Gargamel Music, Inc. is proud to announce that Jamaican music icon Buju Banton has received his fifth Grammy nomination in the Best Reggae Album category for his prophetic new project, Before The Dawn. Recorded mostly at his own Gargamel Music studio in Kingston, the album boasts some of the most powerful songs written by Banton since his professional entry into the music business over twenty years ago.
Released in September to critical acclaim, Before The Dawn debuted at #2 on Billboard‘s Reggae Albums chart and #26 on the mag’s Heatseekers chart. Currently the album is perched at #1 on both the South Florida and the New York Top 20 Reggae Albums charts, #1 on Richie B’s Jamaica Music Countdown and #4 on CMJ’s World Music chart. Highlights include “Do Good,”“In The Air,” “Struggle Together” and the especially potent “Battered & Bruised.” The album’s unofficial anthem, “Innocent” strikes a highly personal chord that resonates deeply considering the artist’s ensuing legal battle.
Banton was previously acknowledged by the Recording Academy for his albums Rasta Got Soul (2009), Too Bad(2007), Friends for Life (2004) and Inna Heights (1999).
The complete list of nominees for the ‘Best Reggae Album’ category are:
- Buju Banton – Before The Dawn
- Gregory Isaacs & King Isaac – Isaacs Meets Isaac
- Lee “Scratch” Perry – Revelation
- Bob Sinclair And Sly & Robbie – Made In Jamaica
- Sly & Robbie & The Taxi Gang – One Pop Reggae
- Andrew Tosh – Legacy: An Acoustic Tribute To Peter Tosh
The Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works in the reggae music genre. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to “honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position”.
The fact that Buju Banton, Andrew Tosh and Gregory Isaacs where nominate with there reggae albums is strange because there albums where released at September 28th, two days before the deadline to enter the Grammys.
A surprising omission from this year’s nominees is Gyptian whose “Hold You” album hit charts globally with the lead single “Hold Yuh” charting on Billboard’s Hot 100, R&B/Hip-Hop and Heatseekers Songs Charts.
The 53rd annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast live on CBS on February 13, 2011, starting at 8 p.m EST.
