Ziggy Marley … previously won Grammys in 1988, 1989 and 1997. - File

The eldest son of icon, Bob Marley, proved his mettle when he beat four other nominees to take the Best Reggae Album award at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards which honoured the music industry's finest at the Staples Center in Los Angeles last night.

Ziggy Marley's album, Love is My Religion, a Tuff Gong Worldwide offering and the artiste's second solo studio album, won ahead of the four other nominees: Sly and Robbie, Buju Banton, British reggae band UB40 and Matisyahu Miller, an Hasidic Jew from the United States.

Expanded focus

The album is viewed as an expansion of the personal, social and political themes explored in the 38-year-old Marley's debut CD entitled Dragonfly. On Love is My Religion, Marley is the album's songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. The album was released on July 4, 2006 and is currently being sold exclusively through Target.

The now four-time winner told The Gleaner recently that the album holds special meaning.

"This record is the first independent record that I own fully and growing up that was a dream of my father because record companies always take a big chunk," he said.

He explained that he came up with the concept for the album through a conversation with a woman.

"She was Catholic and when she asked me what was my religion I said 'love is my religion' and when I said these words, there was a burning in me and I knew that was it," he said.