Reggae crooner Jesse Royal is excited about the recent release of the new music video for his current hit single ‘Rich Forever’ featuring Vybz Kartel, who he says is “the undisputed king of Dancehall”.
The visuals, which premiered on May 10 via Jesse’s official Vevo channel, have already garnered close to 500,000 views and peaked at #25 last week as it trended on the YouTube platform in Jamaica.
Displaying variations of everyday blue-collar Jamaicans in their ‘kingly character’ as they toiled, both the lyrics and their visual depiction were met with resounding approval in the comments from both Jesse’s fans and Kartel’s die-hard cult following ‘Gaza nation’.
The duo has always shown massive respect for each other’s music craft. Jesse said, “Working with the undisputed king of Dancehall for me is a big school. You learn every single time. You’re excited and intrigued every time. So, for me, it’s a blessing. An honour, yes but it’s more of a schooling and you cyaa pay for dem high level ah schooling.”
Produced by Jamaican recording artiste, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Iotosh, the new song presents Vybz Kartel collaborating with Jesse Royal for the second time around to create an inspiring and memorable Reggae and Dancehall fusion with crossover appeal.
Jesse Royal hopes to enrich the minds of everyone with the concept of the video, which was done by Extreme Arts in St. Andrew Jamaica. The video shows Jesse Royal as King Midas, who touches persons in his immediate surroundings and, suddenly, they appear as versions of themselves who are rich in love, respect and values.
Jesse Royal further explains that the video is also a testament to how he lives his everyday life, uplifting those he cares about. He also wants everyone to know that they are “carefully crafted creatures of the universe” with a regal quality. He explained, “We specifically went with the visuals and the concept of it because everybody in their own way is royal at some point in time. So, whatever you’re doing to earn your honest bread, you automatically become a kingly representation of that field. Whether is gardening or music, whether you’re a chef or a mechanic… once you are being true to yourself and doing the greatest that you can do, a kingly aura will slowly but surely fall to the I.”
He continued: “The single is definitely reminiscent of how I see myself as a person and then also, on a greater scale, what I wish for my people to see as their reality. And understand that we have a different lineage, a different heritage and we have a different story that’s laced with glory. Not just 400 years of a middle passage that they use to attack our dignity, you know. So, this is all about reclaiming certain vibrations and ‘overstanding’ that we were carefully crafted and everything that we go through was what we needed to go through to get to where we need to go to.”
When asked if he had any initial reservations about collaborating with an artiste who is incarcerated, Jesse replied, “There was no initial hesitation with working or collaborating with an individual like that” Laughing, he continued, “I mean, what we do is create music – we don’t work in any judicial system.”
The single is in anticipation of his second album titled ‘Royal’, which will be out June 11 via Easy Star Records. He describes it as a collective effort between himself and those he respects in music and all aspects of the entertainment industry. Jesse doesn’t only see himself as royal; those around him get that same respect and this new album’s select sounds are indicative of that wholesome vibe.
“I definitely think it’s gonna do extremely well and the energy high on it. And [there’s also] the love that we’ve been receiving from others, I mean, if that is an indicator. People definitely love it and it warm to dem heart,” he said.
Jesse Royal’s debut album ‘Lily of Da Valley’ hit #1 on the U.S. Billboard Reggae Album chart in 2017 and propelled Jesse into international reggae stardom. Continuing on his trend of success, a new music video for his next single ‘Dirty Money’ with Ghanaian artiste Stonebwoy is set for release via his Vevo channel soon.
