Rastafarians dominated the “Best Reggae Album – Vocal or Instrumentation” category of this year’s Grammy Awards held in Los Angeles last night. While reggae lovers all over the world don’t look to the annual awards to validate their favorite artists, it is always a pleasure to see such an important branch of Rastafari being honored. Rasta nominees included Stephen Marley (who took home the prize for Mind Control Acoustic), Buju Banton (Rasta Got Soul) and Julian Marley (Awake). Other nominees were cool ruler Gregory Isaacs (Brand New Me) and Sean Paul (Imperial Blaze).
Stephen Marley
The Grammy Awards have come under criticism over the past years for focusing solely on reggae artist with mass cross-over appeal. The name Marley undoubtedly has that appeal – Marley and his children have won the award several times; in 1999 Bob Marley & The Wailers were first inducted to the Grammy Awards Hall of Fame for Get Up, Stand Up. Several of Marley’s other works have since received the honor with Catch a Fire being the most recent.
Ziggy Marley’s solo venture into the world of children’s music also claimed the award for Best Musical Album for Children.
Congrats to all the nominees – and especially to Stephen & Ziggy Marley for representing Rastafari and Jamaican culture with upfullness.
February 5th, 2010at 9:07 pm(#)
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