IS THE GRAMMY SELECTION BIASED AGAINST FEMALE REGGAE ARTISTS?
December 16, 2021
Over the years we have noticed the limited amount of female reggae artists in the selection of “Best Reggae Album” category. Since reggae gained Grammy recognition 37 years ago, six women have been nominated in the Best Reggae Album category. Only Koffee has won. Lady Saw won a Grammy with No Doubt but it wasn’t for reggae.
Two women, Etana for “Pamoja” and Spice with “Ten”, were nominated for the 2022 award. Sean Paul “Live N Livin”, Gramps Morgan “Positive Vibration”, Jesse Royal “Royal” and “Beauty in the Silence” by SOJA complete the reggae line-up.
There has been talk recently by artists like Tanya Stephens and Queen Ifrika about widespread sexism and exploitation of women in Jamaican music. Etana stated that those are not the only reasons for the gender disparity in the Grammy selection. “Some female artists just don’t have the proper team around them to gather the right musicians, producers and engineers to create the quality productions”. The singer-songwriter added that while she experienced sexual advances by male colleagues early in her career, women must realize that it takes more than an image to impress organizers at The Recording Academy.
Koffee won the Best Reggae Album award in 2020 with “Rapture”. Her historic victory came 24 years after Judy Mowatt was the first woman nominated for “Working Wonders”. Rita Marley, Sister Carol, and Etana were the only other women nominated for solo albums prior to Rapture. Etana was nominated in 2019 for “Reggae Forever”. Her album “Pamoja” makes her the first woman to be nominated twice for the reggae Grammy award.
It cost money to do a proper music production and promotion and this has been a major reason for the sexual predators to target women. An artist need to recognize that there are levels to music production and he / she must learn to invest in their own career. Experience over the years will teach more female artists to take heed and make preparations for wiser business decisions. Another factor that will put females ahead is unity. Most artists consider the industry as a showcase for competition. In reality that is true, due to the fact that they all want to be on top and make financial gains. Nonetheless, technology and social media are changing the way music is advancing on a rapid pace.