Only six percent of Grammy Voting Members are connected to reggae music, according to the Recording Academy’s 2023 Member Class survey released on Thursday, November 30.
The genre’s membership cohort is listed at No. 18 among a list of 22 genres, headed by Pop, which has 41% of Grammy voting members. Reggae has only one category, and every year since 1985, the Best Reggae Album, which also includes nominees from dancehall, is announced at a pre-televised ceremony. Last year, the category was announced live in a ceremony broadcasted worldwide on YouTube.
Ziggy Marley has won the award the most with 8 trophies under his belt.
This year, 65 albums were submitted, and five albums were selected, including Grammy winner Beenie Man’s “Simma,” which was the only dancehall album nominated. The other albums nominated this year are “Cali Roots Riddim 2023″ by Collie Buddz, “No Destroyer” by Burning Spear, Buju Banton’s “Born For Greatness” and “Colors Of Royal” by Julian Marley.
Dancehall artist Popcaan, who is signed to Drake’s OVO label, did not submit his latest album “Great Is He” for consideration.
“It appears modern dancehall is not looking for an endorsement from the Grammys like its predecessors,” said Debbie Bissoon, media personality in a statement to WMV.
“With a history of questionable recognitions, modern dancehall seems to be looking to the people to stream, purchase, and validate the genre that continues to regenerate on its own,” Bissoon continued.
Grammy member Alexx Antaeus, who says he has been a voting member for thirty years, was nominated for the first time this year for his partnership on Julian Marley’s “Colors Of Royal.” He said in his observation that the main reason more reggae and dancehall producers and artists are not signed up with the academy is that they are focused on winning the single trophy.
“They focus too much on the prize, too much on becoming ‘famous,’ instead of taking the proper steps to establish a long-lasting career in the music industry,” Antaeus said.
He emphasizes that the academy should be seen as a means to an end and not the end itself.
“A Recording Academy membership is one of those steps. The Academy is not just about the Grammys. We are a group of qualified individuals who represent, celebrate, and advocate for our music community. We fight for creator rights and support each other. The connections that one could make through a membership will help and enhance their career,” Alexx said.
Songwriters and composers make up the bulk of Grammy eligible voting members with 64%, vocalist make up 43% and Producers make up 41% of eligible Grammy voting members.
Byron Messia’s “No Love” was submitted this year and is the most successful dancehall album released this year, selling over 30,000 units in the US, according to Luminate, an amount greater than all the 2024 Grammy nominees for Best Reggae Albums combined.
The album earned an average of 3,000 units per week in sales and streams, according to Luminate, and has peaked at No. 3 on the US Billboard Reggae Albums chart, spending a total of 23 weeks, but Grammy voters ignored his accomplishments for the reggae category for which it was submitted.
Other than Byron’s “No Love,” several other dancehall projects were submitted that didn’t make the Grammys Best Reggae Album top five selection, including Riffle Riddim, Valiant’s 4:14, Dancehall Gift by I-Octane, No Excuses by Charly Black, and Bad Juvi Mixtape by Pablo YG.
Last year Masicka submitted his “438” album in the Best Reggae Album category but the album was not nominated.
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told WMV in an interview last year that he would love to see more Grammy voters from the reggae and dancehall genres.
“The Academy needs to ensure that there is people from each genre involved in membership, we need to ensure we are talking to the dancehall and reggae community, we need to ensure we are inviting them to be a part of our community ,”- Harvey Mason Jr. said.
He added that he plans to go directly to music makers from reggae and dancehall. “we haven’t done a good enough job to go into genres and bringing people in, so to me I would like to see more reggae-dancehall music makers and creators being a part of our organization, that would have a direct impact and co-relate exactly to what nominations were made and who would ultimately win,” he said.
