soja

“Jamaicans Do Not Own Reggae”

A day after Professor Carolyn Cooper published an article titled Jamaicans do not own Reggae, in which she rebuked citizens of the country whom she described as “nyamming up themselves on social media” because SOJA won the Best Reggae Album Grammy, a 2006 video of Buju Banton expressing concern that the music was under threat of being fully expropriated, has resurfaced.

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I Am Glad SOJA Won!

It is perhaps portentous that the same week that the reggae industry tragically lost two founding members of The Mighty Diamonds, a predominantly white Reggae band won the Reggae Grammy.

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Why SOJA Won The Reggae Grammy Against Five Jamaicans

There has been a flurry of accusations aimed at the Recording Academy—including those of bias and race-based favoritism—after American band SOJA (Soldiers of Jah Army) upstaged Jamaican artists Spice, Jesse Royal, Sean Paul, Gramps Morgan, and Etana, to win the Best Reggae Album Grammy Award for their album Beauty In The Silence.

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SOJA Wins 2022 Grammy Award For ‘Best Reggae Album’

Virginia-based Reggae band SOJA (Soldiers of Jah Army) has won the 2022 ‘Best Reggae Album’ Grammy Award for Beauty in the Silence, eclipsing the five Jamaican nominees and leaving many Jamaican pundits who were predicting that one of their compatriots would have won, speechless.