long-running Jamaican institutions to international acts working in the tradition.
An entry from a Jamaica-based European artist, carrying a title that points straight back to Marley’s roots, lands right in the middle of that conversation.
For now, Alborosie isn’t saying more than the post itself. There’s no statement about the album’s themes or why he chose this particular moment to make the push. The hashtags do the work, and the call to voters is plain.
What happens next depends on the Academy’s process, which runs from submissions through voting rounds before nominees are announced.
Whether Nine Mile makes the final cut or not, Alborosie has made his intentions public. The ballots will settle the rest.
