In a Grammy nomination that was solely decided by the Recording Academy’s voting membership for the first time in 30 years, dancehall queen Spice, Etana, Sean Paul, Jesse Royal, Gramps Morgan and Virginia-based reggae group SOJA have all been nominated in the Best Reggae Album category.

Instead of a final five, there were six finalists named in the nominations announced on the Recording Academy’s YouTube page.

Spice lands a nomination with her debut album titled ‘TEN’. The long-awaited compilation, which was released in August, came after a decade-long wait and a tumultuous relationship between herself and label VP Records. This is the first time a hardcore female dancehall artiste has been nominated for the coveted golden gramophone.

Reggae artiste Etana nabs her second Grammy nomination for her album ‘Pamoja’. The I Am Not Afraid singer made history back in 2018 when she became the first woman to get a nomination in the Best Reggae Album category in more than two decades. At that time, she was the fourth woman to ever get nominated for a Grammy award. She created that bit of history with the album Reggae Forever.

Sean Paul copped his sixth Grammy nomination with his album ‘Live N Livin’. Sean Paul won a Grammy award back in 2004 for his Dutty Rock album. His previous nominations were for The Trinity in 2006, Imperial Blaze in 2010 and Tomahawk Technique in 2015.

Gramps Morgan gets the Grammy nomination for his album ‘Positive Vibration’ which was released in July and features acts including Shaggy, his son Jemere Morgan and India Arie.

Jesse Royal lands his first nomination for his album ‘Royal’.

The other nominee in the category, SOJA got the nod with their album ‘Beauty in Silence’.

The 64th Grammy awards will be held on January 31, 2022.