luke royalty

If you haven't yet heard, Luke Royalty has been spreading his wings across the North. His latest 2021 release ‘I Do’, is the Hip-Hop single pulling the reminiscents of Reggy into the mix, and I am all here for it.

His song takes being indifferent and feeling displaced, ‘born in London but I was raised up in the northeast’ and wears this identity as a badge. He incorporates that identity in all of his music. In this forward-thinking track Luke really captures the lifestyle of the north and doesn't shy away from incorporating the northern slang ‘its like tell ma boss that I'm sorry caws its sus [...] I gassed the window - but if you ask me if I'm fine - I’ll say yes'. Luke is putting on the performance and he knows it, being polite with ‘I can’t be assed to smile at them but I do’. I think this song is very impactful, about staying true to yourself and the self you present to others.

The finale verse ‘it's only 7 am but I’ve made my mind on what to do - stop applying for the job that I hate and replying to the girls that I lose - I know this is more than that - but I'm getting bored of that - its time to move past making the mood last’ he layers a the muffled effects of a voice message to emphasise the songs core distance and deflation. He is a skilled songwriter and you will find in each track he creates.

The rawness that is Jaime T’s ‘Sheila’ meets the contemporaries and mysticisms of Frank Ocean and Rex Orange County. And as ‘time is way behind me now - the edge will never find me now’, this song feels the perfect pair of overthinking on a comedown. The song has a groovy sound that is stripped to its bones. Songs like this go underrated and under the radar too easily but Luke has had his feature on BBCIntro North East, BBC Radio 1 and many others. I’m confident that those accolades alone will propel his music as he is only in the budding beginnings of his career. Royalty has worked hard to end up where he is and it shows crystal clear through his music.