Easy Star Records applauds Jesse Royal’s hard work

Jesse Royal is being applauded by Easy Star Records, the New York City-based label responsible for putting out his album Royal, despite not taking home the Grammy for Best Reggae Album on Sunday.

According to Eric Smith, CEO of the record label, Jesse Royal's album was "special" and they would not have had it done any other way.

"We submit all our releases to be considered for Grammy nominations. But we did feel we had something extraordinary on our hands with the Royal album and we were hopeful that it would gain the nomination it deserved," Smith told THE STAR. The Natty Pablo artiste released his sophomore album on June 11, 2021, the follow-up to his chart-topping debut album Lily Of Da Valley. The guests on Royal include dancehall hitmaker Vybz Kartel ( Rich Forever), In.Digg.Nation principal Protoje ( Lion Order) as well as award-winning Ghanaian star Stonebwoy, who is featured on the third track titled Dirty Money.

Smith said, "A lot of hard work and thought went into the creation of Royal. First and foremost by Jesse himself, but by the whole team as well. The musicians, featured artistes, producers, management and label all rolled up our sleeves to help Jesse see his vision through to the end."

US-based reggae band SOJA, short for Soldiers of Jah Army, won the award with their ninth studio album Beauty in the Silence. Before exiting the stage, the members of the reggae band, which has been around for two and a half decades, expressed their gratitude to all the nominees and thanked Jamaica for being an inspiration to them.

Jesse Royal has spent the past 10 years making his mark on the local reggae space and has found his niche as a prominent figure in the reggae revival movement, "so we are very proud to be a part of this beautiful album regardless of what happened today [yesterday at the Grammy Awards].

The 64th Grammy Awards was a double celebration for Jesse Royal, who is also on Sean Paul's Live N Livin album which was also nominated. Jesse Royal is one of the featured acts on Guns of Navarone. Popular Rastafarian dub poet, educator and outspoken talk-show host Mutabaruka and Stonebwoy are also on the track.