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IN COMES THE SMALL AXE LLYY RR II CC SS
84 L3 MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2013
JESSE ROYAL TRICIA ‘ ZJ SPARKS ‘ SPENCE
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s he approached me, one could almost see a halo around his body. Jesse Royal aka Small Axe (born Jesse David Leroi Grey) steps with a rude boy kinda swagga, but with purpose. The man who spent his early years in Maroon Town and Orange in St James (Western Jamaica) before heading to Kingston to join his father was here flashing a smile so wide and bright it was contagious. In school, Royal bonded with Daniel ‘Bambaata’ Marley (son of Ziggy Marley); that friendship deepened through their common passions of music and football. A close friend, Curt ‘Quban’ White proved to be of influence in the composition and creation of their own music; thus began their journey. When he returned to Jamaica, Jesse rekindled a relationship with high school friend and young producer Kareem ‘Remus’ Burrell (son of the late Xterminator label producer Philip ‘Fatis’ Burrell); in no time, the two began to create and compose music as they had parallel views on the social state of