Kesi Asher, Staff ReporterIn April 2006, the proposal to split the Reggae Grammy category into traditional roots reggae and dancehall segments will be examined once more. The prominence of dancehall has forced at least the thought of the sub-division..
This was not so when Black Uhuru won the first Reggae Grammy for 1984's Anthem and dancehall was seen as not having true international appeal. However, out of the 16 artistes who have won the Reggae Grammy, several have been dancehall performers, specifically deejays.
The change came with Shabba Ranks, who won back-to-back titles in 1991 and 1992 for As Raw As Ever and Extra Naked, respectively. Shaggy followed in 1995 with Boombastic, Beenie Man in 2000 with Art and Life, Damian 'Jr. Gong' Marley in 2001 and Sean Paul in 2003 for Dutty Rock. Roots reggae has come in between, with Burning Spear winning with Calling Rastafari for 1999, and Toots and the Maytals last year with True Love.
Roger Steffens, chairman of the Reggae Grammy committee, believes the two genres should be separated. "Dancehall came and the beats were different, two different kinds of music with two different intentions. How fair is it to put Lady Saw and Burning Spear in the same category?" asked Steffens.
in favour of split
Many Jamaican dancehall artistes are in favour of the split. Bling Dawg sees it as creating more opportunities for dancehall performers. "That's good, 'cause is more publicity for us. More artiste would have a better chance of winning it, because dancehall have crazy artiste and it would definitely help the music and the industry on a whole," he said.
Ce'Cile, who plans to submit her upcoming album, sees it as a prestigious affair and a milestone in any artiste's career. "It adds prestige. To say that you are a Grammy Award winner puts you up there with other Grammy-winning artistes. It's a prestige that people look towards; it's like reaching a milestone. It also gives you credibility that boosts your sales," said Ce'Cile.
The New York office of major distributor VP Records is in favour of anything that will expand the reach of Jamaican music.
"We welcome the addition of any
additional categories that would
encompass sub-genres of reggae music. We were pleased with the addition of a soca category and will be equally as
pleased to have dancehall represented. Anything to help in the expansion of the music is a step in the right direction of getting the proper recognition among our peers in the music industry," said Chris Schlarb, director of publicity VP Records.
In order for a category to be sustained, at least 25 albums must be submitted. Each should have been released in the USA over a specified 12-month period, that being October 2004 and September 2005 for the 2006 awards.
no submission limit
There is no limit to the number of albums an artiste may submit, as long as the record is released by a legitimate company. Submitting the album is easy. There is a form on the Reggae Grammy website which the artiste must fill out on-line when sending in his/her album. The submission process is free.
Once the album is submitted, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) holds two ballots. The first decides which albums will be nominated, while the second ballot decides who gets the award.
As glorious as winning the Reggae Grammy may be, the possibility once existed of the category being cancelled. This was as a result of lack of album support from the Jamaican market. Other countries, like Hawaii, submit works in this category, but due to their lack of authenticity they were not suitable to sustain the category.
"VP Records submits every single eligible album to the Grammy committee. Several years back we were informed (by NARAS) that the category itself was threatened; they were going to erase it completely because of lack of submissions. It is because of this fact that we have no choice but to submit every eligible VP Records release, just to ensure the continuation of the reggae category for all of us," said Chris Schlarb.
However, one wonders why the home of reggae should be short of albums.
lack of knowledge
For T.O.K, lack of knowledge was their shortcoming. "We've never submitted an album to the Grammy Awards. At first we didn't know the process, in terms of who we should submit the album to. After we found out we felt that it would be something that the record company should do. This year our songs did well and Unknown Language should've been submitted. In the future, we will definitely deal with it," said Flexx from T.O.K.
The fact is that Jamaica's music industry is driven by singles. Clyde McKenzie, director of Shocking Vibes Productions, attests to this. "We do not produce sufficient albums, which is due in part to our singles culture. Our market is driven by singles, as opposed to Americans who produce more albums," McKenzie said.
Even if the dancehall artistes who produce albums strive to save the Grammy, the question of consistency and quality arises.
Assassin, who released his first album, Infiltration, in September 2005, feels that for Jamaica's dancehall fratenity, 25 albums is pushing it. "It's going to be a tall order. We have a lot of recording dancehall artistes, but not many put out albums for us to have 25. If you check last year, we probably cannot even count 20," said Assassin.
opposed to split
It is around this premise that Sasha is against the proposal to split the Reggae Grammy into two categories. One of her objectives is to submit her future album to the Grammy Awards.
"I wouldn't agree to separate them. A lot of albums out there are not 100 per cent up to scratch and the albums are not in abundance. I don't look at it as reggae and dancehall, I see it as one music, with different styles. I think it should remain in one category," said Sasha.
Some artistes have submitted their albums without success. "Yes, I submit my album. Spice In Your Life was submitted for this year's Reggae Grammy, but it never really come through," said Richie Spice.
When asked if he would submit another album for future Grammy Awards, Spice said, "Well if a soh it goh, we a try endorse the music to the highest level so if a soh it goh, we will deal wid it".
Roger Steffens appeals to Jamaicans to submit albums in order to ensure the continuation of the Reggae Grammy and, by extension, the possible sub-division. "All worthy albums released in that period should be submitted; there's nothing to lose," said Steffens said.
