Colors of Royal by Julian Marley and Antaeus has won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.
Nominees in the category included No Destroyer by Burning Spear, Simma by Beenie Man, Born for Greatness by Buju Banton and Cali Roots Riddim 2023 by Collie Buddz.
Julian Marley has been nominated twice before in the Best Reggae Album category; however, he has not yet won an award, unlike his brothers Ziggy, Stephen and Damian and sister, Cedella.
In 2010, he received a nomination for Awake. While in 2020, he received a nomination for As I Am.
His main collaborator on Colors of Royal is producer Alexx Antaeus (Earth Wind and Fire, Rolling Stones, Jah Vinci, Yaksta), with NotNice, Mr Sonic, Sean Alaric and Prince Productions also securing production credits.
Colors of Royal comes with eight songs, two of which are remixes of previously released tracks, Roll and The Tide is High, a rework of the John Holt classic of the same name.
Speaking with The Gleaner before the announcement, music industry member, marketer and producer, Sean ‘Contractor’ Edwards described the album as “sonically appealing”.
“Julian’s album has the new one drop reggae sound ... not the traditional one drop sound like Burning Spear. It’s reggae infused with other genres and it is highly appealing. It’s the kinda reggae like what Protoje does,” Edwards said.
This was Burning Spear's 13th nomination in the Best Reggae Album category. The 78-year-old elder statesman of reggae music has already won two Grammy Awards in the category – at the 42nd Grammy Awards in 2000 for Calling Rastafari, and in 2009 for Jah is Real. No Destroyer is his first release in 15 years and his first since his last Grammy win.
Mark Anthony Myrie, better known as Buju Banton, has so far received eight Grammy nominations. In 2011, Buju’s album, Before the Dawn, won the reggae Grammy.
Beenie Man has four Grammy nominations under his belt; he has won once. In 2001 he took home the gong for the album, Art and Life, while signed to Virgin Records.
This was the first Grammy nomination for Bermudian reggae artiste, Collie Buddz.
The 66th Grammy Awards, which is marketed as “music’s biggest night”, is currently underway at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.