2020s

Music

At the 62nd Grammy Awards, 19-year-old Koffee wins Best Reggae Album for her debut EP "Rapture" — the first woman and youngest artist to win the category — opening the door for a new generation of female reggae voices on the world stage.

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Music

Keith Anderson, known as Bob Andy, dies in Kingston at age 75. The rocksteady pioneer and Bob and Marcia star behind "Young, Gifted and Black" leaves a songbook that shaped Studio One, Treasure Isle, and generations of Jamaican vocalists.

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Artist

Former Heptones lead singer Naggo Morris dies at Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James at age 72. The St Mary-born vocalist replaced Leroy Sibbles in 1975 and brought his deep roots tone to classics including "Su Su Pon Rasta" and "Flour Power."

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Beenie Man and Bounty Killer face off in a Verzuz battle streamed to millions worldwide, reigniting the legendary dancehall rivalry for a new digital generation and drawing one of the largest audiences in the Verzuz series history.

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Culture

Reggae Sumfest pivots to a global virtual broadcast during the COVID-19 pandemic, streaming performances from Tarrus Riley, Koffee, Gyptian, Shenseea, Sizzla, Agent Sasco, and others to fans locked down around the world — keeping Jamaica's flagship festival alive when stages went silent.

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Frederick "Toots" Hibbert dies in Kingston at age 77. Leader of Toots and the Maytals, his soulful shout on "Do the Reggay" popularises the genre's name while ska and reggae classics carry Jamaican joy to stages worldwide.

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Artist

Bunny Wailer, the last surviving founding member of The Wailers and a three-time Grammy winner, passes away in Kingston at age 73. A pioneer of roots reggae and nyabinghi drumming, his death closes a chapter on the original trio that took Jamaican music to the world.

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Skillibeng's "Crocodile Teeth" becomes a global dancehall phenomenon, earning a remix with Nicki Minaj and pushing the East Kingston deejay into international charts — a defining moment for the new wave of raw, minimalist dancehall production.

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Rainford Hugh "Lee Scratch" Perry dies in Lucea, Hanover, at age 85. The Upsetter producer and Black Ark visionary reshapes reggae through dub experiments, mentoring Bob Marley and cutting avant-garde sides that echo through hip-hop and electronic music.

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Culture

Leo Graham dies in Falmouth, Trelawny, at age 80. The Bleachers and Black Ark vocalist behind the 1975 hit "A Win Them" and Lee "Scratch" Perry sides such as "Black Candle" embodies west Kingston's rocksteady-to-roots session tradition.

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Mikey "Mao" Chung dies in Kingston at age 71. The Now Generation guitarist and keyboardist who backed Dennis Brown, Peter Tosh's Word Sound and Power, and Black Uhuru leaves decades of session work across reggae's rockers era.

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Shenseea becomes the first female dancehall artist nominated for Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards, following a breakthrough run of hits including "Lodi" and collaborations that cement her as dancehall's leading female star of the decade.

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Music

Spice releases "Emancipated," her first fully independent album after parting with VP Records — a bold statement of artistic freedom from the Queen of Dancehall that tops charts and sparks industry-wide conversation about artist ownership in reggae and dancehall.

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Culture

Reggae singer Jo Mersa Marley dies in Miami-Dade County at age 31. Grandson of Bob Marley and son of Stephen Marley, his passing cuts short a promising Ghetto Youths career that had already reached international festival stages.

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Music

Kabaka Pyramid wins the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album for "The Kalling" at the 65th Grammy Awards — a landmark victory for the Reggae Revival generation and conscious dancehall rooted in Rastafari philosophy.

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Artist

UK lovers-rock star Lindel "Junior English" Beresford dies in London at age 71. The Kingston-born singer scored 1970s and 1980s British reggae chart-toppers including "Back on the Scene" and the Christmas perennial "In Loving You."

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Movement

Reggae Sumfest returns to full in-person capacity in Montego Bay with a lineup spanning generations — from Beres Hammond and Bounty Killer to Valiant, Masicka, and Ayra Starr — signaling the post-pandemic revival of Jamaica's live music economy.

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Culture

Valiant's "Dunce Cheque" and the "Taliban" riddim dominate dancehall globally, exemplifying a new era of Kingston street culture driving viral hits through social media rather than traditional radio — reshaping how Jamaican music finds its audience.

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Music

Julian Marley and producer Antaeus win the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album for "Colors of Royal" at the 66th Grammy Awards — continuing the Marley family's dominance in the category while showcasing a new collaborative production approach.

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"Bob Marley: One Love" premieres worldwide, bringing the legend's story to a new generation of moviegoers. The biopic reignites global interest in reggae's origins and sparks renewed chart activity for the Marley catalog decades after his passing.

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