Burning Spear is the most-nominated artist in the history of the Recording Academy’s reggae Grammy category, with 13 nominations, while Third World has received eight nominations without ever winning the award.
The Grammy for reggae was first presented in 1985, when Black Uhuru won the inaugural award for Anthem. Since then, the category has featured generations of Jamaican stars, from Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer to Buju Banton, Sean Paul, Shaggy, Koffee and Vybz Kartel.
But no individual act appears on the best Reggae Album nominations list more often than Burning Spear.
Burning Spear, one of roots reggae’s most celebrated figures, earned his first nomination in 1986 for Resistance.
His non winning nominated projects include People of the World, Live in Paris Zenith ’88, Mek We Dweet, The World Should Know, Rasta Business, Appointment with His Majesty, Calling Rastafari, Free Man, Our Music, The Burning Spear Experience and No Destroyer.
Despite appearing on the ballot so frequently, Burning Spear has won twice: Calling Rastafari took the award in 2000, while Jah Is Real won in 2009.
That gives him a remarkable Grammy reggae history stretching from his 1986 nomination through his nomination for No Destroyer in 2024 — a span of nearly four decades.
Behind Burning Spear, Black Uhuru, Steel Pulse and Third World each have eight nominations.
Jimmy Cliff, Buju Banton and Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers follow with seven each.
Third World: Eight Nominations, No Wins
Third World holds a less enviable distinction.
The legendary Jamaican band has been nominated eight times without winning, making it the most-nominated act in the category never to take home the Grammy, based on the nominations through 2026.
Third World first appeared among the nominees in 1988 with Hold on to Love. The group returned with Serious Business in 1990 and Committed in 1993.
Further nominations came for Live It Up in 1996, Generation Coming in 2000, Ain’t Givin’ Up in 2004 and Black Gold & Green in 2006.
The band received its eighth nomination two decades after Generation Coming, when More Work to Be Done was nominated for the 2020 award. Koffee ultimately won that year with Rapture.
The eight unsuccessful nominations put Third World ahead of several other prominent reggae acts that have repeatedly reached the Grammy ballot without winning.
UB40, The Wailing Souls, Maxi Priest, Aswad and Gregory Isaacs each have three nominations without a victory in the data provided. Several artists, including Dennis Brown, The Skatalites, Beres Hammond, Luciano and Andrew Tosh, received two nominations without winning.
Ziggy Marley Dominates the Winners
While Burning Spear leads in total nominations under a single artist name, the Marley family has dominated the category’s victories.
With 16 total Grammy credits, Ziggy Marley’s history with the Reggae grammy award stretches from his early work with the Melody Makers to his solo career and his involvement in Bob Marley tribute projects.
As a member of Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, Ziggy received seven nominations: [Play the Game Right] (1986), [Conscious Party] (1989), [One Bright Day] (1990), [Jahmekya] (1992), [Joy and Blues] (1994), [Free Like We Want 2 B] (1996) and [Fallen Is Babylon] (1998).
As a solo artist, Ziggy has seven additional Grammy nominations: [Love Is My Religion] (2007), [Family Time] (2010), [Wild and Free] (2012), [Ziggy Marley In Concert] (2014), [Fly Rasta] (2015), [Ziggy Marley] (2017) and [Rebellion Rises] (2019).
That gives Ziggy 14 Grammy nominations directly connected to his work as a member of the Melody Makers and as a solo artist — seven with the group and seven as a solo artist.
His Grammy history also includes two Bob Marley tribute projects. In 1983, before the reggae category existed in its current form, [Reggae Sunsplash ’81, A Tribute To Bob Marley] was nominated for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording at the 25th Annual Grammy Awards. The recording was credited to Various Artists.
More than four decades later, Ziggy was among the credited artists on [Bob Marley: One Love – Music Inspired By The Film (Deluxe)], which won Best Reggae Album at the 2025 Grammy Awards.
Hibbert similarly appears under variations including Toots & the Maytals and Toots and the Maytals, while Sly and Robbie have been nominated both under their own name and in several collaborations.
Sly & Robbie: 11 Best Reggae Album Nominations
of their 12 grammy nominations, Sly & Robbie have also been a remarkably consistent presence in the reggae Grammy category, appearing 11 times.
Their first nomination came in 1999 for Friends. They returned with The Dub Revolutionaries in 2005, Rhythm Doubles in 2007, Anniversary in 2008 and Amazing in 2009.
The duo received two nominations in 2011, for Made in Jamaica with Bob Sinclar and One Pop Reggae + with the Family Taxi.
They continued their Grammy run with New Legend – Jamaica 50th Edition in 2013, Reggae Connection in 2014 and The Reggae Power in 2015.
Their most recent nomination in the supplied list came in 2020 for The Final Battle: Sly & Robbie vs. Roots Radics.
With 11 nominations, Sly & Robbie rank as the third most frequently nominated names in the history of the reggae Grammy category, behind only Burning Spear and Ziggy Marley when Ziggy’s solo and group nominations are combined.
