Several websites posted news this week that dancehall acts like Vybz Kartel, Mr Vegas, Konshens and Busy Signal have been nominated for the provisional list of the coveted Grammy Awards.
The current nominees will go through another selection process, after which a shorter and permanent list will be presented to the public. However, the artistes are already grateful for their nominations.
According to reggae/dancehall artiste Mr Vegas, who received a nomination for his Sweet Jamaica double-disc album, it’s a blessing after 15 years.
“I think the professionalism that went into the Sweet Jamaica project working with people like Mikey Bennett, Sly, Cleevie, Rohan, Romel and my co-writer Indra from Barbados paid off. Everybody who participated and made it into a real good album were real professional and we aimed to create an album that the people would love,” he said.
This is the first nomination for Mr Vegas and he believes this is due to his emphasis on roots reggae music.
“This time, I paid respect to the icons of reggae music. Reggae music is the root and people worldwide are going to love it once they can relate to the good content. We also have dancehall vibe with songs like Bruck It Dung and so forth, so it basically touches every side of the music,” he said.
Vegas is optimistic about his chances of being selected for the final six and is taking a ‘think it, achieve it’ approach.
“I think it will go through to the second round; it is a strong album. There are other good albums like Busy Signal’s and of course Jimmy Cliff is an icon. But you have to have faith in yourself or else you will not make it, so I think we are going through to the final round,” Vegas said.
Vybz Kartel’s producer Elvis Redwood was also pleased with the nomination of the incarcerated entertainer.
“Wi feel good fi know sey after suh long, thing a gwaan good. It’s a good look fi di camp, because him deh jail over a year and still get nominated. It takes a lot to make it to the top 50 out of so many artistes worldwide, so we are grateful same way. The album touched every aspect of dancehall, so I think that is why it was nominated because it was rounded,” Elvis said.
Kartel is nominated for his Pon Di Gaza album, Busy Signal for Reggae Music Again and Konshens for his Mental Maintenance. Other nominees on the provisional list include Sean Paul, Jimmy Cliff, Toots Hibbert, Glen Washington among others.