The Reggae industry is blooming with raw Jamaican talents who have all come together to contribute to the Revival of Reggae.
Getting to know Royal Blu
“My advice to other upcoming artists is to remember to always have fun. Don’t let anyone ruin your creative process. Let the “industry” be the “industry”, but never let that influence your safe haven.”
Royal Blu
Royal Blu is a remarkable up-and-coming Jamaican Reggae talent taking the Reggae Industry by storm. CARIB VOXX had the opportunity of interviewing Royal Blu to get insight on his personality, background, artistry and upcoming work as a budding Reggae artist.
Royal Blu, whose given name is Sean-Michael Francis hails from Spanish Town which seems to be the breeding ground for so many talents in the music industry, such as musical veterans – Lady G, Papa San and Lieutenant Stitchie, as well as younger talents holding the torch-like Chronixx, Koffee and Govana. The artist reminisces on growing up in Spanish Town while attending school in Kingston, where he used it to master his time and focus on his craft, despite the hassle of travelling back and forth.
“Well, I just remember having to wake up earlier than the world just to get to school in Kingston. I still live here, so it’s a bit draining sometimes physically, mentally and financially. But at the same time, I get a lot of time away from people to focus on my craft and keep myself centred for now.”
Royal Blu
The inspiration behind the name, “Royal Blu” came from the fact that the colour is his favourite shade of blue. He says it represents who he is as a person – calm and soothing, yet exclusive. On some of Royal Blu’s album art or his Soundcloud, you’ll notice “Fuego” attached to his stage name. The artist expressed that while this is not an official stage name, “Fuego” is also part of his brand as a Reggae artist.
When the artist is not engaged in composing, he enjoys watching or playing football and video games, especially FIFA. **Blu first gained an interest in music in grades 5 or 6 but he says the full force of it began in high school when he started writing full blown songs.
“I realized my love for music in grade 5 or 6. I would lock myself in my room, grab an object and act like it’s a microphone, while lip-syncing lyrics in my mirror when listening to music. I started writing full songs as soon as I got to high school.”
Royal Blu
SinG with God: The EP
“SinG with God”, the EP was released in 2017 alongside Royal Blu’s manager and Berlin-based producer, Tim Foresta. The two met through a mutual friend, Kai Hillman, who heard Royal Blu’s music and made a link between the two – Both Foresta and Royal Blu have been making music together ever since. The captivating album art on the EP is one of the most seraphic ones I’ve seen. It was designed by well-known visual artist Taj Francis.
The tracks on the soulful and timeless EP include “Let’s Get High”, “Believe” featuring Lila Iké, “Blue Mahoe”, “On The Side” and the album’s namesake, “SinG with God” alongside Runkus. Every track brings forth its very own vibe with Royal Blu’s mellow, soothing voice and Foresta’s creativity. The artist says the EP was not planned but he and Foresta clicked musically and “it only made sense” to do it. He says he feels the music done on the “SinG with God” EP is a perfect representation of the content he’d like to do once he is in a comfortable space in the music industry. Royal Blu’s favourite song on the EP is “Blue Mahoe” which captures you from the get-go with a silky smooth beat with Blu sputtering amazing lyrics. I’d say it is the signature track for the EP.
Royal Blu expressed that the EP did not get the crowd it deserved due to various marketing or branding issues. He told CARIB VOXX that he plans to do music that’s more identifiable to the everyday Jamaican, while still applying his exclusive twist for upcoming work.
“Feature Killa”
The artist managed to cop the title, “Feature Killa”, which he states is a title he is proud of as doing features is one of his favourite pastimes. The singer-songwriter says his most memorable feature is “Crazy Over You”, a jazz-type single by Ras-I, alongside Runkus which is a favourite for Jamaicans as well with over 13,000 views on YouTube.
“I love being called that! It makes me feel appreciated for what I add to people’s songs. Doing features is one of my favourite things. I like being able to help bring someone’s song to life even more.”
Royal Blu
He was also recently featured in popular New York-based magazine, The Fader, which was an experience he described as surreal. Coming from a place where he used to check the magazine for updates on other artists, to now being a featured artist in the publication as well.
New Content
Royal Blu has very recent releases such as “Hype” released on May 30 and “Style and Pattern” which was released March 28 of this year. The tracks are clear reflections of Royal Blu stepping boldly into the future onwards to fulfilling his goal to create more relatable content for Jamaicans and the world at large. Both tracks were produced by JLL and the artwork created by Ikem Smith. “Style and Pattern” was inspired by Royal Blu’s vision for a different, wilder concept that would hold people’s attention and distract from the length of the song. Be on the lookout for more content this year from Royal Blu as he promises upcoming projects with producer and friend, JLL.
Royal Blu – Style and Pattern
Royal Blu – Hype
Looking forward
“Stop being so sad… It gets better”- these are the words that would be Royal Blu’s message to his younger self. Blu says he loves the current state of Reggae music, especially with the rise of more female Reggae talents. The artist urges persons to always enjoy themselves in the process, especially those in the Reggae industries who are up-and-coming like himself. He stated that it is important for artists who are fresh in the industry to educate themselves on marketing and branding and continue to work on their skill. In the next 5 years, he hopes to be a household name and I believe this is an attainable goal. With hard work, perseverance and of course Royal Blu’s amazing talent, this is destined to happen for the budding artist.
