The people hailing from the musical island of Jamaica had a whole lot to be smiling about on Sunday night when entertainers from the region walked away with a combined lot of awards at the 63rd Annual Grammys.
Naturally, the most talked-about win came from the Best Reggae Album category, where Toots and the Maytals walked away with the coveted win. Their album “Got To Be Tough” was released in August 2020, only weeks before the passing of the group’s leader Toots Hibbert. The project topped the category despite competitions from Higher Place by Skip Marley, Upside Down by Buju Banton, It All Comes Back To Love by Maxi Priest, and One World by The Wailers.
Jamaica also secured a win in the r&b category through John Legend’s album “Bigger Love.” The album was released at the heights of the Covid-19 pandemic and featured work from both Jamaican stars Koffee and producer Di Genius. Koffee found her spot on track number 12, “Don’t Walk Away,” which was produced by Stephen “Di Genius” McGregor. Along with track 12, he also copped producer credits for the album’s title track, “Bigger Love.”
In 2020, Koffee broke barriers when she became the only female and the youngest person to win in the category of Best Reggae Album for her debut EP, Rapture. She is now able to add yet another notch to her belt. While Koffee has remained tight-lipped about the recent accomplishment, Di Genius took to social media to revel in the success.
“Another Win. Super grateful to be a part of this amazing, now Grammy award winning album! Big congrats to the Legend @johnlegend and to everyone involved! To more wins!” He wrote on Instagram. Much like Koffee, this wasn’t Di Genius’ first run at the Grammys.
The decorated producer has secured wins via Damian’ Jr Gong’ Marley’s Stony Hill (Best Reggae Album), and Shakira’s El Dorado (Best Latin Pop Album), both in 2017. The latter also won in the category of Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album at Latin Grammy Award that year. He has also had numerous other collaborations with other entertainers, including Drake, Mali Music, and Burna Boy.
Both Koffee and Di Genius have been teasing new music. The 21-year-old reggae crooner is currently preparing her debut album, which could mean yet another win is the stars are indeed aligned. The producer recently released “Rotate” by Burna Boy and Becky G.
