DancehallMag’s Dani Mallick reports that Jamaican singer Keznamdi won the Best Reggae Album category for his Blxxd & Fyah at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. As Mallick writes, he expressed gratitude to his mother and father (who led the reggae group Chakula), and his team, saying, “We a represent Jamaican culture and Dancehall and Reggae.”
Jamaican singer Keznamdi has earned his first Grammy win, taking home Best Reggae Album for his sophomore album, BLXXD & FYAH, at the 2026 GRAMMY Awards. The win was announced by presenter Dee Dee Bridgewater during the Premiere Ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 1. It was Keznamdi’s first nomination.
“Reggae music has always been a music weh defend truths and rights, and African liberation and black man redemption,” Keznamdi said as he accepted the award. He expressed gratitude to his mother and father, and his team. “We a represent Jamaican culture and Dancehall and Reggae,” he added.
Keznamdi topped an all-Jamaican field that included Lila Iké (nominated for Treasure Self Love), Vybz Kartel (First Week Out), Jesse Royal (No Place Like Home), and Mortimer (From Within).
The 13-track Blxxd & Fyah was released independently on August 22, 2025, with three of the songs featuring Kelissa, Mavado and Masicka, respectively.
Keznamdi McDonald was born in Kingston, Jamaica, into a musical family—his parents, Errol and Kerida McDonald, led the reggae group Chakula. His eldest sister, Kamila McDonald, is a fitness expert, Jamaican media personality, and former wife of Reggae singer Jah Cure. Another sister, Kelissa McDonald, is a singer and musician and the wife of Reggae star Chronixx. [. . .]
While the world now celebrates Blxxd & Fyah as the Best Reggae Album of 2026, Keznamdi laid out the blueprint for this victory during a 2025 interview with DancehallMag.
“When you’re putting together a body of work, you want somebody able to play it from track one, go all the way down to the end without skipping it, you know. And for that you have to have a basket of fruits, you know, and have something on there for everybody,” he explained. [. . .]
Listen to “HollyWxxd” here:
For full album, see https://www.dancehallmag.com/2026/02/01/news/keznamdi-wins-best-reggae-album-at-2026-grammy-awards.html Also see https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20260201/keznamdi-wins-grammy-best-reggae-album