Double dose of 'Riddim Twins' for Grammy

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

With multiple nominations under his belt, master drummer Sly Dunbar took recent news of another Grammy Award nomination in stride.

He and long-time production partner Robbie Shakespeare were nominated for two albums in the Best Reggae Album category. They are One Pop Reggae, and Made In Jamaica.

The former is a collection of songs done for their Taxi label by various artistes including singers Cherine Anderson, Courtney John, Lutan Fyah and Jimmy Riley. Made In Jamaica is a collaboration with French club maverick Bob Sinclar.

Like the other nominees, little was heard of One Pop Reggae and Made In Jamaica, but Dunbar is not disturbed by the lack of airplay.

"Wi not really disappointed because they weren't really available to everybody, but they still got some play," he told The Gleaner.

He said One Pop Reggae was inspired by the work ethic of two of the 'Riddim Twins' biggest heroes.

"What wi do is follow the trend of Studio One an' Motown an' record a lotta tune," Dunbar said. "Yuh can't waste tune, wi learn dat from Berry Gordy an' Coxson (Clement Dodd)."

Sinclar is best known in club circles throughout Europe. Early this year, he travelled to Jamaica to work on remix versions of some of his biggest hits with Sly and Robbie at the Anchor studios in Kingston.

Sean Paul, Shaggy, Queen Ifrica and Tony Rebel were some of the acts who worked on Made In Jamaica.

Dunbar and Shakespeare are no strangers to the Best Reggae Album category.

They produced Black Uhuru's Anthem, the album that won the inaugural award in 1985 when the category was known as Best Reggae Recording.

The duo walked away with the statuette in 1999 for Friends, a collection of cover songs by Maxi Priest, Mick Hucknall of Simply Red and Ali Campbell of UB40.

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which oversees the Grammys, have been criticised in the past for their selections in the Best Reggae Album category.

Dunbar, however, believes most of the winners have been deserving.

"Some really good albums have won, I don't have a problem with most a them," he said.

Isaacs Meets Isaac by late singer Gregory Isaacs and Zimbabwean singer King Isaac, Buju Banton's Before The Dawn, Revelation by Lee 'Scratch' Perry and Legacy - An Acoustic Tribute to Peter Tosh by Andrew Tosh, are the other nominees for the 2011 Best Reggae Album category.

The Grammy Awards is scheduled for February 13 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.