Jesse Royal - Natty Pablo

Jesse Royal, “one of Jamaica’s most important and charismatic new stars” (Noisey), is set to drop his new single “Natty Pablo” from his highly anticipated sophomore release. The single was released on Easy Star Records. 

“Natty Pablo” is inspired by the many layers of Rastafarianism and the criticism it faced from the general public over the years, only to have come full circle with many of those same critics now following many of the lifestyle choices that Rastas have been advocating for years, from veganism to marijuana usage to spirituality and beyond. Jesse elaborates, “The reality is that many Rasta have helped steer people in the right way with what they have received from Creation, helping in the advancement of the nation. It has nothing to do with illegalities or physical warfare. It’s all about good people who are sometimes nameless who have little or nothing but do so much.” Jesse uses imagery conjuring the Narcos (such as Pablo Escobar) to show how the public may view Rastas as criminals, but the reality he is showing – and that he lives by – is that Rastas are giving back to their communities in abundance. Rastas “ain’t nothing like the Narcos….” They are “smuggling the truth / giving to the destitute.” 

Jesse Royal broke out in 2014 with the runaway success of the single “Modern Day Judas,” and solidified his position at the forefront of the genre in 2017 with his debut full-length Lily of da Valley (Easy Star Records). That album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Reggae Chart and impressively hit #131 on the Billboard “New Album Top 200” chart and #36 on the “independent albums chart.” 

Jesse Royal is continuing to establish himself and his unique brand of reggae music across the world. Keeping the genre alive is Jesse Royal’s mission as he continues on the legacy of the late greats Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Jacob Miller, to name a few, even as he begins to push the boundaries of his own artistry. Following Lily of da Valley’s release, he has toured around the world continuously, becoming a fixture at festivals and with his own headline tours, especially in the US and Europe.

During his career, Jesse has already been featured in Vogue magazine, has made a Vice TV appearance, garnered a #1 Jamaican single, and accumulated over 8 million views on a single video. Royal’s ambition is to bring his music and vision to a worldwide reggae audience and beyond. Alongside the successful career launches of his friends and peers - including Protoje, Chronixx, Jah 9, Kabaka Pyramid, Mortimer, and others - Jesse has helped spearhead a popular return to conscious lyrics and messages in modern reggae.