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Debate & reception

DebateContested

Should dancehall and reggae share one category, or does the umbrella erase dancehall?

One side

Dancehall as a distinct genre needing its own recognition

The other

A unifying reggae umbrella that maximises Jamaica's collective visibility

What was argued

The Grammy Best Reggae Album category and, to critics, the UNESCO 'reggae' heritage framing both fold dancehall under a 'reggae' banner, prompting an ongoing argument in the Jamaican music press about whether dancehall deserves separate recognition. One side holds that dancehall is a distinct genre with its own economy, artists and aesthetics that gets flattened and under-rewarded when judged as 'reggae'; the other argues the shared roots and small market make a single umbrella practical and that splitting it would dilute Jamaica's collective clout. The dispute recurs each awards season and around the 2018 UNESCO inscription, which named reggae rather than dancehall.

The records this concerns