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When Kēvens submitted his album, Call To Balance, to the Grammy Awards committee for consideration in its Best Reggae Album category, their initial response was positive.
But on October 1, the Miami-based singer-songwriter was contacted by the Grammy committee which informed him that Call To Balance would be in the preliminary running for Album of The Year and Best Global Album at next year’s awards.
The set is a blend of dub, reggae and dancehall which Kēvens first heard as a youth in South Florida. The dreadlocked artiste says he and like-minded colleagues introduced that mash to fans in Miami’s clubs in the early 1990s. It was a precursor to what became electronic dance music (EDM).
“This moment represents more than an industry milestone. It's validation of a 25-year journey that started in Miami's underground scene when I first introduced reggae EDM at the 1998 Florida Zenfest,” Kēvens told Observer Online.
Call To Balance contains songs with social messages, like Save Me and Sonadores Legales. The latter is a Spanish interpretation of Legal Dreamers, which reintroduced him to the music scene after a two-year absence.
Kēvens grew up on Jamaican music, with Yellowman, Super Cat and Tenor Saw among his favourite artists. Later, he befriended multi-instrumentalist Bob Zohn, co-founder of the Blue Riddim Band, a groundbreaking reggae unit from Kansas City, Missouri.
“I befriended their guitar player Randy Bernsen and bassist Charles Norkus, who was a student of (bass legend) Jaco Pastorius. I used to go to Charles's house to record some of my earliest jams,” Kēvens recalled. “These musicians were at the top of their game, and I found myself working on music with them. That environment gave me a thirst for creativity beyond the norm, and those lessons have carried me through to this very moment.”
The nominees for the 68th Grammy Awards will be announced on November 7. The Grammys are scheduled for February 1 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
