The 2026 Grammy season has officially launched, and reggae fans and industry watchers will want to keep a close eye on the Best Reggae Album category. In what looks set to be a competitive year, a total of 73 albums have been submitted for consideration in the reggae field indicating a slight fall off from last year’s 75 entries.
This year’s roster features a strong showing from Jamaican artists, with names spanning the reggae and dancehall musical sets. Among the submissions are Vybz Kartel’s Heart & Soul, Likkle Addi’s Time Is Now, Lila Iké’s Treasure Self Love, 450’s Pieces of Me, Valiant’s Prove Them Wrong, Charly Black’s Good Times, Cham’s Sherlock, and Ding Dong’s From Ding Dong to the World.
Notably, the field also includes an AI-assisted project: Dem Can’t Stop My Joy (Rastafari Forever) by Adrian Donsome Hanson and Forever Roots Band, this is the first known album in this submission list to incorporate AI support in its creation although “AI-assisted” is still a developing label. This nod points to expanding definitions of artistry in reggae and could spark debate among voters and fans alike.
The first round of voting opened on October 3, 2025, and will run through October 15. During this phase, eligible Recording Academy voters will cast ballots to select the official nominees in each category. The slate of nominees is scheduled to be announced on November 7, 2025. Those nominees then face a second round of voting from December 12, 2025, to January 5, 2026 before the winners are revealed at the Grammy ceremony on February 1, 2026.
Ones to watch
Vybz Kartel’s entry into the reggae field is one of the headline-grabbers this year. The surprise 11-track EP Heart & Soul, released in August 2025 under Greedy Lion / Vybz Kartel Muzik, showed a more introspective side to Kartel, mixing romantic ballads and reflections on life post-imprisonment. The EP debuted at No. 7 on the U.S. iTunes Reggae Albums chart.
Lila Iké is a strong contender whose trajectory has been rising steadily. Her debut album Treasure Self Love explores themes of growth, love, mental health, and self-affirmation.
She’s also no stranger to Grammy-adjacent attention: her prior collaboration “Greatest Gift” with Jorja Smith is the sort of work that has attracted acclaim and exposure beyond regional borders.
With 73 entries, this year’s tally is marginally lower than 2025’s 75, still, compared to earlier years when entries dipped sharply, reggae appears to be holding ground in its Grammy profile. Many of these submitted works blur lines using dancehall, contemporary reggae, roots, conscious themes, and even AI-assisted production. That fluidity may appeal to voters who favour boundary-pushing work. The inclusion of Hanson’s AI-assisted Dem Can’t Stop My Joy hints at how technological experimentation is slowly creeping into even genres steeped in traditional sounds.
