(CMR) Julian Marley and Alexx Antaeus won the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album for their album Colors Of Royal. The announcement was made at the premiere ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday, 4 February.
This is the 40th Reggae Award to be presented at the Grammys since it was first included as Best Reggae Recording in 1985.
According to World Music Views, the last time two persons who were not part of a group won the award was Shaggy and Sting’s 44/876 in 2018.
Black Uhuru’s Anthem won the first Best Reggae Recording in 1985, and the Marley family has the most Reggae Grammy awards, with Ziggy Marley being nominated 15 times and winning 8 Best Reggae Album awards.
Alexx Antaeus of Monom Records, a first-time Grammy nominee, released the eight-track album independently in collaboration with Julian Marley, son of Reggae icon Bob Marley, on March 24, 2023. This is Julian’s third nomination after he was nominated in 2009 and 2020 but did not win.
This year, five albums received nominations for Best Reggae Album, including Buju Banton‘s “Born For Greatness,” released on Def Jam Records, Burning Spear‘s “No Destroyer,” Beenie Man‘s “Simma” and Collie Buddz‘s “Cali Roots Riddim 2023.”
According to a report from The Recording Academy’s 2023 Member Class survey, only 6% of Grammy voters express an interest in reggae. This places the genre at No. 18 out of 22 categories, with Pop leading the chart at 41% of Grammy voting members, World Music Views reported.
The Reggae category incorporates nominees from the dancehall and Ska genres. Traditionally announced in a pre-televised ceremony last year and this year, the category was streamed live on YouTube.
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