Reggae Industry: The Grammys Need You!
Insiders say it’s up to the genre’s key players to get involved with the Academy and make a change
WHAT DO you get if you cross Ziggy Marley with a Grammy? A whole heap of angry reggae-lovers.
It might sound like a joke, but the furore that is often sparked any time Bob Marley’s eldest son wins a Grammy is more of a right of passage for many reggae fans; those who feel that the prestigious music ceremony too often bestows the Best Reggae Album gong to Ziggy because he hails from reggae’s most famous family.
This was once again the case when the 46-year-old recently won the award at the 2015 ceremony.
After scooping the prize in 2014 for his album Ziggy Marley In Concert, the True To Myself hitmaker took home the gong once again this year for his album Fly Rasta – and now the reggae star has an impressive seven Grammy Awards to his name.
True to form, his 2015 win sparked the usual hulabaloo, with many taking to the world wide web to bemoan his triumph.
One commenter wrote: “Ziggy Marley won the Best Reggae Album Grammy. Or, as it’ll be called next year, Award Automatically Given to Anyone With the Last Name Marley.”
Another aggrieved reggae-lover remarked: “Among my friends and family members, we cannot name a single Ziggy Marley song from his latest album… In my opinion, the award was given based on the family name.”
Ziggy has commented on the issue before, perhaps most notably when he spoke to Life & Style in 2014. Asked if he felt there was any truth in the suggestion that the Grammys needs to do more work to understand what’s going in the famed Jamaican genre, Ziggy retorted:
“I think the genre should do a little bit more research about what’s going on in the music industry at large. I don’t think you can blame the Grammys. I think the next generation of reggae musicians have to expand their consciousness and also respect the history of the music.”
He added: “Don’t complain, don’t get upset, just make good music. When you make music, don’t think about Grammys. And whether you win or lose a Grammy, keep the focus on making good music. Let’s put the responsibility on ourselves and not blame anyone else.”
Mirroring his sentiments is Grammy-nominated producer, Cristy Barber. With almost 25 years in the music industry, Barber, who has worked with a plethora of reggae artists over the past two decades and is also heavily involved with the Grammys, has long campaigned to get more reggae affiliates involved with the Recording Academy.
“There are a lot of people who aren’t registered to vote, who are eligible to vote – that’s the problem,” says Barber. “The people who choose to vote in our category [reggae] are people who don’t necessarily know what’s going on in reggae, so they vote for their all time favourite artist. It’s not a Marley issue because neither Julian or Ky-Mani Marley have won Grammys.
“All you need is six creative credentials and once you become a voting member, you’re always a member. That means artists, producers, musicians, video producers – think of all the people in the reggae industry who are eligible to vote! It’s really not that hard.”
One reggae supporter who has become increasingly frustrated with the Academy’s representation of the genre is UK reggae DJ Daddy Ernie.
“The awarding of the best reggae Grammy is now beyond a joke,” Ernie tells Life & Style. This is not being disrespectful to Ziggy Marley, but it seems that someone just wakes up and says: ‘Give the award to Ziggy.’ Whoever advises these awards bodies should be sacked and replaced with people who are knowledgeable about reggae – or disband the category.
COMMENTS: Radio DJ, Daddy Ernie
“Artists put a lot of work into their craft and continually, it goes unrecognised. Tarrus Riley, Etana – just two artists who have made solid work these past few years. The time has come where our music must stop being taken for a joke.”
Reggae journalist Nadine White shared similar sentiments.
“My opinion is that the Grammys are out of touch, overall, and even more so when it comes to the reggae category, which is not even televised! I think that the Marley family are a talented bunch but what is more alarming to me than their more or less guaranteed wins/nominations, is the fact that many, equally talented reggae artists have been snubbed by the academy over the years, failing to even make the long list, never mind the short.”
Reggae journalist John Masouri has written about the reggae-Grammy issue on many occasions. And much like Barber, he feels that it’s up to the reggae fraternity to make the change.
“If more people from the reggae industry don’t register to vote, then this sort of thing will keep happening indefinitely, says Masouri, author of Wailing Blues: The Story of Bob Marley’s Wailers. “It’s just like politics – if people don’t engage with the voting procedure, then quite frankly they’re not entitled to an opinion.”
Aaron Talbert, Vice President of Sales and Marketing of renowned reggae label VP Records agrees.
“I encourage everyone in the artist and producer community to get involved with NARAS – National Association of Recorded Arts & Science – and become a voting member if qualified. I believe the changes we desire will be made from the inside.”
Though Barber has long been passionate about this issue, she was stirred even more after recently watching Jamaicans rally – in mass – to support other causes that are dear to their hearts.
“When [Jamaican singer] Tessanne Chin was on [US TV show] The Voice, Jamaicans rallied together, had her trending on Twitter every time the show was on, and also got NBC to licence the show in Jamaica so they could watch it,” Barber recalls.
“And look at when Miss Universe was on earlier this year; Jamaicans had Miss Jamaica [Kaci Fennell] trending on Twitter; they kicked up such a storm when she didn’t win, and so much of the news coverage that followed was about how the crowd booed when she didn’t win!
“If we can do that, how come we can’t rally behind the biggest export of that island – reggae music? I don’t get it.
“It frustrates me to see that an island with so much power and that is so capable of making change, won’t rally behind this issue because it’s important. All the information on how to register is on Grammy.com so if you’re eligible to vote, register to vote and make the change.”
Words: Davina Hamilton
Website: http://www.voice-online.co.uk
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