By: Skyler Johnson
Jesse Royal is back at it again with his sophomore album: Royal. The Jamaican musician hasn’t released any music for two years and is now coming back with a new album. I’ve gotten the privilege to listen to this album so I can tell you all about it.
The album as a whole is continuation of Royal’s previous works, and are solid pieces of the roots reggae genre. The album is relatively short, only containing eleven songs, four of which having been previously released (LionOrder, Dirty Money Rich Forever, Natty Pablo), but each song is solid. There aren’t any major duds on the list. The songs center around the themes of wealth, and the importance of wealth in our lives.
High Tide or Low
The album starts off with this song, that beautifully and perfectly begins the album. Starting off with the intro of classical music and the soft drop with Royal’s stunning vocals, and continuing with a solid reggae beat makes this a great opening track and a great listen overall.
LionOrder and Dirty Money
The next two songs have previously been released. Needless to say, these are both great songs that fit well within the album. “LionOrder” comes in with a slower beat which contrasts perfectly with “Dirty Money’s” fast-paced pre-chorus and chorus.
Natty Dread
“Natty Dread” has a catchy beat with an excellent chorus, and is overall a nice love song, with lyrics more challenging than in most love songs. It’s definitely one of my favorite songs off the album.
Home
More lowkey then the previous few songs, I really enjoyed listening to “Home”. It’s slower, and takes some influence from R&B. The result is a beautiful song about family that I really enjoyed. It’s not all the time that I see musicians talking about family as beautifully as Royal talks about it, and with such an excellent beat to go along with it.
Rich Forever
The previously released “Rich Forever” comes next with one of the best beats in the album. The chorus has an excellent bass riff and the pace is perfect. The drop is also solid, and the buildup is excellent as well. “Natty Pablo” is also a great track, and has some solid beats, though it’s hard to follow up “Rich Forever.”
Black
“Black” is a fast-paced hard-hitting song and one of my favorites off of the album. This isn’t a dance album but this song could be played at a club and I’d dance to it. It definitely is the song to listen to whenever you want to get up and move, and will be the one that gets stuck in your head the most.
Like Dat and Differences
These next two songs and are clearly the worst off the album, which is why they’re strategically placed between two of the better songs on the track, “Black” and “Strongest Link.” “Like Dat” is reminiscent of emo rap, which is a genre that’s oversaturated as it is. “Differences’” is better but also not very memorable. This isn’t to say that either of these are bad songs, they’re just not the best.
Strongest Link
Last but not least is this song. It hits hard from the beginning and remains hard-hitting throughout it’s four minute runtime. Also, the lyric, “It’s funny how money, how money turns friends into foes” will replay in my head over and over again.
Overall, this is a great album, filled with a lot of bangers. Definitely give it a listen!
