Beenie Man, Buju Banton, Julian Marley, Burning Spear, and Collie Buddz were nominated for the covetous reggae Grammy.
The Grammys have named five albums for Best Reggae Albums at the 2024 awards event. On Friday, the awards revealed that the albums chosen contained greater than seventy-five percent playing time of new reggae recordings.
The nominees are Born For Greatness by Buju Banton, Simma by Beenie Man, compilation album Cali Roots Riddim 2023 by Collie Buddz, No Destroyer by Burning Spear and Colors Of Royal by Julian Marley & Antaeus.
The nominations list includes almost all previous Grammy nominees or winners.
Buju Banton is a Grammy winner with his ‘Before The Dawn’ (2009), and he’s received seven (7) Grammy nominations throughout his career, with the latest being his post-prison release Upside Down 2020. The album was produced by Buju along with Jermaine Reid, Stephen Marley, and DJ Khaled.
While speaking with the Grammy’s back in September, the artiste revealed that the album’s cover was an ode to freedom fighters Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, and others “who fought to free us from the chains around our mind because they were adamant in their resolve of freeing the people.”
For Beenie Man, the latest nomination is his fourth, which includes his albums Many Moods Of Moses (1997), The Doctor (1999), and Best Reggae Album winner Art and Life in 2001.
Simma, which is Beenie Man’s 17th studio album, was released in August 2023 and produced by Frankie Music Productions, Jerome Wright, Andre ‘Suku’ Gray, Sean Paul’s Dutty Rock Productions, Walshy Fire, Rohan Smith, MD Music Group, Richie D, Jeremy Harding, Tony Kelly, Money Matters Entertainment, Teddy Riley and The FaNaTiX.
Burning Spear’s album No Destroyer, makes him the most decorated Grammy nominee of the lot, marking 13 nominations and a two-time Grammy winner with more than 50 years of his life spent as a reggae artiste.
The 12-track album was also released in August 2023 and was produced by Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd through his label Studio One Label.
Julian Marley and Antaeus’s 8-track EP Colors Of Royal was released in March 2023 and produced by Anthaeus, NotNice, Mr. Sonic, Sean Alaric and Prince Productions.
Collie Buddz’s Cali Roots Riddim 2023 was released in June 2023 and produced by Collie Budz. The album, which is described as a compilation project, features 22 tracks and artists like Khalia and Busy Signal. Anthony B, Luciano, Mike Love, Fiji, The Movement, the Expendables, and many others.
Voting for the nominees will take place from December 14, 2023, to January 4, 2024. The 66th Grammy Awards will be held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 4th.
