Reggae band Morgans Heritage won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album for the album Strictly Roots which was released on April 20, 2015.
There were four other nominees for the category of Best Reggae Album for the 2016 Grammy awards, which included three Jamaicans and one African singer. They are: Branches of The Same Tree by Ghanaian singer Rocky Dawuni; Zion Awake by Luciano; Acousticalevy by Barrington Levy and The Cure by Jah Cure.
The 2016 Award Ceremony was held on Monday, February 15, 2016 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
The 2016 Grammy Nominees
Barington Levy was nominated for the album Acusticalevy which was released on May 5, 2015.
Jah Cure was nominated for The Cure which was released on July 10, 2015. This was the first Grammy nomination for Jah Cure.
Luciano was nominated for the album Zion Awake. The album features 11 track and was released on November 4. He was previously nominated in 2002 for his album A New Day album.
Rocky Dawuni, one of the biggest stars in Africa is the first african reggae singer to be nominated for the award. His album Branches of the Same Tree was released on March 15, 2015. The album includes a cover version of Peter Tosh’s “Get Up Stand Up” and Bob Marley’s “Butterfly” The album also features Ziggy Marley, Steel Pulse and Ben Harper.
None of this year’s nominees had ever won this prestigious award.
2015 winner
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”.
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 genres of Dancehall, Ska Rocksteady and Reggae.
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”
2016 Morgan Heritage