Grammy Award For Best Reggae Album
Originally called the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Recording, the honor was presented to artists for eligible songs or albums. The Jamaican group Black Uhuru received the first award in 1985. Beginning with the 1992 ceremony, the name of the award was changed to Best Reggae Album. Starting in 2002, awards were often presented to the engineers, mixers, and/or producers in addition to the performing artists. According to the category description guide for the 52nd Grammy Awards, eligible works are vocal or instrumental reggae albums "containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded music", including roots reggae, dancehall and ska music.
Ziggy Marley holds the record for the most wins in this category, with seven wins as of 2017.
Recipients
![A man in red clothing singing into a microphone.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/JimmyCliff.jpg/170px-JimmyCliff.jpg)
![A man behind a microphone on a stand with his eyes closed, wearing a green jacket and holding a guitar.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Stephen_Marley_%28Vancouver_2007%29.jpg/170px-Stephen_Marley_%28Vancouver_2007%29.jpg)
![A man wearing a purple jacket and blue jeans, holding a multi-colored guitar and standing behind a microphone on a stand.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Ziggy_Marley_Austin.jpg/170px-Ziggy_Marley_Austin.jpg)
![A man with his mouth open, holding a microphone; he is wearing sunglasses, a hat, and multiple layers of multi-colored clothing, including a cape.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Bunny_Wailer_Negril.jpg/170px-Bunny_Wailer_Negril.jpg)
![A man holding a microphone with one hard and extending his index finger with the other; he is wearing a white undershirt, red- and white-striped dress shirt and jewelry accessories. In the background is a man and vegetation.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Shaggy.jpg/170px-Shaggy.jpg)
![Black and white image of a man with dreadlocks wearing eyeglasses.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Beenie_Man_2008.jpg/170px-Beenie_Man_2008.jpg)
![A man holding a microphone on a stage and wearing a blue shirt.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Damian_Marley_Summerjam_20150704_IMG_0166_by_Emha.jpg/170px-Damian_Marley_Summerjam_20150704_IMG_0166_by_Emha.jpg)
![A man singing into a microphone; he is wearing a colorful hat with many accessories on his hat and around his wrists, fingers and neck.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Lee_scratch_perry.jpg/170px-Lee_scratch_perry.jpg)
![A man saluting with his right hand and wearing a black graphic T-shirt and black jeans. In the background is a palm tree, a few bottles of rum, and a screen with branding across it.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Seanpaul01.jpg/170px-Seanpaul01.jpg)
^[I] Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.
2010 controversy
![A man on a stage in white clothing, holding a microphone and bending over. In the background are women standing behind microphones.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Buju_Banton_%28Apollo_theater%2C_2007%29.jpg/170px-Buju_Banton_%28Apollo_theater%2C_2007%29.jpg)
Buju Banton's (real name Mark Anthony Myrie) nomination for the 2010 award sparked controversy and protest due to homophobic lyrics within his music. Banton's most controversial song, released in 1988, is "Boom, Bye Bye", which "promote[s] the murder of gay men by shooting or burning". Following the artist's nomination, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center placed an advertisement in the Daily Variety encouraging Grammy officials to denounce music that "promotes or celebrates violence against any group of people". The advertisement, which took the form of a letter signed by gay rights and civil rights activists, asserted that honoring Banton was awarding "extraordinary hateful work". The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences responded by insisting that artists are honored for quality music "regardless of politics". Banton has been quoted as saying that he sees "no end to the war" between himself and gay men. The 2010 award was presented to Stephen Marley. Banton was nominated in 2011 for the album Before the Dawn. Other reggae musicians that have been accused of promoting anti-gay lyrics include Beenie Man, Elephant Man, Shabba Ranks and Sizzla.
See also
- List of reggae musicians
- List of roots reggae artists
- List of ska musicians
- Music of Jamaica
- Reggae genres