09/10/2024
The Reggae Category has been removed from the JUNO's going forward.
This portion of the reasoning is deadly bu****it.
I read this simply as....the producers of the event, year over year have never taken the time to properly connect the reggae acts as part of the main show, and so the masses don't get a chance to engage in the genre, the sound or the artists. And so by slowly suffocating the category, they did finally, what they all had subconsciously been doing all along. They killed it.
Sad.
On a purely demographic level, I'm fairly certain black communities first, and other communities, aren't by and large, making the Junos a "must-see event", couple that with not putting out a genre, that has its own award as part of the main show...and in theory would interest many communities out there for the big night.
Take the 2023 Juno winning track "Reggae Party" by Kirk Diamond featuring Kairo Mclean, it was a certified hit. Never got the National exposure, at a National awards show, despite winning at that award show. What does that say about the Junos perspective on their own awards?
Put simply, they could next year, have that single track play during the main event, to showcase where Canadian Reggae is right now, and it would STILL mashup the entire event.
Canadian Reggae people, should not take this one on the chin....this is an easy fight for the willing.
