The Monk Music group – of which Machel Montano is a part – has three albums up for Grammy consideration for the 66th annual Grammy Awards to be held on February 4-5 next year.
Skinny Fabulous’ B.A.D (Beyond A Doubt), Hey Choppi’s Saga Boy, and St Lucian band Lu City’s Lucidity are the considered albums under the Best Global Music Album category.
Montano posted about the achievement on his Instagram page on Tuesday saying, “Caribbean music up for consideration in the Best Global Music Album category at the 66th annual Grammy Awards. Very proud of the albums Monk Music releases this year…”
He wished the artistes best of luck.
[caption id="attachment_1002394" align="alignnone" width="752"] Machel Montano - ANGELO MARCELLE[/caption]
In a phone interview on October 18, Gamal “Skinny Fabulous” Doyle said the process to Grammy consideration began about a year and a half ago.
They will be informed by the first week in November if nominated, he said.
For Skinny Fabulous, the consideration is only the beginning of soca music’s acknowledgement as a genre by the Recording Academy.
“It is a step in the right direction. Obviously, the door is not as open as we would like it to be as yet because we are still under a category that is not representative of us specifically.
“We have been able to, sort of; squeeze our way into a category that is just global music, which means we are now up against everything: Asian, Korean, African music. Any type of music that does not really have a category but that now puts us very wide.
“While it is a good accomplishment, it is also not particularly representative of the type of music we are doing. It also makes it a lot more difficult for us to secure the nomination. We are not in a pool of Caribbean musicians. We are in a pool of all musicians.”
Sakura by Masa Takumi was the winner in that category this year.
The category was first awarded in 1992 and went through changes over the years – at one time being split into two categories – but was remerged in 2012.
Beninese-French singer, songwriter Angelique Kidjo has won this award the most with five wins. Nigerian artiste Burna Boy won the award in 2021 with Twice as Tall. He has since gone on to receive numerous awards including Nigeria’s Order of the Federal Republic.
For years, soca artistes have been advocating for the genre to be officially recognised by the Recording Academy. In 2012 and 2013 Montano was also considered for a Grammy nomination.
Montano recently performed at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington DC, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, at the event Club Quarantine Live with D-Nice and special guests.
The centre’s website said, “After making history as the first DJ and hip hop artist to headline the Kennedy Center Opera House, legendary artist, DJ, photographer, and Kennedy Center Hip Hop Culture Council Member D-Nice brings Club Quarantine Live – his dynamic, multi-genre celebration of music, community, and love – back for another year. Hosted by comedian Chris Spence
