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 8th studio album and his 7th 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+.