2021 Best Reggae Album Grammy Nominees: Skip Marley, Buju Banton, Maxi Priest, Toots & The Maytals and The Wailers
by Howard Campbell
[LOS ANGELES] – Skip Marley, the fast-rising grandson of Bob Marley, heads the Best Reggae Album nominees for next year’s Grammy Awards. His EP, Higher Place, earns one of five calls for that category.
The other nominees named yesterday by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences are:
- Upside Down 2020 – (Buju Banton)
- It All Comes Back To Love – (Maxi Priest)
- Got to be Tough – (Toots & The Maytals)
- One World – (The Wailers)
Higher Place – Skip Marley
Higher Place was released in August by the Marley-owned Tuff Gong International and Island Records. It contains the hit singles Slow Down with singer H.E.R. and Make me Feel, a collaboration with rapper Rick Ross and singer Ari Lennox.
Slow Down was a strong seller, making several Billboard Magazine charts. It is also nominated for Best R&B Song.
Higher Place’s biggest rival for the Grammy may be Got to be Tough which was released in August by Trojan Jamaica/BMG, two weeks before Toots died at age 77 in Kingston, Jamaica from complications of the Coronavirus.
Got to be Tough (Toots & The Maytals)
Toots won the Best Reggae Album category in 2005 for True Love.
Interestingly, Bob Marley and Toots Hibbert recorded early in their careers for producer Leslie Kong. Some of their best music was also done for Island Records.
Upside Down 2020 – (Buju Banton)
Buju Banton, who won in 2011 with Before The Dawn, returns to the Grammy field with an album released in June by his Gargamel Music and Roc Nation.
Upside Down 2020 contains collaborations with Stephen Marley, John Legend, Pharrell and Stefflon Don.
It All Comes Back To Love – (Maxi Priest)
Ironically, United State of Mind, the latest album involving Maxi Priest, was released on October 9 by Manhattan Records. It is a collaboration with fellow Britons Robin Trower and Livingstone Brown.
The deadline to be nominated for a 2021 Grammy Award was August 31.
One World – (The Wailers)
One World was recorded entirely in Miami and produced by Emilio Estefan of Miami Sound Machine fame. It All Comes Back to Love is the dark horse in the field. It was released in September last year by S-Curve Records.
