Reggae Grammy 2023: Here’s The Album Sales For The 38 Past Winners, And This Year’s Nominees

When the winner for Best Reggae Album is announced at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards next Sunday, February 5, it will be a tossup between five stellar Jamaican albums, which have all had varying success on the commercial front.

However, the Recording Academy’s voting membership—which includes music creators such as artists, producers, songwriters, and engineers—is instructed to focus on the merits of the recordings, and not on their success in the marketplace. In fact, the “For Your Consideration” campaigns, which are rolled out by record labels and management companies, are prohibited from including chart positions, number of streams, sales figures, or RIAA awards in their copy.

But, sales and equivalent streaming units do shed some light on how each particular Grammy-nominated (or winning) project was received by the consumer class. From this year’s five nominees to the 38 past winners (since 1985), here’s how much each album sold in the United States, according to data provided to DancehallMag from Luminate (formerly known as MRC Data, and before that, Nielsen Music).

Past ‘Best Reggae Album’ Winners

Year	Artist	Album Name	Total Units	Total Sales
1985	Black Uhuru	Anthem*	31,000	24,000
1986	Jimmy Cliff	Cliff Hanger*	29,000	27,000
1987	Steel Pulse	Babylon The Bandit*	79,000	71,000
1988	Peter Tosh	No Nuclear War*	56,000	31,000
1989	Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers	Conscious Party*	1,000,000	100,000**
1990	Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers	One Bright Day*	500,000	21,000**
1991	Bunny Wailer	A Tribute To Bob Marley*	1,200	1,200
1992	Shabba Ranks	As Raw As Ever	679,000	–
1993	Shabba Ranks	X-Tra Naked	522,000	–
1994	Inner Circle	Bad Boys	1,100,000	900,000
1995	Bunny Wailer	Cruical! Roots Classics	n/a	n/a
1996	Shaggy	Boombastic	1,200,000	1,000,000
1997	Bunny Wailer	Hall Of Fame: A Tribute To Bob Marley’s 50th Anniversary	11,000	11,000
1998	Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers	Fallen Is Babylon	86,000	82,000
1999	Sly & Robbie	Friends	15,000	13,000
2000	Burning Spear	Calling Rastafari	42,000	40,000
2001	Beenie Man	Art and Life	68,000	n/a
2002	Damian Marley	Halfway Tree	248,000	194,000
2003	Lee Scratch Perry	Jamaican E.T	5,000	4,000
2004	Sean Paul	Dutty Rock	3,500,000	2,800,000
2005	Toots & The Maytals	True Love	221,000	121,000
2006	Damian Marley	Welcome To Jamrock	1,200,000	900,000
2007	Ziggy Marley	Love Is My Religion	352,000	183,000
2008	Stephen Marley	Mind Control	336,000	190,000
2009	Burning Spear	Jah Is Real	9,000	7,000
2010	Stephen Marley	Mind Control (Acoustics)	162,000	27,000
2011	Buju Banton	Before The Dawn	8,000	7,000
2012	Stephen Marley	Revelation Pt. 1 – The Root Of Life	114,000	53,000
2013	Jimmy Cliff	Rebirth	57,000	48,000
2014	Ziggy Marley	In Concert	147,000	8,000
2015	Ziggy Marley	Fly Rasta	31,000	21,000
2016	Morgan Heritage	Strictly Roots	17,000	10,000
2017	Ziggy Marley	Ziggy Marley	25,000	16,000
2018	Damian Marley	Stony Hill	167,000	27,000
2019	Sting & Shaggy	44/876	96,000	59,000
2020	Koffee	Rapture	152,000	8,000
2021	Toots & The Maytals	Got To Be Tough	9,000	6,000
2022	SOJA	Beauty In the Silence	35,000	7,000

* - Beginning with the 1992 ceremony, the name of the Award was changed from Best Reggae Recording to Best Reggae Album

** - Since 1991.

Koffee – Gifted

Koffee‘s debut album, Gifted, was a resounding success upon its release on March 25, 2022, by Sony Music UK, RCA and Promised Land. In 2022, it amassed a staggering 77.8 million on-demand streams in the US, and spent 38 weeks on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart, peaking at No 2.

She had said of Gifted in an interview with Nylon.com: “I can try different genres, try different styles or approaches that I know people are enjoying, kind of meet them halfway. Keep the message positive and just try different sounds to keep everybody entertained.”

Total Album Units (with streaming): 230,000
Total Album Sales (traditional and digital): 12,400

Sean Paul – Scorcha

Dancehall superstar Sean Paul will be looking to add another piece of hardware to his already impressive collection come February 5. Scorcha, Paul’s 8^th studio album and his 7^th to be nominated for a Grammy, earned 16.2 million on-demand streams in the US last year.

“I have bridged a gap where I’ve become successful at doing the usual thing but now it’s my own sound,” he told Vibe.com last year as he spoke about Scorcha. He continued: “I’ve always wanted the music to evolve and go somewhere without losing the roots.” ‘Scorcha’ seems to be the manifestation of those ambitions.

Total Album Units (with streaming): 24,000
Total Album Sales (traditional and digital): 12,400

Shaggy – Com Fly Wid Mi

Shaggy and Sting’s ambitious Frank Sinatra project has achieved its goal of proving the versatility of both Shaggy and Reggae music, while also paying homage to Sinatra. The 11-track project, released on May 25, 2022 by Mr. Luva Luva Inc., combines the best elements of Reggae and Jazz to create a unique and familiar sound.

Total Album Units (with streaming): 800
Total Album Sales (traditional and digital): 800

Kabaka Pyramid – The Kalling

Kabaka Pyramid‘s The Kalling elaborately takes listeners on a soul-filled, grounding journey throughout Dancehall and Reggae music, underpinned by the artist’s spiritually-driven persona. Produced by Damian Marley, the album’s 15 tracks are rooted in Kabaka’s sincere interest in promoting the well-being of himself and mankind. This message is well-received by listeners, as evidenced by the album’s 4.7 million on-demand streams in the US last year.

Total Album Units (with streaming): 4,100
Total Album Sales (traditional and digital): 700

Protoje – Third Time’s The Charm

The third installment to Protoje’s ‘Time’ series albums, with the previous two being A Matter of Time (Grammy-nominated) and In Search of Lost Time, ‘Third Time’s The Charm’ earned every bit of attention it has gotten. It’s the In.Digg.Nation Collective’s top man’s sixth studio album, which was released jointly with RCA Records on September 23, 2022. It has amassed 5.2 million on-demand streams in the US and reached the No. 8 spot on the Billboard Reggae chart in its first week.

Total Album Units (with streaming): 4,100
Total Album Sales (traditional and digital): 700

The eligibility period for the 65th Grammy Awards was from October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022. The first round of voting to select nominees took place between October 13 and October 23, while the final round of voting ended on January 4, 2023. 

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on February 5 at the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles, and broadcast live on CBS. It will also be streaming on Paramount+.