Sean Paul

DEEJAY Sean Paul's Dutty Rock, the sensational album that has made inroads in the hip-hop market, heads the list of nominees for Best Reggae Album at next year's Grammy Awards, which takes place February 8 in Los Angeles.

The nominations for the 46th annual ceremony were announced yesterday in Los Angeles. Sean Paul has actually been nominated in three categories. He is also up for the Best New Artiste and Best Solo R&B/Rap Artiste awards.

Buju Banton

The other nominees in the Best Reggae Album category are No Holding Back (Wayne Wonder); Friends For Life (Buju Banton); Free Man (Burning Spear) and Ain't Givin' Up by Third World.

Missing out was Da Real Thing by singjay Sizzla, one of the most popular Reggae albums released this year. Underneath It All, a big hit last year for punk/Ska group No Doubt and deejay Lady Saw, is nominated in the Best Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group category.

Burning Spear

Dutty Rock, No Holding Back and Friends For Life are distributed by the Queens, New York company VP Records. Free Man is distributed by Spear's Burning Productions while Ain't Givin' Up was released by Shanachie Records, an independent company which is also based in New York City.

Of the five, only Spear has won the Grammy Award. He took home the Best Reggae Album category in 2000 for Calling Rastafari. Third World and Banton have been nominated in the past.

While little is known locally of Free Man and Ain't Givin' Up, the other nominees produced hit songs here and in the US. Released in November last year, Dutty Rock spawned hit singles in Gimme The Light, Get Busy and Like Glue, all of which made various Billboard Magazine charts. Dutty Rock has sold over two million copies, according to sales tracker SoundScan.

No Holding Back and Friends For Life were both released in March. The former contained the single, No Letting Go, which made Billboard's Rhythm and Blues chart; No Letting Go and another track, Bounce Along, made the British national charts.

Whatcha Gonna Do (with singer Nadine Sutherland) from Friends For Life was a minor hit in the US.

Reggae gained Grammy recognition in 1984. Anthem by Black Uhuru won the first Best Reggae Album award the following year.

Nominations in top categories for the 46th annual Grammy Awards announced yesterday:

1. Record of the Year: Crazy in Love, Beyonce featuring Jay-Z; Where Is the Love? Black Eyed Peas and Justin Timberlake; Clocks, Coldplay; Lose Yourself, Eminem; Hey Ya!, OutKast.

2. Album of the Year: Under Construction, Missy Elliott; Fallen, Evanescence; Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, OutKast; Justified, Justin Timberlake; Elephant, The White Stripes.

3. Song of the Year: Beautiful, Linda Perry (Christina Aguilera); Dance With My Father, Richard Marx and Luther Vandross (Luther Vandross); I'm With You, Avril Lavigne and The Matrix (Avril Lavigne); Keep Me in Your Heart, Jorge Calderon and Warren Zevon (Warren Zevon); Lose Yourself, J Bass, M Mathers and L Resto (Eminem).

4. New Artiste: Evanescence; 50 Cent; Fountains of Wayne; Heather Headley; Sean Paul.

5. Pop Vocal Album: Stripped, Christina Aguilera; Brainwashed, George Harrison; Bare, Annie Lennox; Motown, Michael McDonald; Justified, Justin Timberlake.

6. Rap Album: Under Construction, Missy Elliott; Get Rich or Die Tryin', 50 Cent; The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse, Jay-Z; Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, OutKast; Phrenology, The Roots.

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