Forty years ago, on February 26 1985, the first Grammy Award for Best Reggae Recording was awarded to Black Uhuru for the Sly and Robbie-produced Anthem.

The other nominees were Reggae Night by Jimmy Cliff, Steppin Out by Steel Pulse, Captured Live by Peter Tosh, and King Yellowman by Yellowman.

Anthem, released by Island Records in 1984, was a landmark album for Black Uhuru, which at the time comprised Duckie Simpson, Mykal Rose, and Puma Jones.

It contained the hit songs What is Life, Bull in The Pen, Solidarity, and Party Next Door.

Mykal Rose, who left the group for a solo career shortly before the Grammy ceremony which was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, told the Jamaica Observer that he had no idea how huge it was at the time.

“Forty years ago I did not realise how big the Grammy was. You see, I was just making conscious songs and praising Jah. I had no idea how winning a Grammy Award impacted the music industry. When the group won the Grammy it did not really open any doors for me, because by the time the announcement was made I had already left the group and Duckie took everything. I had to rebuild myself as a solo artiste,” he said.

Anthem was recorded at the famed Compass Point Studio in Nassau, The Bahamas.

Among the musicians who worked on the project were guitarists Rad Bryan, Darryl Thomson, and Mikey Chung; bassist Robbie Shakespeare; drummer Sly Dunbar; saxophonist Dean Fraser, trombonist Ronald “Nambo” Robinson; keyboardist Franklyn “Bubbler” Waul; and engineers Noel Hearne and Steven Stanley.

“Working with Sly and Robbie was great; everything had to be done to perfection. They are masters of their trade. They would have you do several takes until they were satisfied. I even had to do the harmonies with Puma and Duckie to get it right,” Mykal Rose disclosed.

“That album was special because it addressed the social issues at the time [but], unfortunately, that was my last recording with the group,” he said as he explained his absence from the Grammy Awards in 1985.

“I did not attend the Grammy because I did not get an invitation… If I had gotten an invitation I would’ve attended. I got my Grammy from Island Records. [Broadcaster] Clinton Lindsay gave it to me at Sonic Sounds in Jamaica,” he recalled.

Reggae got Grammy status after several years of lobbying by advocates like Roger Steffens. The reggae category was initially named Best Reggae Recording but renamed Best Reggae Album in 1992.

Black Uhuru secured seven other nominations for Brutal (1987), Brutal Dub (1988), Now (1991), Iron Storm (1992), Mystikal Truth (1994), Strongg (1995), and As The World Turns (2019).

Mykal Rose signed with RCA Records and later Heartbeat Records. He teamed with Shabba Ranks on an update of Black Uhuru’s Shine Eye Gal in 1995, which rose to #46 on the British pop chart.

His last solo album, I Give You Love, was released in 2023 for Donsome Records.

The 2025 Grammy Awards takes place tonight at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

The nominees in the Best Reggae Album category are Evolution by The Wailers, Never Gets Late Here by Shenseea, Take it Easy by Collie Buddz, Party with Me by Vybz Kartel, and Bob Marley: One Love – Music Inspired by The Film (Deluxe) – Various Artistes.