876 Royals: Catching Up With Jesse Royal and Kandi King 

Jesse Royal and his glowing girlfriend Kandi King gave an honest and at some points humorous interview during a recent lunch date in Kingston. CVM TV’s 876 Questions chatted with the Jamaican celebrity couple who are expecting their first child together — a baby girl — in a matter of weeks. Catching up on how they’re navigating the pregnancy, pandemic and more, the playful pair gave the host over an hour’s worth of gems and good vibes. 

Here’s 7 nuggets from the sit down with Carnival queen, Kandi King and the Royal reggae messenger himself:

1. What’s the hardest part about being in a public relationship?

“Just generally being under the scrutiny of people who don’t even know you, people who don’t actually know how we relate,” said Royal, to which King agreed. “We actually don’t even like making a spectacle of our relationship so even the decision to do this interview was very hard for us,” King quipped, adding, “We just like to keep our private life private.” 

“We try fi balance it,” Royal said, shouting out fellow artists Wayne Marshall and Tami Chynn Mitchell who brave the public eye with their family based reality series, Meet the Mitchells. 

2. What made them fall in love with each other?

The gorgeous Carnival ‘kween’ and her fit entertainer beau are an attractive couple, but their union is hardly predicated on physical traits. What is Kandi most in love with about Jesse? “His mind. We have profound conversations all the time, we talk about things that are not just the usual light topics,” she said. 

“Sometimes it can get really heated, but those discussions have been the most engaging and eye opening and definitely makes me fall deeper in love with him everytime. He really thinks on a different level and the best things your partner can do for you is help you open up your mind.”

Jesse fell in love with Kandi’s accepting nature and transparency in their relationship. “We live inna a time where it’s a lot of shady people and shaky individuals, you know what I mean. I felt like I knew her, I genuinely wanted to know her and is like the more I know her, the deeper I fell in love with her. The vulnerability of these times has peeled off a lot of layers for both of us… It really is that personal.

3. On a scale of 1-10, how excited is Kandi for motherhood?

“Oh, probably like a 15,” Kandi said. “I’m really excited, really excited. I don’t really know what to expect in terms of motherhood but the pregnancy journey and everything, I’m excited about it.” Opening up about all her bad pregnancy symptoms, from nausea to nosebleeds, she gushed however about feeling “so much excitement” when the baby moves. “I’m still nervous and I’m still scared. I have like 15 apps and I’m on my second book now.” 

4. What’s Kandi’s favourite Jesse Royal song?

While she’s well known for all things soca, Kandi admitted with a hint of humor to being a Jesse Royal fan before they met. “Ye, but ah neva know dat is Jesse Royal did sing di song dem”, she answered. I just wasn’t paying attention to who the artist actually was, I was very pleasantly surprised.” So what’s her favourite Jesse Royal song overall? “It’s one that hasn’t come out yet but it will be called home on his new album sometimes next year, we hope,” she added excitedly.

5. Besides ‘More Than You Receive’, what’s Jesse’s favourite Vybz Kartel song?

Jesse’s adherence to the Rastafarian faith and reggae genre hasn’t prevented him dabbling in dancehall. An avid fan of Vybz Kartel since he was 14, Royal finally collaborated with the Worl’ Boss on ‘More Than You Receive’ from Kartel’s To Tanesha album, calling the experience a “dream come true in a sense”. Kandi insisted she could easily answer the question, saying “I doh even listen to dis song one time and I know all of the lyrics because Jesse don’t stop singing di song all day everyday inna di house. “Skate pon dem hand, skate pon dem hand,” she sang. 

Amused, Royal replied he likes Kartel’s new tracks Skate and It’s a Sin and went on to heap praises on Kartel’s contribution to music. “To me is one of the most genius artists that have ever come out of Jamaica… Prophetic,” said Royal. “From a musical perspective, you wrong if you say you don’t respect Vybz Kartel ethic and level of creativity.”

6. What has been the most challenging part of the relationship so far?

“Dealing with the pandemic for sure,” King replied. It definitely impacted both of our industries most severely. I think entertainment is going to be the last thing to come back. Dealing with the loss of income and just that aspect of it has been difficult.” Due to the pandemic, King’s Xaymaca Carnival band has put plans on hold until 2021, while Jesse’s Natty Pablo US tour also suffered similar setbacks. 

Despite the bleak outlook, the two remain upful in their union and shared the most enjoyable bit thus far. “Bonding over the pregnancy, obviously we bond in other ways but it’s so magical to bond over the pregnancy, her movements and stuff like that. Recently we’ve enjoyed that aspect of it.” 

7. What’s the most difficult part of being with an artist?

By now, Kandi isn’t clueless about the magnetic world of musicians or the groupies that follow. Clearing her throat and staring directly into the camera Kandi quipped, “I would have to say when they travel on the road or overseas and you’re not with them, because you just never know. Me hear all a di story dem. So I know where he’s coming from, I know what he’s done, I know where he’s been and just the worry of… that, I would say. But I mean, it’s been a whole year of Corona so him nuh go no weh.”

For King and her Royal partner, parenthood, marriage and much more are on the horizon as they build a family in this new normal. To find out about their first date, favourite show to watch as a couple and the name they’ve chosen for their newborn, check out the full interview here.