BY KEVIN JACKSON—
THREE American acts have been nominated for Best Reggae Album at next year’s Grammy Awards, scheduled for February 12 in Los Angeles.
The nominations were announced in that city yesterday morning.
Live In Virginia by the band SOJA, Falling Into Place by California band Rebelution and Rose Petals from Hawaii-based singer J Boog comprise the American nominees.
Ziggy Marley by multiple winner Ziggy Marley, Sly & Robbie Presents…Reggae for Her: Devin Di Dakta and JL, and Everlasting by Raging Fyah complete the bracket. Morgan Heritage won the 2016 Best Reggae Album Grammy with Strictly Roots.
American reggae acts have generally outsold their Jamaican counterparts in the United States for the past five years. The trend continued in 2016. Falling Into Place is commercially the most successful reggae album released this year.
It debuted at number one on the Billboard Reggae Album Chart with over 13,000 copies. It is distributed by Easy Star Records. SOJA was nominated in 2015 for Amid The Noise and Haste.
Live in Virginia was released September 30 by ATO Records and debuted at number one on the Billboard Reggae Album Chart.
This is the first nomination for J Boog who was recently in Jamaica shooting a music video for Good Cry, a song from Rose Petals with deejay Chaka Demus.
Rose Petals, an EP, was released in March by the Wash House Music Group. It also features a collaboration with Stephen Marley.
Should either Rebelution, SOJA or J Boog win, they would be the first Americans to win the Best Reggae Album category. British band Steel Pulse are the only non-Jamaicans to win it, doing so in 1987 with Babylon The Bandit.
Released in May by Tuff Gong Worldwide, Ziggy Marley debuted at number one on the Billboard Reggae Album Chart. This is Marley’s sixth solo Grammy nomination to date. He has won this category three times.
Sly & Robbie collaborated with 2015 Magnum King of The Dancehall winner Devin Di Dakta and Digicel Rising Stars alumni JL on
‘Sly & Robbie Presents’ …Released by Tuff Gong International/Taxi Records, the set has given the veteran musicians their 10th nomination in the category. They won for their 1999 effort Friends.
Raging Fyah earns its first nod with Everlasting which was released in May by Dub Rockers/VP Records. It entered the Billboard Reggae Album Chart at number two. Ironically, J Boog is featured on Everlasting.
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