ENTITY · PERSON
Kabaka Pyramid
Well supported
Kabaka Pyramid is a Jamaican reggae artist associated with the reggae-revival and global streaming era, known for lyrics that combine Rastafari, hip-hop-influenced flow and roots-reggae framing; his Grammy recognition placed the revival generation in a formal international awards archive.
At a glance
- Type
- person
- Confidence
- Well supported
- Era
- Open era →
Connections
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Debate & reception
How people argued about the music — praise, criticism and public debate. See all debate & reception →
debate
SOJA's 2022 Best Reggae Album Grammy and the question of who owns reggae
“reggae and dancehall could have been more recognized because oftentimes other genres take from our culture and we do not get that rating that we deserve”
At the 2022 Grammys, the American band SOJA won Best Reggae Album over five Jamaican nominees, reigniting a recurring argument about cultural ownership versus reggae's status as a global genre open to all. Critics called it an instance of outside acts profiting from a Black Jamaican art form while its originators go unrewarded; defenders pointed to reggae's deliberately international reach and the Academy's genre-not-nationality criteria. Nominee Spice publicly voiced the ownership grievance. The following year the award returned to a Jamaican act, Kabaka Pyramid ('The Kalling'), which some read as a corrective.
Stance: cultural appropriation and Jamaican ownership of reggae vs reggae as a borderless global genre judged on the music