by Howard Campbell
SOUTH FLORIDA – Veteran artists have usually walked away with the Best Reggae Album category since the music gained Grammy status in 1985. But this year, 19-year-old Koffee is strongly tipped to win the title and become the first woman to cop the award. If you happen to need a college paper about this event, contact Mypaperwriter.com for help.
The 62nd Grammy Awards takes place January 26 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
There are five nominees for 2020 Best Reggae Album
- Rapture by Koffee
- Mass Manipulation (Steel Pulse)
- As I Am (Julian Marley)
- The Final Battle: Sly & Robbie vs. Roots Radics (Sly & Robbie & Roots Radics)
- Third World’s More Work to be Done
Maxine Stowe, whose over 35-year experience in the music industry included a senior position at Sony International in the 1990s, considers Koffee the frontrunner.
“With the yearning for a (reggae) female Grammy opened up by Etana last year, I think the energy is in her (Koffee’s) favor,” said Stowe, who worked with acts including Diana King and Super Cat during her Sony term.
Sony had a solid dancehall/reggae lineup during the 1990s with King, Super Cat, Shabba Ranks, Patra and Mad Cobra signed to the company. Stowe was responsible for signing King whose song, Shy Guy, and parent album Tougher Than Love, were big hits.
Shy Guy was cast as R&B/pop and its video was nominated for the Best R&B Video Grammy in 1996.
Rapture, according to Stowe, is “straight uptempo reggae.”
“Koffee has a vibe with Toast and is fortunate to also be that one reggae song that’s picked every spring/summer in mainstream radio,” she said.
Toast is the breakout song from Rapture which was released in 2019 by Columbia Records. It was a hit in the United States and United Kingdom, drawing high-profile admirers like Barack Obama and Rihanna.
Judy Mowatt, Rita Marley, Sister Carol and Etana have been nominated for Best Reggae Album. Sharon and Cedella Marley, and Puma Jones, have won the category as members of Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers and Black Uhuru, respectively.
Grammy judges traditionally favor the Marley family who have won the Best Reggae Grammy multiple times. Veteran acts like Bunny Wailer, Burning Spear, Jimmy Cliff, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Toots and The Maytals and Sly and Robbie have won the category.
