From the streets to the recording studio, Fantan Mojah strikes with Hungry
Singjay Fantan Mojah has come a long way since he began wiping car windows in the Half Way Tree area of Kingston.
The former street boy recently signed on with Josef Bogdanivich’s Down Sound Records, and his career has made a distinctive swing upwards especially since his radio hit Hungry began taking the airwaves by storm.
“The song Hungry is based on something I went through. I used to wipe car windows in Half Way Tree, so the hunger to achieve something in life was always something I was focused on,” Fantan Mojah told the Observer recently.
Hungry, according to Mojah, took him four minutes to write and he said that the song’s acceptance on radio is due to many different factors. “The positive vibes I think had something to do with it and the time I did the song, most people in Jamaica I think were hungry for something or the other. I did the song and the end result is there to see,” he said.
Formerly known as Mad Killer, Fantan Mojah’s real name is Owen Moncrieffe. He entered numerous talent contests in and around his native St Elizabeth while attending school, and thereafter his love for music led him to his tenure as a handyman with the Kilamanjaro sound system.
In 1997 he made his recording debut with When I Rise for Tristan Palmer. To date he has recorded more than three dozen songs.
“I am working on an album for Down Sound Records, but it is still in the developing stages. We might use the name Hungry but it is still early,” said Fantan Mojah.
Fantan Mojah has performed at Portland Splash, the Bring Back The Love concert, Dancehall Rock, Sting, West Kingston Jamboree, and the Montreal Reggae Festival in Canada.
His recent singles include Feel Di Pain, Search, Hail The King, and a new version of When I Rise (for which a music video is being planned).
