Here’s How Vybz Kartel, Lila Iké & More Reacted to Their 2026 Best Reggae Album Grammy Nominations: ‘This Is a New Tidal Wave for Reggae’

As Jamaica picks up the pieces in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa’s historic devastation, the global reach of their artists remains cause for celebration.

On Friday (Nov. 7), the Recording Academy revealed the five nominees for best reggae album at the 2026 Grammy Awards — and Jamaican musicians snagged every single spot. The five newly Grammy-nominated albums are Treasure Self Love (Lila Iké), Heart & Soul (Vybz Kartel), Blxxd & Fyah (Keznamdi), From Within (Mortimer) and No Place Like Home (Jesse Royal). Notably, Billboard correctly predicted four out of the five nominees in its round-up of global field Grammy predictions.

“It’s exactly 464 days ago to the day I achieved a significant milestone with my freedom, and within this time span, I have been nominated [for a Grammy Award] twice,” Kartel exclusively told Billboard. “I am genuinely thankful that my artistic contributions have once again garnered such esteemed attention from the Recording Academy.”

Earning his second nod in this category in as many years, Kartel’s latest Grammy nomination bookends a seismic comeback year that began, in earnest, with his January Billboard cover shoot. The sole dancehall album in contention, Heart & Soul arrived on Aug. 29, featuring a steamy collaboration with Ishawna. The week before Kartel dropped Heart & Soul, Lila Iké celebrated her third consecutive Caribbean Music Award win for female reggae artist of the year by releasing her long-awaited Treasure Self Love debut album. “I’m always paying homage to my culture and the people who laid the foundation for what’s going on in Jamaican music right now,” she told Billboard about the nods to Peter Tosh, Patra and Barrington Levy sprinkled throughout her album.

In February, Keznamdi spoke with Billboard about the music video for “Time,” the lead single from Blxxd & Fyah, saying, “In the process of making the problem, the music just sounded like Africa.” Now, Blxxd & Fyah has earned the independent Kingston-born reggae artist his first career Grammy nomination. Throughout the year, both Mortimer (“Bruises”) and Jesse Royal (“Too Late”) had tracks from their now-Grammy-nominated albums featured in Billboard’s monthly Reggae/Dancehall Fresh Picks column.

Check out how each 2026 best reggae album Grammy contender reacted to the news of their nomination.