Producer Reveals Why Vybz Kartel Is So Confident About ‘Of Dons & Divas’ Grammy

Award-winning producer JonFX has given insight into what may be a key factor in Vybz Kartel’s extreme confidence about his upcoming Of Dons and Divas album, winning the next Best Reggae Album Grammy award.

Speaking on the Let’s Be Honest podcast on Thursday, June 4, the Jamaican-born producer, whose real name is John Alexander Crawford, told guest presenter Mixmaster David that Kartel is taking no chances and is pulling out all the stops, by collaborating with him on the upcoming album.

JonFX, who produced Gyptian’s hit song Hold Yuh, Sizzla’s I’m Yours, and Sean Paul’s Baby said the Dancehall Pharoah recognizes the advantage of having a Grammy voting member onboard his new project, as he is ofay with the submission prerequisites as well as the opportune time to release an album, to make it qualify for nomination.

“I could say, I am 80 percent sure that I have a track on Vybz Kartel’s album coming out now. That’s why he did it.  He knows that the producers that he works with, none of them don’t know the process of submitting an album to the Grammys…. even when they do it there is a time when if you release the album after a certain time, you are still not qualified for that Grammy of that upcoming year,” JonFX said.

“They don’t know the time when the record is supposed to be put out, so they just put out a record ad they just do a thing.  So there is a time, or you have to wait for the next year,” he added.

JonFX told the presenters that many times, Grammy-worthy albums fall by the wayside due to the lack of meticulousness and coordination by record labels.

“The record label normally should submit it.  But again, I have seen big record labels drop the ball when it comes on to the submission because they basically have factors such as a budget that is running out…,” he explained.

“They will release it whenever they feel like and will not care about the Grammy, and that is normally the issue,” the producer added.

Mixmaster David, in summing up Kartel’s chances, told Let’s Be Honest hosts Jaiifrais and Chevi, that a Grammy win was critical for artistes and producers, for validation, similar to being on topping the Billboard charts and having publishing rights.

He also said it is not far-fetched that Kartel could, in fact, get a Grammy if he works toward it, as the 44-year-old is an astute musician and a master songwriter.

“With the right engine, right song, him can do it.  Him a work wid TJ Records and if JonFX get on pon di album,   Yuh have have whole heap a talented producers inna Jamaica.  Mi think if Kartel waa meck a Grammy album, him dan can dweet.  Because him lyrical; him know sound and him can dweet,” David said.

Last year more than 120 albums from solo artistes and bands, were submitted for consideration for nomination for the Grammy Best Reggae Album prize, which was eventually copped by Koffee’s Rapture EP.

In addition to Koffee, the four other albums nominated from the pool, were As I Am by Julian Marley, Third World’s More Work To Be Done, Mass Manipulation by Steel Pulse, and The Final Battle: Sly & Robbie vs. Roots Radics by Sly & Robbie and Roots Radics.

The year before, Sting and Shaggy copped the Best Reggae Grammy album for their collaborative effort titled 44/876, displacing Protoje’s Matter of Time, Ziggy Marley’s Rebellion Rises, Black Uhuru’s As The World Turns and Etana’s Reggae Forever.

The Grammy Awards are the only peer-recognized music awards that recognize recording industry excellence and are considered the music industry’s highest honors.    It is a product of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, a professional musical organization, which was founded in 1957.

The Recording Academy’s three types of memberships are Voting Membership for recording creators, Professional Membership for music businesspeople, and GRAMMY U for “the next generation aspiring to a career in the music industry”.

Academy members are either creative or technical music professionals, such as singers, art directors, composers, producers, and engineers.  Voting members must have been either producers, performers, or engineers on six or more tracks of a commercially released album or a dozen or more digital tracks.

In order to be eligible this year, recordings submitted for consideration must have been released between September 1, 2019, and August 31, 2020.   The final round voting will take place at a date to be determined ahead of the awards ceremony, which is set for Sunday, January 31, 2021.

Recordings must contain at least five tracks and no less than 15 minutes total playing time, in order to be considered an album and must be for sale commercially via general distribution or as a digital recording, either for sale or via a recognized streaming service.

Vybz Kartel’s Of Dons & Divas is set for release on June 26, 2020, and will include 16 tracks including features from several dancehall artistes like Tommy Lee Sparta, Skillibeng, Sikka Rymes, Squash, TeeJay, and Daddy1.  His last album, To Tanesha, was released in January this year.