Fantan Mojah

Owen Moncrieffe, the Jamaican reggae singer, records and performs under the alias Fantan Mojah. His output merges uplifting roots reggae with dancehall elements, drawing equal influence from Burning Spear and Buju Banton. As a devout Rastafarian, he channels his faith directly into the music, favoring lyrics that stress positivity over graphic violence or overt sexuality. Born in 1975, Moncrieffe entered the industry through work with a traveling sound system. He first performed as Mad Killer to honor ragga legend Bounty Killer, yet after embracing Rastafarian beliefs his sound shifted toward encouragement and he adopted the Fantan Mojah name. Festival stages across Jamaica soon featured his performances, and Down Sound Records put out his earliest singles in 2004, among them “Hungry” and “Hail the King.” Greensleeves issued his debut album, likewise titled Hail the King, in 2005. Stronger, his next full-length, arrived in 2008, while the dub set Rebel I Am surfaced in 2012. After a series of singles and EPs, Young Veterans released the full-length Soul Rasta in early 2016, and later that year the collaborative effort Fantan Mojah & Lutan Fyah Defending the Roots appeared.