Ziggy Marley Wins 2015 Grammy 7

Ziggy Marley, son of Reggae music icon Bob Marley, won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album  for the album “Fly Rasta”, which  was released in April 2014. Ziggy has won this coveted award 6 times. In 1989 and 1990 he won as lead singer of the band Ziggy Marley and Melody Makers. As a solo artiste he won in 1998 for “Fallen Is Babylon”, 2007 for “Love Is My Religion” and 2014 for “Ziggy Marley In Concert”. 

The Award Ceremony was held in Los Angeles on February 8. There were six nominees for the category of Best Reggae Album which included  Lee “Scratch” Perry, Sean Paul, Shaggy, Sly and Robbie and SOJA.

Winner: Ziggy Marley – “Fly Rasta”

The 2015 Nominees

Lee “Scratch” Perry was nominated for his album “Back on the Controls” which was released in April 2014. He won the award in 2003 for “Jamaican ET” and has been nominated five times.

Sean Paul was nominated for his album “Full Frequency” which was released in February 2014. This is his fifth nomination in this category. He won in 2004 for the album “Dutty Rock”.

Shaggy was nominated for his album “Out of Many, One Music” which was released in October 2013. He has won this award in 1996 for “Boombastic”. This is Shaggy’s fifth nomination in this category.

Sly & Robbie was nominated for the album The Reggae Power. The album which was released in September 2014 also features Spicy Chocolate. The duo won in 1999 with “Friends” and has been nominated 9 times for this category.

The American reggae band, SOJA. has been nominated for the album  “Amid the Noise and The Haste” which was released in August 2014. The band was formed in Virginia in 1997. This is the first Grammy nomination for the band. They are also the only nominees in this category who have never been nominated previously for this award. “Amid the Noise and The Haste” has sold over 22,000 copies, making it the highest selling reggae album for the year.

Had they won, they would have become the first winners of non Jamaican heritage in this category. In 1987 the  British band  Steel Pulse became the first non-Jamaican act to have won the award for Best Reggae Album  but the members of the band were of Jamaican parentage.

Best Reggae Recording

The award was originally called the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Recording, the honor was presented to artistes for eligible songs or albums. The Jamaican group Black Uhuru received the first award in 1985. The name of the award was changed to Best Reggae Album in 1992

Stephen Marley holds the record for the most wins in this category, with six wins total, three times as a member of the band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. The nominees for this category include work done in the Jamaican musical of genres  Dancehall, Ska and Reggae.

Jablespañol’s Choice

Shaggy:”Out of Many, One Music”
This has certainly been  the best piece of work by Shaggy since “Boombastic” (1996) and perhaps his best album ever. The 13 track album features work from many different genres of Jamaican music: from Ska to Reggae to Dub to Dancehall. Its a compilation of colaborations with popular artistes such as Beres Hammond, Cocoa Tea, Chronixx, Damion Marley, Konshens, Morgans Heritage, Tarrus Riley, Tesanne Chin, Jimmy Cozier, Neyo and new talented singers. The fusion of great vocalists and musical artistry with the genius of the sounds of Sly and Robbie is the closest your ear will get to perfection.
 

Winners

1985 Black Uhuru – ”Anthem”
1986 Jimmy Cliff – “Cliff Hanger”
1987 Steel Pulse – “Babylon the Bandit”
1988 Peter Tosh – “No Nuclear War”
1989 Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers – “Conscious Party”
1990 Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers – “One Bright Day”
1991 Bunny Wailer – “Time Will Tell: A Tribute to Bob Marley”
1992 Shabba Ranks – “As Raw As Ever”
1993 Shabba Ranks – “X-tra Naked”
1994 Inner Circle – “Bad Boys”
1995 Bunny Wailer – “Crucial! Roots Classics”
1996 Shaggy – “Boombastic”
1997 Bunny Wailer – “Hall of Fame: A Tribute to Bob Marley’s 50th Anniversary”
1998 Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers – “Fallen Is Babylon”
1999 Sly and Robbie – “Friends”
2000 Burning Spear  – “Calling Rastafari”
2001 Beenie Man – “Art and Life”
2002 Damian Marley – “Halfway Tree”
2003 Lee “Scratch” Perry – “Jamaican E.T.”
2004 Sean Paul – “Dutty Rock”
2005 Toots & the Maytals – “True Love”
2006 Damian Marley – “Welcome to Jamrock”
2007 Ziggy Marley – “Love Is My Religion”
2008 Stephen Marley – “Mind Control”
2009 Burning Spear – “Jah Is Real”
2010 Stephen Marley – “Mind Control – Acoustic”
2011 Buju Banton – “Before the Dawn”
2012 Stephen Marley – “Revelation Pt. 1 – The Root of Life”
2013 Jimmy Cliff – “Rebirth”
2014 Ziggy Marley – “Ziggy Marley In Concert”
2015 Ziggy Marley- “Fly Rasta”