The Caribbean has a long history on the global music scene, with regional music having been recorded since the early 1900s: Lovey’s Original Trinidad String Band was recorded in 1912, five years before jazz was first recorded. Since then, the music industry in these islands and the influence of music from them have impacted developing genres across the Americas. Jazz and hip-hop figure prominently, as explored in previous issues of Caribbean Beat (all available online).
Many island musicians look for ways to gauge the success of their music — their unique craft that can signal to the world that Caribbean people’s musical output deserves accolades beyond chauvinistic passion. Music awards are more than symbols of external validation; they act as markers for burgeoning island industries, for artists that acknowledge their Caribbean DNA in their music, and their influence in a global music marketplace. The Grammy Awards are one such marker.
The presenting body, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS), was founded in 1957, just one year after Harry Belafonte’s Calypso album became the United States’ first million seller, outselling Elvis Presley that year and changing the musical tastes of Americans forever. The first Grammy ceremony was held in 1958. In the subsequent decades, a range of regional genres have been recognised with golden gramophone statuettes within specialised categories.
Traditional and contemporary Spanish-language island music genres and styles — bachata and merengue from the Dominican Republic; salsa and Afro-Cuban music from Cuba — have Best Tropical Latin Album as a target. For reggaeton — Puerto Rico’s gift to the world — it’s the recently created Best Música Urbana Album.
Multiple winners — Puerto Rican Bad Bunny; Panamanian of St Lucian descent Rubén Blades; and Cuban Gloria Estefan; and others — define island excellence. (Note that more than 50% of the Caribbean’s 46 million people have Spanish as their first language, and 90% of all native Spanish speakers globally live in the Americas.)
“We now have a seat at the table … We aren’t just members, we are voting members. It is a step in the right direction”
“The Grammy remains the highest honour in music — bar none,” NARAS has declared, noting more recently that it “continues to embrace a truly global mindset and seeks to engage and celebrate the current scope of music from around the world”. Many Caribbean musicians take that sentiment to heart as annual music submissions towards nominations and awards increase, and new membership by Caribbean nationals grows.
In 2024, 75 projects were submitted to Grammy voters for Best Reggae Album consideration, up from 65 the year before. Beginning in 1985, NARAS gave an award for Best Reggae Recording, rebranding in 1992 to Best Reggae Album for newly recorded original vocal or instrumental reggae albums, including roots reggae, dancehall, and ska music.
In the 40 years these awards have been given out, Bob Marley’s children — sons Stephen (eight), Ziggy (seven), Damien “Jr Gong” (four) and Julien (one), and daughters Cedella and Sharon (each with three as members of the Melody Makers) — have amassed a significant haul of Grammy statuettes, making a statement about legacy. Wins by legends Jimmy Cliff, Burning Spear, and Bunny Wailer, and modern stars like Sean Paul and Koffee showcase the breadth of recognition and the continuing well of reggae talent enriching the world.
In Trinidad & Tobago, there is an ongoing effort since 2021 to increase the membership of soca music producers regionally by carving out a space for submissions towards the new Best Global Music Performance Grammy — “reserved for performances with strong elements of global cultural significance that blend music forms and techniques found in pop, R&B, dance, rap, and folk with unique music forms, local expressions and techniques found among the global diaspora originating outside the United States.”
“If we don’t have people who rep the culture, we can’t make it past the first hurdle or round,” says soca superproducer Kasey Phillips, a leader in the push to include soca music in the Grammys. “We now have a seat at the table … We aren’t just members, we are voting members — and it is important for local producers and creators to have that voice. It is a step in the right direction.”
Small steps, noting the history of native Trinidadian music presence at the Grammys. At the 14th Annual Grammy Awards in 1972, the Esso Trinidad Steel Band’s self-titled album (1971) was nominated for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording — a singular pioneering achievement for the national instrument of Trinidad & Tobago.
Bahamian junkanoo band the Baha Men won a Grammy for Best Dance Recording in 2001 with their cover of soca song “Who Let the Dogs Out” (non-winner Moby called it a “novelty” song, poor thing). However, Trinidadian composer and original singer Anslem Douglas was not eligible for a statuette. Neither was Trinidadian soca star Bunji Garlin, who was one featured artist on the 2016 Best Dance/Electronic Album winner, Skrillex Diplo Present Jack Ü.
Not everyone, however, is a fan of Grammys. Some ask why we need validation from abroad, positing that we can have our own awards, and celebrate our own genres beyond reggaeton, reggae and dancehall — including calypso/soca, konpa, bouyon.
In 2024, 75 projects were submitted to Grammy voters for Best Reggae Album consideration, up from 65 the year before
Two iterations of a Caribbean Music Awards show — initially 1990–1995, and re-established in 2023 — begin to fill that critical void. Others observe that in the competitive world of global music, a Grammy is a plus for any career. Islanders count Barbadian Rihanna’s nine awards, and Trinidadians Heather Headley’s and Billy Ocean’s (one each), and wonder when compatriot and “Queen of Rap” Nicki Minaj will win her first.
Theron Thomas of St Thomas (US Virgin Islands) won the 2024 Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical statuette for his body of work on songs by Lil Durk, Tyla, Chloe Bailey, Ciara and Chris Brown, Cordae, Big Boss Vette, and Jungkook. That momentous win, voted on by all NARAS members, made him a hometown hero with accolades from the Governor and Commissioners of the USVI.
“I from a small island, 22 square miles,” he said in his acceptance speech. That USVI Creole resonated widely as he ended with a bold affirmation: “Virgin Islands in this M******* — ayo done know how we does go on!” Island brio at its best.
“Coming from St Thomas we grew up with a non-genre radio,” Thomas has noted. “We grew up with hip-hop, R&B, pop, reggae, calypso, country music — all on the same radio station! We never grew up thinking of genres. We just loved music. We were just like ‘Yo I like music, and I like that song.’”
That foundation allowed him to sell his songs to Rihanna, Beyoncé, Lizzo, Adam Levine, and Miley Cyrus. Thomas follows in the legacy of Trinidadian-American songwriters Ralph MacDonald (1982 Best Rhythm & Blues Song for “Just the Two of Us”) and Angela Hunte (2011 Best Rap Song, “Empire State of Mind”), who had gone “beyond the confines of cultural heritage”.
The broader Caribbean presence outside of Latin music on the Grammy Awards stage is limited, despite the input of many. The vast output of the varied Latin music styles that constitute the fastest growing music ecosystem in the world is a template to follow. NARAS seeks a kind of levelling of the playing field with its embrace of global sounds and celebration of unique music cultures from these islands — beyond reggae and the Latin/Spanish-speaking categories.
The Grammys remain a bellwether of artistic accomplishment for many regionally. The roll call and tally of Caribbean achievements in recorded music continues. That golden gramophone statuette is still a desired mark of music merit.
At the 67th Grammy Awards, held on 2 February in Los Angeles, Puerto Rican rapper Residente won Best Música Urbana Album for his album Las Letras Ya No Importan; while Best Reggae Album went to Bob Marley: One Love — Music Inspired By The Film (Deluxe), performed by various artists including Puerto Rican Farruko and Jamaicans Shenseea, Skip Marley, and Bob’s grand-daughter Mystic.