Observer writer names Grammy front-runners
The 64th Grammy Awards takes place tonight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Six nominees are competing in the Best Reggae Album category. They are Pamoja by Etana, Live N Livin by Sean Paul, 10 by Spice, Royal by Jesse Royal, Positive Vibrations by Gramps Morgan and Beauty in the Silence by SOJA.
It is understood that all the nominees will be in attendance at the awards. I predict that the winner will be either Sean Paul or Gramps Morgan.
Let’s look at all the nominated projects
Spice’s 10 was released by VP Records. This is her first full-length project and it peaked at number six last August on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart. The set was executive produced by Shaggy and his Ranch Entertainment team. The album got a jump-start thanks to the percolating club banger Go Down Deh which features Sean Paul and Shaggy. It was indeed the brightest spark on the set.
Pamoja from Etana on her own label Freemind Music LLC was released last June and secured Etana her second nomination. Her first was in 2019 for Reggae Forever. Pamoja features collaborations with among others, Fiji, Stonebwoy, Vybz Kartel, Alborosie, and Damian ”Junior Gong” Marley. A decent effort by Etana.
Beauty in the Silence is the third nomination for the Virginia-based reggae band SOJA and was released by ATO Records. This is a commendable effort. The journeyman band has been making a name for itself on the American reggae scene for sometime now, and Beauty in the Silence has helped to establish them as a force to be reckoned with. Beauty in the Silence peaked at number two last October on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart. Among its collaborators are Stick Figure, Ali Campbell, Common Kings, Collie Buddz, J Boog, and Rebelution.
Jesse Royal’s Royal, released by Easy Star Records, is his first nomination and a deserving nod. With talented producers including Sean Alaric, iotosh, and Wayne “Unga Barunga” Thompson at the controls, Jesse Royal delivered the goods on this project.
The assistance from collaborators including Protoje, Stonebwoy, Samory I, Vybz Kartel and Runkus, were just the additional ingredients to keep listeners entertained.
Live N Livin from Sean Paul on the Dutty Rock Productions label was an all-star project from the six-time Grammy nominee and winner (he won in 2004 with Dutty Rock) . This was his first major release in several years.
Sean Paul employed heavyweights including Serani, Intence, Masicka, Bugle, Busy Signal, Buju Banton, Damian Marley, Mavado, Skillibeng, and Agent Sasco to bring this 15-track set to life.
It’s not a bad effort, and fans showed their support upon its release. The set peaked at number nine on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.
It helps that Sean is a known name among Grammy voters, thanks to his global success through the years. This could work in his favor in beating his competitors for music’s highest honor.
For Positive Vibrations by Gramps Morgan for Halo Entertainment, he certainly knows how to network with Grammy voters and to get his music heard. It worked before when his group Morgan Heritage won the Grammy in 2016 for Strictly Roots. Two years later the group picked up a nomination for Avrakedabra.
Positive Vibrations is a really good album. The set, released last July, features a number of ear candies including A Woman Like You, If You’re Looking for Me and Runaway Bay.
The 15-track album features collaborations with his son Jemere, Shaggy, R&B singer India.Arie, his father Denroy Morgan (who passed away a few weeks ago) and Lybran aka Rum Boss.
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