Wednesday’s news of a nomination for Best Reggae Album was bittersweet for second-time nominee Julian Marley.
One of the eleven children born to reggae king Bob Marley, Julian has been nominated for his latest project As I Am. He was previously nominated for the reggae Grammy back in 2009 for his album Awake. He is yet to win the coveted award.
However, while he is pleased that his latest body of work has been recognised by the members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the organisation which organises and hands out the yearly awards for excellence in music, Marley is still overcome with sadness and left in a pensive mood following the death of his 11-year-old daughter, who succumbed to cancer in June this year.
Marley was about to catch a flight to Jamaica on Wednesday when word came that he was among this year’s nominees. While he admitted that it feels good to be recognised again, the trip to Jamaica had a more significant meaning. He was coming to Jamaica to commemorate what would have been his daughter’s 12th birthday, which was yesterday (November 21).