VP’s ‘Down in Jamaica’ entered in 3 Grammy categories
Jamaica
The Sunday Gleaner. in outstanding 1993 collection, Tougher Than Tough, was one such,” he said.
Steffens, the founding chairman for the Grammy reggae category, despite his own enthusiasm, was cautious in making any kind of prediction. “Carter has a broad knowledge of Jamaican history through music, and the song choices from the vast catalogue are superb, but the set is an outsider as a Jamaican music project. However, the vast majority of the [Grammy] voters are not followers of reggae music,” he stated.
The founder of the Roger Steffens’ Reggae Archives recalled that some years ago, the Recording Academy – which presents the Grammys – made an attempt to ditch the reggae category altogether. “We were trying to break the category into roots reggae and dancehall, and we arrived at the meeting, only to be told that they were taking out the category. We had to convince them to keep it,” he said.
Down In Jamaica tells the story in detail through the key records that helped define VP Records. Van Pelt said that when he created this set, he wasn’t thinking about telling the story of the rise of dancehall, but it did. He was more concerned with featuring “enduring and extremely relevant recordings on the one hand while also giving vinyl collectors some obscure and sought-after titles on the other”.
Dancehall artiste Busy Signal, whose One More Night is among the 94 tracks, stated during a forum at the Grammy Museum last winter, “The box set is just awesome…, to see how you put it together – from that time until this time, the present moment – to see how you filled the gap between the generations. I’m honoured to even be a part of this. I see the greats like Yellowman, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Shabba Ranks. Just to be a part of that, I’m so proud.”
yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com