So about two months ago was ‘The Grammy Nominations Live’ kick off awards, which revealed the final 5 nominees in each award category. This year the five nominees were…
The Grammys Reggae Album of the Year Nominations
Snoop Lion – Reincarnated
Ziggy Marley – In Concert
Beres Hammond – One Love, One Life
Sizzla – The Messiah
Sly & Robbie and the Jam Masters – Reggae Connection
At The Pier, we decided to do an article about the nominees for The Grammy’s Reggae Album of the Year, which you can read by clicking HERE!
The feedback we got, seemed to be unanimous; that the Grammy’s didn’t truly represent the nature of the reggae genre & after much debate, the experts and critics have chosen their pick of Reggae Album of the Year, and the winner goes to Ziggy Marley with his January 2013 release of Ziggy Marley In Concert.
Recorded on Ziggy Marley’s 2012 World tour, the album was released by Tuff Gong Worldwide. The album features Ziggy’s band of: drummer Santa Davis (Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, Santana), lead guitarist Takeshi Akimoto, guitarist and backing vocalist Beezy Coleman, bassist Pablo Stennet, keyboard players Michael Hyde and George Hughes, percussionist Angel Roche, and vocalist Tracy Hazzard.
First of all, I would like to congratulate Mr. Marley in this achievement, making it his 6th Grammy Award win, and I would also like to congratulate every one of the candidates that were nominated this year.
After we released the aforementioned article in December, revealing the Reggae Album of the Year nominees, it felt that most of the feedback was negative towards the Grammys and what they were doing to the reggae genre. I think it is very beneficial to have an award show to reward the best of the best in each musical category, however I feel that each category must be represented to the best of its abilities, and that is one place I feel that the Grammy’s didn’t seem to do well this year.
I can’t exactly answer why or how each album is picked – What I do know, is that Fortunate Youth got into the field of the first considered 50 and I imagine other bands did as well, but I would like to see how the top 5 got voted on!
Let’s not take away anything from Ziggy Marley, but I do want to know why none of our nominations made the cut. The Green was voted Album of the Year via The 2013 Pier Awards and it is in fact a great album, that could make a strong case for consideration. What about John Brown’s Body with Kings & Queens, Iration’s Automatic or even why SOJA’s Strength To Survive or Rebelution’s Peace of Mind wasn’t considered in 2012?
If The Grammy’s only continue to recognize big names, instead of quality albums, do The Grammy’s still matter? It’s become more theatrics than actually recognizing and having the opportunity to introduce a great album or even a new band to the masses. They’re missing a great opportunity with the evolving reggae genre & if it doesn’t matter to them, then why should it matter to the rest of us? In the end, we’re the lucky ones that get to appreciate this music – sure, it’d be nice to see our favorite reggae bands being celebrated on a bigger stage, but for now, we’re spoiled with great music that the rest of the world will have to wait to hear & get to know!
Make your case in the comments below as to who you feel your 5 Reggae-Album Nominee’s should’ve been!
Related Links:
2013 Pier Awards Nominees
2013 Pier Awards
Ziggy Marley Website
Article By: Andrew McClatchy
Watch: Ziggy Marley Interview Following His Grammy Award