ENTITY · EVENT
Koffee's 2020 Grammy for Best Reggae Album
Well supported
At the 62nd Grammy Awards (26 January 2020) Koffee won Best Reggae Album for the EP 'Rapture', becoming the first woman and, at 19, the youngest winner in the category's history. A milestone widely read as a generational and gender shift for reggae.
At a glance
- Type
- event
- Confidence
- Well supported
- Era
- Open era →
Connections
Debate & reception
How people argued about the music — praise, criticism and public debate. See all debate & reception →
debate
Who counts as reggae? The 2022 Best Reggae Album debate
A neutral account of a public debate: after the US band SOJA won the 2022 Best Reggae Album over five Jamaican-nominated acts, some commentators and artists argued the category should centre Jamaican and Caribbean artists and the music's Afro-Jamaican origins, while others - including fellow nominees Etana and Gramps Morgan, and Chronixx - publicly supported the win and said the award honours the music regardless of nationality. No verdict is offered here. Sources: DancehallMag; Jamaica Observer; Reggaeville; Refinery29; BET.
Stance: centre Jamaican/Caribbean origin vs honour the music regardless of nationality
commentary
Koffee's historic win: a turning point or one milestone?
Koffee's 2020 Best Reggae Album win - first woman and youngest in the category - is a documented milestone; commentary splits on its meaning: some read it as a real generational and gender shift for reggae, others caution against treating a single win as structural change for women and youth in the industry. Sources: DancehallMag; Vibe; Jamaica Gleaner.
Stance: a real generational & gender shift vs one milestone, not structural change