Royal Messenjah

Royal Messenjah (real name Ali Gaye) is a raggae artist based in Banjul, Gambia. Gaye was brought up in a musical family with ancient music traditions. His parents are griot. His mother is a singer and his father a veteran Senegalese drummer playing various West African Sabar drums like the Djembe, the Nder, the Mbombong or Mbeng mbeng, the Gorong talmbat and the Xiin. In those days, his father used to play various West African drums like the 'Sabar', 'Djembe' and the 'Nder' among others.

That background prompted him to develop a passion for music by artists such as Buju Banton and Sizzla. Shortly afterwards, he started producing his own music. On 27 February 2016, he launched a debut album titled 'The Griot' at Alliance Francaise.

Some of his songs include 'Heartbeat', 'Duma dem bai la', 'Mama (Yai Boye)' and 'Griot'.