On Sunday February 8, 2015, the 57th Grammy Award Ceremony will present the award for Best Reggae Album. And, the nominees are…
Fly Rasta by Ziggy Marley, Full Frequency by Sean Paul, Back on the Controls by Lee “Scratch” Perry, Out of Many, One Music by Shaggy, The Reggae Power by Sly & Robbie and Spicy Chocolate, and last by certainly not least, Amid the Noise and Haste by SOJA.
Artists like Ziggy Marley, Sean Paul, Shaggy, Sly & Robbie and Lee “Scratch” Perry have all won Grammy Awards for Best Reggae Album in the past, some even multiple award winners. However, SOJA, an American
based roots-reggae band from Arlington, Virginia could become the first American based band and only the second non-Jamaican based artist or group to win the coveted Best Reggae Album of the Year by the Grammy’s.
The first and only non-Jamaican based reggae band to win the award for Best Reggae Album of the Year was Steel Pulse for their album Babylon the Bandit in 1986.
Of the nominees, five hail from the island of Jamaica, the birthplace of reggae. Son of the iconic Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley will be hoping for his record number sixth Grammy Award, after taking home the honors in 1989, 1990, 1998, 2007 and last year in 2014. While Sean Paul, Shaggy, Sly & Robbie and Lee “Scratch” Perry will be all pursuing their second Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album at this year’s award ceremony.
Reggae music is alive and well, and the genre has shown so much depth with name recognition bands from Europe, New Zealand, Hawaii and the mainland United States. In today’s genre SOJA might be the biggest name in the reggae genre, although this is the first Grammy nomination for the veteran band. However, the odds of a Jamaican based artist or group taking home this honor is extremely high and almost a guarantee.
But, it is safe to say that SOJA, and all of their fans believe.
Video: SOJA – “I Believe” feat. Michael Franti and Nahko