The road to the 69th Grammy Awards officially began on Tuesday, July 7, as the Recording Academy opened submissions for the 2027 Grammy Awards, giving eligible recordings their first opportunity to compete for music’s most prestigious honour. The moment arrives just five months after Keznamdi became Jamaica’s latest Grammy winner with BLXXD & FYAH, extending the island’s extraordinary legacy in the Best Reggae Album category. As artistes, record labels and registered media companies begin entering this year’s releases, Jamaica is once again preparing to defend a Grammy tradition that has defined reggae on the global stage for more than four decades.
The Recording Academy’s Online Entry Process (OEP), which opened on July 7, will remain open until August 21 and marks the official first step towards Grammy recognition. Only Recording Academy Voting and Professional Members, along with registered Media Companies, are eligible to submit recordings for consideration. According to the Academy, a Media Company must be a legitimate commercial entity whose core business is creating, aggregating and promoting audio or video content, with eligible releases distributed nationally in the United States through approved streaming platforms during the eligibility period. Once submissions close, every entry is manually vetted before advancing to the first and final rounds of voting ahead of the 69th Grammy Awards, which will take place on February 7, 2027, at the Crypto.com Arena.
Jamaica heads into the new Grammy cycle after a landmark awards season. Before Keznamdi’s victory in February, the Best Reggae Album race attracted 73 eligible submissions from around the world, only slightly below the previous year’s 75 entries, highlighting the genre’s continued competitiveness despite growing global competition from Afrobeats, Latin music and K-pop. The Jamaican contingent featured a diverse cross-section of the island’s talent, including 450, Cham, Charly Black, Craigy T, Ding Dong, Keznamdi, Lila Iké, Valiant, Versi and Vybz Kartel, reflecting the broad spectrum of contemporary reggae and dancehall.
When the nominations were announced in November 2025, Jamaica swept the Best Reggae Album category, with Keznamdi, Lila Iké, Vybz Kartel, Mortimer and Jesse Royal securing all five nominations. Kartel stood as the sole dancehall representative, while Keznamdi, Lila Iké and Mortimer celebrated their first Grammy nominations. Four months later, Keznamdi emerged victorious with BLXXD & FYAH, earning his first Grammy and immediately sending the independently released album back to No. 1 on the U.S. iTunes Reggae Albums Chart. Accepting the award, he reaffirmed reggae’s enduring purpose, stating, “Reggae music has always been a music weh defend truths and rights, and African liberation and black man redemption.”
Jamaica’s relationship with the Grammy Awards dates back to 1985, when the Recording Academy introduced a dedicated reggae category, making it the first Grammy category devoted to a musical genre originating outside the United States. Since then, the island has produced an extraordinary list of winners, including Black Uhuru, Jimmy Cliff, Shabba Ranks, Ziggy Marley, Damian Marley, Buju Banton and Sean Paul. The previous year’s winner, Bob Marley: One Love (Music Inspired by the Film), also underscored Jamaica’s enduring influence, as the soundtrack inspired by the blockbuster biopic captured the 2025 Best Reggae Album award before Keznamdi continued the country’s winning tradition in 2026.
With submissions now open for the 2027 Grammy Awards, the spotlight turns once again to Jamaica’s artistes and producers. Whether established stars or emerging voices seize the moment, the island will once again be aiming to add another chapter to one of the most successful national legacies in Grammy history.
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