Inner Circle bandleader Ian Lewis is calling for reggae and dancehall to be recognized as separate genres at the Grammy Awards, arguing that although both musical forms originated in Jamaica, their sound, construction and cultural identities are distinctly different.

Lewis believes Jamaican artists and industry figures should collectively lobby the Recording Academy for separate Best Reggae Album and Best Dancehall Album categories.

“I think if there was to separate the genres, a lot of pressure would come off. The two genres come from a little island in Jamaica. I want to separate them so we don’t start comparing them,” Lewis said.

“The dancehall and the reggae man should get together and lobby the Grammy committee and let them separate the genres: Best Dancehall Album, Best Reggae Album.”

Lewis pointed to the way other broad musical traditions are divided into distinct categories and styles.

“Just like in Spanish music, we have salsa, you have bachata, you have bolero, you understand me? Let’s separate the genres.”

For Lewis, the distinction is more than semantics. He argues that dancehall and reggae have different musical structures, lyrical approaches and methods of production.

“Dancehall is not like reggae music. It’s created differently, the message is different, everything is different, but it comes from Jamaica. So we own it too. We own reggae and dancehall, but let’s, for the purposes of the world, make the world understand that this is two different art forms coming from Jamaica.”

He questioned why two Jamaican-born genres should continue competing within a single Grammy category.

“Why would the Grammy Awards have two categories dedicated to Jamaican music rather than one?” Anthony Miller asked.

Lewis answered by addressing the longstanding debate surrounding Grammy results and the commercial performance of Jamaican artists. Drawing on Inner Circle’s own history, he noted that the group had already achieved significant record sales when it won the Grammy.

“When we got the Grammy, we was a platinum album. ‘Bad Boys’ was platinum when we got the Grammy,” he said. He added that the last winner of Best Reggae Album Kesnamdi won despite having no significant sales.

As a bassist, Lewis said he can hear fundamental differences between reggae and dancehall in their musical construction.

“I’m a bass player and the bass line is very different. The flow is different. The drum pattern is different. It’s not the same. You understand me?”

He added that the performance practices surrounding modern dancehall further illustrate that distinction.

“That’s why artists now from the dancehall genre can go on stage and don’t use a band. And it works.”

Lewis stressed that dancehall artist Vybz Kartel deserves recognition for what he has built and accomplished within his own musical space.

“You have to give the credibility that he launched himself on ‘Blessings, Blessings’ and ‘Opulence.’ But you have to understand that reggae music is created in a whole different way than dancehall. All right.”

At the same time, Lewis argued that younger genres and generations should acknowledge the foundation laid by the musicians who came before them.

“Mr. Miller, there’s eight notes in the scale of music. I can’t play one and say I’m playing music. I’ll ever try to learn my craft, and that’s what the older, as I call it, elders…”

He continued: “But remember, we came first, you know. And I’m going to call it a controversy here. Suppose dancehall would come first. Where would we have what we have now?”

Invoking the legacy of reggae pioneers, including Bob Marley, Lewis said the genre created an opening through which subsequent Jamaican artists could reach international audiences.

“Respect must be given to those who have went ahead and opened [the doors]. The pioneers that did open. Respect.”

Lewis also rejected the idea that the commercial strength of Jamaican music should be underestimated in the streaming era, pointing to artists such as Shaggy and Sean Paul as examples of Jamaican acts maintaining enormous global audiences. He agrees with Shaggy’s recent sentiment that the only persons above him are Bob Marley and Sean Paul in reggae and dancehall.

“In terms of sales, because if you understand Spotify, every million streams is like 3,000, and Shaggy has maybe 18 or 20 million monthly streams.So you do the math,” Lewis said. “I don’t know what Kartel’s streams are.”

He singled out the extraordinary commercial performance of Shaggy’s Hot Shot album as an achievement that should not be overlooked.

“I mean, Shaggy’s Hot Shot album is like 10 times. That’s an achievement, man. That’s a hell of an achievement.”