Julian Marley and Antaeus have won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album for their album “Colors of Royal” at the 66th GRAMMY Awards. The Grammy Awards took place this past weekend with some of the heavy hitters in reggae going head-to-head at the 66th annual ceremony.
Colors of Royal is an exciting departure from Julian Marley’s previous roots-reggae offerings, and showcases his versatility as an artist. The album is a testament to the power of collaboration, as Marley and Antaeus have blended their unique styles and influences to create something extraordinary. Colors of Royal showcases a kaleidoscope of sounds and invites listeners to both think about the state of our world today and, at the same time, appreciate and enjoy Life.
The 8-track collection, features production work from Alexx Antaeus (Earth, Wind & Fire, Rolling Stones,Yaksta), Notnice (Popcaan, Spice, Vybz Kartel), Mr. Sonic (Santana, Ricky Martin, Jon Secada), Sean Alaric (Teyana Taylor, Koffee, Protoje), and Prince Productions (Waka Flocka Flame, French Montana). The album was mastered by Grammy award-winning engineer Alex Psaroudakis.
“This album is all about artistic freedom and exploration,” says Julian. “We wanted to create something that was both true to reggae music and also pushed the envelope, and I think we’ve achieved that with Colors of Royal. It’s a journey through sound and color, and we can’t wait for people to experience it.” And Antaeus added, “I am thankful that Julian allowed us to bring him into new musical territories. Our electronic sound allowed him to step beyond traditional reggae, adding a fresh layer to his innate talent. Colors of Royal represents a fresh chapter in Reggae.”
British-born Julian Marley is the son of Jamaican musical icon Bob Marley and Barbadian mom Lucy Pounder. Julian is a roots-reggae musician, singer-songwriter, and humanitarian. Antaeus achieved worldwide success with his four previous albums: Byzantine Meditation, World Prayer, Zero4 and Chromasounds. His music has been described as a “chill-out soundscape fusing voices, traditional instruments and electronica.” His songs have been licensed for TV commercials, and have been used in various compilations, including Buddha Bar.
The Grammy’s have remained true to authentic Reggae and put emphasis on more of the Dancehall and traditional records released.
While nominations for Buju Banton, Beenie Man, and Julian Marley should came as no surprise, the one massive snub from this year’s nominees including The Elovators, Dirty Heads, The Elovaters, Expendables, Nathan Aura, and Common Kings all had some of the best albums of the year but were noticeably absent from nominations.
Controversy erupted online at the 64th Grammy Awards when SOJA took home the award for Best Reggae Album. SOJA beat out five other Jamaican artists to snag the award. Many genre purists took to social media to air their sour grapes, resulting in xenophobic and racist comments directed at the American-based reggae outfit.
