Since 1985, Jamaicans and the local music industry has taken an even more keen interest in the Grammy Awards.

That year saw the introduction of the ‘Reggae Grammy’. Originally called Best Reggae Recording, the name of the award was later changed to Best Reggae Album.

This year it is anyone’s Grammy to win. The nominees are, Buju Banton – Before the Dawn, Gregory Isaacs and King Isaac – Isaacs Meets Isaac, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry – Revelation, Bob Sinclair and Sly and Robbie – Made in Jamaica, Sly and Robbie and the Family Taxi – One Pop Reggae and Andrew Tosh – Legacy: An Acoustic Tribute to Peter Tosh.

Embattled deejay and nominee, Buju Banton is expected to have a number of things on his mind this weekend. In addition to tonight’s Grammys, his on-going court battle on drug and firearm charges restarts tomorrow, following a hung jury in September of last year.

With regard to the Grammy nomination, a statement from the deejay’s management quotes Buju as saying, “It feels good. I have been nominated four times before although I never won. To me it means a lot because it shows that my music has transcended a lot of borders and people are now paying attention to what I’m saying in-depth.”

The statement continues, “this album is quite prophetic and win or not — it is still great music. Like I always say, I am not in this world to work for the award or the reward of anyone but for the reward of God and satisfaction of the masses. So therefore, Before The Dawn, if it happens to win I am grateful and thankful for all the support from the fans and those who voted for it. And if it doesn’t, I still say thanks for your appreciation and thanks for your recognition because music is an art form that cannot be denied by any living soul. Music is life.”

This year’s list of nominees sees local rhythm twins, Grammy winners Sly and Robbie, walking away with a double nomination — a first in the history of the Reggae Grammy. Their eighth nod, percussionist Sly Dunbar says both himself and bassist Robbie Shakespeare, are taking this one in stride, “it’s all about making music for the people,” he notes.

The list of nominees in the Reggae category is tinged with a hint of sadness, as crooner, Gregory Isaacs, passed away a few months before the announcement. His nominated project, Isaac Meets Isaacs is a collaboration with Zimbabwe-born, South African resident, King Isaac.

In an interview with the Observer a few months ago, King Isaac noted that the project with the late Cool Ruler, began in 2005, and since then we have done a number of recordings together that culminated in the album.

“This is an album that I am very proud of because every song on there is really just very strong. But my interest in this music came from my home country of Zimbabwe when Bob Marley came to Zimbabwe in 1980, and he had done a song called Zimbabwe commemorating our struggle for independence and our government invited Bob Marley and when Bob came he opened a flood gate of reggae music,” recalls King Isaac.

Veteran artiste and producer, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry is no stranger to the Reggae Grammy. He took home the golden gramophone in 2003 for his project, Jamaican E.T. This marks Perry’s fourth Grammy nomination.

Another Grammy-nominated artiste, Andrew Tosh, son of Reggae great, Peter Tosh, makes this year’s cut. This is his second nomination following his debut in 1991 with the project, Make Peace for the Youth.