Not many artists have emulated their parents by winning Grammy Awards. Leba Hibbert is looking to achieve that rare feat at next year’s show.
To secure that double, her ‘Leba Abel’ has to be nominated for Best Reggae Album by The Recording Academy. That organization, which stages the annual Grammys, will announce the final nominations on November 16.
Approximately 119 albums are being considered for Best Reggae Album. They include projects by previous winners such as Ziggy Marley, Julian Marley, Burning Spear, Beenie Man, Buju Banton and Shaggy.
“Making the final cut would mean, or should I say, would bring about elevation to the great body of work I poured into producing this album,” said Leba.
‘Leba Abel’ was released last August. It contains eight songs, all of which she wrote or co-wrote. The singer also produced six of its tracks.
Leba is the daughter of Toots Hibbert, the legendary singer-songwriter best known for classic songs like ‘Monkey Man’, ‘54-46’ and ‘Pressure Drop’. He died in 2020.
She sang harmony on two of his albums that won the Best Reggae Album Grammy — ‘True Love’ and ‘Got to Be Tough’.
“Just by being considered is a great achievement and this encourages me to keep going,” said Leba.
Since 2023, Leba has toured the United Kingdom and the United States as leader of The Maytals Featuring Leba Hibbert. In May, she did 19 shows throughout the UK to mark the 50th anniversary of her father’s album, ‘Reggae Got Soul’, which was distributed by Island Records.