With the first round of voting for the 67th Grammy Awards still ongoing, Ghanaian artiste Blakk Rasta has presented his ‘Salaga Soljah’ for the ‘Best Reggae Album’.
Interestingly, it was the only African reggae album vying for nomination, with over 75 eligible submissions for the ‘Best Reggae Album’ received for consideration.
The works of other renowned international artistes like Vybz Kartel – Party With Me, The Wailers – Evolution, UB40 – UB45, Various Artists – Jamaica Festival Song 2024 Competition, and Various Artists – Celebrating Jamaica 62, among others, have been submitted.
According to the Academy, the ‘Best Reggae Album’ category ‘recognises excellence in albums of reggae music, including roots reggae, dancehall, and ska music.’
The nominations and awards are bestowed on ‘albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new reggae recordings.’
The Academy also requires that the albums’ featured artists, producers, and engineers are only eligible for nomination if they contributed more than
50 per cent of the project’s playing time.
Blakk Rasta’s Salaga Soljah album is a live-recorded twenty-track album sung in English, French, and other African languages, including Dioula, Dagbani, Hausa, Sissala, Akan, and Gruni.
International artistes like Anthony B, Tiken Jah Fakoly, and King Ayisoba were also featured on the album.
Blakk Rasta remains optimistic that a nomination and a possible Grammy win for an African reggae album would go a long way to affirm how impactful and relevant reggae music has been on the African continent.
He believes that winning the Best Reggae Album’ at the Grammy Awards would appease the spirits of the inventors of the genre, Bob Marley and the Wailers.
Nominees for the 67th Grammy Awards will be announced on November 8, 2024, with the main awards ceremony taking place on February 2, 2025.
Source: Ghana News Agency