Jesse Royal
An artist whose music recalls the golden era of roots reggae with its implacable riddims and Rasta-influenced lyrics celebrating wisdom and spirituality, Jesse Royal is a Jamaican vocalist and songwriter who became a champion for old-school reggae after it had all but died out in the wake of dancehall, digital reggae, and hip-hop. Royal was born in Maroon Town in St. James Parish on April 29, 1989. He was raised in a Rastafarian household, and became a singer at an early age thanks to his mother being the leader of their church's choir. In 1997, Royal and his family moved to Kingston when his father landed a job with a telecommunications firm. He continued to sing in church, and in time developed ambitions of making music his career. He struck up a friendship with Daniel Bambata Marley, whose father, Ziggy Marley, was the son of Jamaica's most iconic musician, Bob. Through Daniel, Royal became friends with several members of the Marley family, and he gained a valuable mentor through another friend whose dad happened to be successful producer Fatis Burrell. Burrell produced Royal's debut single in 2010, and after Fatis died in December 2011, Jesse began working with Burrell's son, Kareem. As he played live shows and released singles like "Gimme Likkle" and "Modern Day Judas," Royal steadily built a following while like-minded artists such as Protoje and Chronixx demonstrated there was still an audience for conscious reggae in Jamaica. Royal dropped his first mixtape, Misheni, in 2012, and a second, In Comes the Small Axe, followed in 2013. In time, Royal's fan base grew big enough to overlap with that mass audience, and in May 2017, he released the single "Always Be Around," which became a massive hit in Jamaica and made him an artist to watch among reggae fans around the world. Royal released his first album, Lily of da Valley, in October 2017; it quickly rose to number one on the American reggae charts.
© Mark Deming /TiVo
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Modern Day Judas - Single
Reggae - Released by Overstand Entertainment on 19 aug. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Island in the Sun
Reggae - Released by Digital One Production - Famshouse Music on 17 feb. 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Pressure
Dancehall - Released by CR203 Productions on 13 aug. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Sky Way
Ras-I, Jesse Royal, Koastal Kings
Reggae - Released by DubShot Records - KoastalKings on 4 dec. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sweet Sensation
Heavyweight Rockaz, Jesse Royal
Reggae - Released by DubShot - Brand New Machine on 4 dec. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
This Morning
Dancehall - Released by Crash Dummy Productions on 28 okt. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Glad To Be
Ska en Rocksteady - Released by King I-Vier Music - Loud City on 18 okt. 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Weed Song (420 Acoustic Version)
Reggae - Released by Easy Star Records under license from Stony Official on 21 okt. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Weed Song
Dancehall - Released by Easy Star Records on 22 okt. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo