Billboard Enlisted OMI Among Nominees in Four Big Categories for Grammy Award 2016

It's the 2016 kickoff! All the eligible music is on the market, the ballots are in the mail, and Taylor Swift can't win everything (right?). Now, with 12 months of hits that matter, Billboard sizes up the best chances for gold among the big four categories.

The Recording Academy has completed its annual Grammy's screening process, so it's time again to consider which artists and industry figures will be recognized by their peers at the 58th annual awards on Feb 15. (To be eligible this year, all recordings must be released between Oct. 1, 2014 and Sept. 30, 2015). With 83 categories in 30 fields, there is no shortage of potential nominees, but for the sake of -brevity  -- and sanity -- Billboard takes an early loook at possible contenders in the general-field categories, otherwise known as the Big Four. 

Among the list of prospective nominees, Billboard enlist, OMI's sweet "Cheerleader" in the, Record of the Year category as seen below:-

RECORD OF THE YEAR
"Blank Space," Taylor Swift
"Can't Feel My Face," The Weeknd
"Cheerleader," OMI
"Girl Crush," Little Big Town
"Shut Up And Dance," Walk the Moon
"Take Your Time," Sam Hunt
"Thinking Out Loud," Ed Sheeran
"Uptown Funk," Mark Ronson Feat. Bruno Mars"
"Want to Want Me,' Jason Derulo
"Where Are U Now," Justin Bieber with Skrillex and Diplo

In other news, President of Electronic Music at Sony and founder of Ultra Music Patrick Moxey, embraces the popularity dance music has gotten on mainstream, "I've always wanted to make the music as popular as popular," he said in a Billboard article. OMI's, Felix Jaehn, "Cheerleader" single which made Billboard Hot 100 chart, became Ultra's first No. 1 song on that chart.

OMI's debut album, "Me4U" which includes monster hit, "Cheerleader" and new single, "Hula Hoop" is out in stores. The singer has also revealed via social media that he will be performing on BBC Music Awards, December 10, 2015.

Damian Marley Is The Latest Musician To Join Tidal As A Co-Owner

Damian Marley onstage Tidal X: Tues Oct. 20. Photo Credit: Mark VonHolden

Reggae mainstay Damian "Junior Gong" Marley has become the latest big name to sign on to Hip-Hop mogul Jay Z's, Tidal Streaming Service as a co-owner. The news was announced recently at the streaming service's massive Tidalx1020 concert, which took place in Brooklyn. As Marley was set to take the stage, the audience was told that this was to be his first performance as co-owner, which was met with a round of applause.

The show, which helped raise money for The concert was also a celebration, as the streaming service can now claim one million paying subscribers, which is up a few hundred thousand from several months ago.  Marley was one of more than twenty well-know musicians that performed at the Tidalx1020 show, including superstars like jay Z, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, and surprise guests like Nas and DJ Khaled.

Damian Marley has charted two top ten albums, and was even in a supergroup with Mick Jagger, Joss Stone and Oscar-winning composer A. R. Rahman. He is one of the best-known reggae acts since his father, the legendary Bob Marley

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Source: forbes.com

Argentina to Support Jamaica's move for Inscription of Reggae to UNESCO's Culture List

The Jamaican Ministry of Youth and Culture is embracing the collective experiences of its Latin American counterpart, Argentina which successfully inscribed its element Tango to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity in 2009 as a joint nomination with its neighbour Uraguay.

The Argentinean Mission to Jamaica, led by His Excellency Ariel Fernandez, Ambassador of the Republic of Argentina to Jamaica has pledged their technical support to Jamaica to guide the detailed process towards formally safeguarding Reggae as an element that demonstrates the diversity and overwhelming impact of Jamaica's heritage.

The move comes only four months after securing Jamaica's first ever historic listing to UNESCO's prestigious World Heritage List, with the Blue and John Crow Mountains, the Government of Jamaica is set to begin the process of safeguarding the island's Reggae music.

According to the Minister of Youth and Culture, the Honourable Lisa Hanna, the Argentinean Mission to Jamaica, led by His Excellency Ariel Fernandez, Ambassador of the Republic of Argentina to Jamaica has pledged their technical support to guide the detailed process towards formally safeguarding Reggae as an element that demonstrates the diversity and overwhelming impact of Jamaica's heritage, as well as raise awareness about its importance as an ICH on the global stage.

"Jamaica, through the existing Bi-Lateral Cultural Agreements with Argentina, will be leveraging the expertise of their cultural technocrats to guide Jamaica in submitting a successful nomination. While we have a powerful global element in reggae, we cannot take for granted that this process towards safeguarding Reggae for present and future generations is a done deal. International designations such as the ICH Listing requires of countries to clearly demonstrate how their intangible cultural heritage is distinctive and should be acknowledged and protected on an international platform," Minister Hanna added.

In a meeting, Ambassador Fernandez expressed satisfaction to be able to help Jamaican to guide its nomination, "we have joined forces in order to present to the world that we strongly believe in this cultural human expression of life." He further explained that impact of Reggae has transcended borders and continues its impact with the assistant of globalization and Jamaicans within the Diaspora. He also noted that inscription to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List will aid in keeping the form alive. Ambassador Fernandez pointed out that just before their submission of Tango, the intangible heritage was very close to being lost as a representation of the country's cultural identity. 

Intangible cultural heritage is defined to include oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts. As noted by UNESCO the importance of intangible cultural heritage is not the cultural manifestation itself but rather the wealth of knowledge and skills that is transmitted through it from one generation to the next. The social and economic value of this transmission of knowledge is relevant for minority groups and for mainstream social groups within a State, and is as important for developing States as for developed ones.

Some benefits of an inscription to the ICH List include; the opening of avenues for funding to support further safeguarding initiatives, sustainable development component for the traditional culture bearers and most importantly the recognition by a State party of the importance of its own cultural heritage with the necessary steps taken steps to preserve it.....click to read full article

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