By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, LOS ANGELES, CA, Mon. Feb. 6, 2023: Two Caribbean artists were among the 2023 GRAMMY winners last night, Feb. 5th, at the 65th awards held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Jamaican-born reggae artiste Kabaka Pyramid won his first Grammy – the 2023 Grammy for Best Reggae Album for “The Kalling.” In so doing he bested a field of Jamaican entertainers as the only first-time nominee among them.
Kabaka Pyramid’s immediate reaction after accepting the award and standing in front of the microphone: “Mi can’t believe it. Rastafari live.”
He continued: “I know I don’t have whole heap a time, I just want say thank you to the Academy, thank you to all the other nominees. We are representing Jamaica, we representing the Caribbean.”
He also thanked his mother, father, management team as well as those who worked on the album with him, including Damion ‘Jr Gong’ Marley, who produced the sophomore album.
“We just some kids from Kingston Jamaica,” Kabaka Pyramid said after also thanking everybody “supporting reggae music, positive, conscious music.”
The entertainer dedicated the win to Bob Marley’s grandson Jo Mersa, who died last year, and “all a my family”, before ending with, “Nuff love, blessings every time” and a big up for fellow nominee Protoje.
And Puerto Rico born artiste Bad Bunny won for best música urbana album.
Meanwhile, Barbadian songbird Amanda Reifer unlocked new stardom as well by being part of Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy winning album Mr Morale and the Big Steppers. Reifer, the lead singer with the band Cover Drive, lent her smooth vocals to the track ‘Die Hard’ alongside Kendrick & Blxst.
The album was released as a double album and is Lamar’s fifth and final studio album with Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), which is an American independent record label founded in 2004, by CEO Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith.
