In the 41-year history of the Best Reggae Album Grammy Award, only two non-Jamaican acts and one woman have won.

No gospel artiste has ever been nominated for that category.

DJ Nicholas looks to create history by becoming the first gospel act to make the final cut. His No Distortion is among 119 albums on the provisional list, which was released in October.

The five nominees will be announced on November 16 by The Recording Academy, which organises the annual show.

No Distortion is co-produced by DJ Nicholas and Canute Neil Ellis. Given the rigid competition, it is a long shot for nomination but DJ Nicholas is keeping the faith.

“I would be elated, knowing that the ministry and the genre in general would receive greater recognition. I consider even being nominated a blessing, and I am grateful first and foremost to God, as well as to all the people who helped bring this project to fruition,” he said in an interview with Observer Online.

Released in August, No Distortion is DJ Nicholas’ sixth album. Abnormal Decibels, his previous collection, came out in 2021.

On his latest project, he collaborated with the Orlando, Florida-based Ellis, who has established himself as a go-to producer for gospel-reggae acts such as Cario Young, Zabbai and Ryan Chew.

“No Distortion consists primarily of reggae and dancehall beats with cinematic and orchestral elements. This blend gives the album a unique sound without departing from my Jamaican culture,” DJ Nicholas explained. “The approach was to find unique flows for the different beats while keeping the message as accurate to the scriptures as possible.”

Born Nicholas Eccleston in Kingston, he emerged as part of the new wave of gospel-reggae artistes 20 years ago alongside singers Kevin Downswell and Jermaine Edwards.

The 2027 Grammy provisional list includes albums by previous winners Ziggy Marley, Julian Marley, Beenie Man, Buju Banton and Shaggy.

British band Steel Pulse with Babylon The Bandit in 1987 and American band SOJA for Beauty In The Silence in 2022 are the only non-Jamaican winners of Best Reggae Album. Koffee is the only woman to win the award, which came with Rapture in 2020.

Blxxd & Fyah by Keznamdi won the 2026 Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.