Ten local artistes qualify to be considered for Grammy Awards

OVER ten Trinidad and Tobago artistes are up for consideration in over ten categories for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards slated for next year in Los Angeles, US.

Artistes include Etienne Charles, Kes the Band, MX Prime, RKG and Yung Bredda and Full Blown.

Minister of Culture and Community Development Michelle Benjamin, in a Facebook post, congratulated all the contenders, highlighting Kes the Band, Sherwin Gardner, and Yung Bredda and Full Blown.

She said, “This achievement stands as a proud testament to the power of our culture and resilience that defines TT’s artistic spirit. As our music continues to reach audiences across the globe, we salute the artistes who carry our nation’s heartbeat to the world stage.”

Martin “Mice” Raymond, veteran music producer/engineer, associate professor in practice at UTT’s Academy for the Performing Arts and voting member of the Recording Academy explained the work of artistes were submitted and reviewed by a panel of about 350 experts in different music fields to determine their suitability.

The local artistes have passed that stage. Being approved, they were placed on the first round ballot where about 13,000 voting members including producers, sound engineers, artistes and songwriters, would consider their music.

First round voting determines all the Grammy nominees for each category, and that process began on October 3 and will continue until October 15. Final round voting determines the winners across all categories, which are revealed on Grammy night.

Raymond said since the Grammys was probably the most internationally recognised music award show, it was seen as the benchmark of the industry, even though it was sometimes criticised.

“The Grammys often get criticised for being out of step with public taste as some things that are popular do not always win a Grammy and vice versa. That’s because it’s very much a peer-voting process so they were not swayed by public opinion.”

He said it was up to the Academy to decide if songs, albums or performances meet the Academy’s standards, but encouraged more artistes to submit their work.

“Most of the entries I was involved with already received a lot of very positive feedback from international industry peers.

“In Trinidad we produce more genres of music than probably any other country in the Caribbean. I encourage people from other genres to also submit their work. We have a wide variety of talent and it will be good for them to be exposed to the international market.”

According to Raymond, since Harvey Mason Jr became the Academy’s CEO in 2021, a concerted effort was made to widen and diversify the voter base. And every year the Academy reviewed and added to the categories of the Grammys. Most recently the Global and African categories, which catered to the increasing influence of afrobeats, were added.

“One of the big changes in the fast four or five years is the Global category was specifically added to cater for thing like soca, dance hall, etc. The Grammys tended to be focussed on albums before, but there is a growing body of music internationally that is more focussed on singles.”

The standard of local production had risen a lot over the last decade so it was not an issue under consideration. In Raymond’s opinion, artistes need to focus more on the quality of songwriting and performance, but some artistes were still producing excellent work.

Nigel Campbell, a music businessman focussed on expanding the appeal of island music globally, also recommended more local artistes “aim for the top” and submit work to the Grammys.

“Our artistes are more than just artistes in Trinidad. They are trying to become international artistes, as it were, and the Grammys, as an award, is kind of the pinnacle of music excellence, certainly in the North American market. And everybody recognises globally that a Grammy is an award that has some kind of meaning.”

He believed the number of artistes getting into first round voting was much more than previous years, which was a positive step. But he admitted the challenge was becoming a nominee. Though, being from TT did not exclude Trinidadians from being part of the Grammys.

Billy Ocean won the Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for Caribbean Queen in 1985, and Heather Headley won Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album for Audience of One in 2010.

The steelband Esso Tripoli as nominated for a Grammy Award in 1971 and Trinidad-born Nicki Minaj had multiple Grammy nominations.

He said the quality of music was good enough to be nominated, but there were areas they could improved. But, he stressed, they were among the best in the categories they were considered.

In addition, he pointed out it was a peer-voting system, so developing a cadre of voters was important. Giving an example he said if only 50 Caribbean musicians were voting members of the Academy and there were 500 Africans, it could be more likely an African artist would win in any said category.

He said local artists needed to join an organisation which had impact, like the Recording Academy.

Trinidad and Tobago artistes with Grammy considerations

Kes the Band – Best Global Music Performance for Cocoa Tea.

Yung Bredda/Full Blown – Best Global Music Performance for the Greatest Bend Over.

John Francis Aka John Skweird – Best Progressive R&B Album for the Soundscapes of Dreams and Nightmares.

Sherwin Gardiner – Best Global Music Performance for Over Me and Best Reggae Album for Find Me Here EP.

MX Prime – Best Global Music Album for Kick Off.

Etienne Charles – Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Best Jazz Performance and Best Instrumental Composition for Gullah Roots, and Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals for Kumbaya.

RKG – Best Global Music Performance for Hard Life.

Touchdown Feat Natalie Yorke – Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for Prayer for Peace. Also a contender for Harry Belafonte Best Song for Social Change Award.

Gail Ann Stevens, aka Precious Gail – Best African Music Performance for Adored.

Empress Aje and Queen Omega – Best Global Music Album for being on The World Album.

Jimmy October – Best Global Music Album for From October with Love.

Freetown Collective - Best Global Music Album for Beyond the Machine.

Machel Montano – Best Global Music Album for One Degree Hotter, Best Global Music Performance for Pardy, Best Global Music Performance for Fling it Up Featuring Davido, Best Global Music Performance for Truth & Balance Remix with Ayetian, Ne-yo and Dj Mac.

Anika Berry – Best Global Music Performance for Saddle.

General Grant – Best Global Music Performance and Song of the Year for Human.

Tenille Amor, Bunji Garlin, Rheon Elbourne, Jahllano, Jalifa, Jah-Z Blaze, Ami, Mr King Kid Volt – Best Global Music Performance, and Best Arrangement, Instrumentals and Vocals. Also a contender for Harry Belafonte Best Song for Social Change Award for One Family (Trinidad Anthem).

Stuart Fortune – Best Audio Book Narration & Storytelling Recording for From Ibadan to Hell Yard, narrated by Nickolai Salcedo.

Mi aka Menace and Ted Ganung – Best Global Music Performance for First Time Caribbean Party.