BEENIE MAN'S success in this week's Grammy Awards is being heralded as another example of the greening of the American Recording Academy.
For decades the Academy, comprised of representatives of various areas of the music industry and which makes the selections, has been considered to be greying and irrelevant.
The result was that people who had lost touch with contemporary music developments continued to make the decisions which influenced its directions. But music, being a dynamic art form, resisted the ageing process and some people began referring to the awards as 'the grannies' rather that the Grammys.
Realising that it was losing credibility, the Academy was forced to come to terms with its geriatric image and encourage fresher, younger membership. This is now being reflected in the honouring of more innovative genres like rap and dancehall.
There was ample evidence of this situation here in Jamaica in recent years, as the nominations for the reggae Grammy grew less interesting. To make matters worse, those who won didn't even bother to attend to collect the award.
Hopefully, the changing attitude of the Academy will signal renewed interest in the awards and encourage our musicians to aspire to improved quality in their productions and, eventually, a Grammy as a symbol of success.
It is worth noting that at Wednesday night's ceremony yet another honour was bestowed on Bob Marley. The Lifetime Achievement Award came on the heels of his star being installed on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner.
