With the staging of the 60th Grammy Awards drawing near, we thought we’d look back at some of years where the Reggae Grammy was won. While many know of the winners, we also want to look back at some of the nominees. Today we’ll look at the year 1994.
Nominees
1. Black Uhuru – Mystical Truth
While Jamaican Music enjoyed some crossover success at the time, Reggae Band Black Uhuru stayed true to its sound with their 1993 Album, “Mystical Truth”. Featuring tracks like “Dreadlock Pall Bearers”, “Living In The City”, and “Mercy Street”, the project earned them a nomination for the 1994 Grammy Awards.
2. Burning Spear – The World Should Know
Known for his music with a conscious message, Reggae Artist Burning Spear received his 5th career Grammy nomination for his 1993 Album, “The World Should Know”. With 10 tracks, this Album featured the tunes “I Stand Strong”, “Sweeter Than Chocolate”, and “Identity”. Spear went on to receive a total of 12 nominations in his career, winning 2 awards himself.
Enjoying a lot of success as an International Reggae Fusion Artist, Maxi Priest was the man. His 5th studio Album “Fe Real” received a nice boost thanks to its nomination at the 1994 Grammy Awards. The Album had 11 tracks, and featured “Hard To Get”, “Make My Day”, and the hit “Groovin’ In The Midnight”.
4. Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers – Joy And Blues
The Marley clan continued their Grammy appearance run with the nomination for their 1993 Album, “Joy And Blues”. Featuring 12 tracks, and included “Brothers and Sisters”, “Rebel In Disguise”, and “There She Goes”.
Winner
The “Bad Boys of Reggae” Inner Circle marked this as a high point in their career when they walked away the winners of the Reggae Grammy in 1994 for the smash hit, “Bad Boys”! This was also the first Reggae single to be awarded a Grammy. Produced by Ian Lewis, this single appeared on two of the Band’s Albums in 1987 (One Way), and in 1992 (Bad To The Bone). The single went on to become one of their most successful singles, the theme song for the longest running Fox TV Show “Cops“, and on the soundtrack for the popular movie, “Bad Boys“.
Stay tuned for our final installment of “Road To The Reggae Grammy”!
