Recognised recently by YouTube for reaching 25,000,000 views for his hit song Stronger, reggae artiste Fantan Mojah is proud that he still remains relevant to listeners nearly three decades since entering the music business.

“I give thanks. Wi never stop work. I give thanks for all the fans weh believe inna Fantan. Even when people think seh Fantan naa voice music, me always a voice and a keep the current up. Don’t watch what is happening in Jamaica. Mi done mek mi name inna Jamaica. Other young youth deh yah fi buss, suh dem ah go deh pon the forefront. You might not see me getting a number one in Jamaica but I get it overseas, in the Caribbean, Europe or even in Africa same way,” he told the Jamaica Observer‘s Splash.

Fantan Mojah, whose given name is Owen Moncrieffe, told Splash in a recent exclusive interview his motivation for penning Stronger.

“When mi leave DownSound in 2004, I never stopped with the music. When the whole pressure came down, I wouldn’t say I was stressed, you feel bad when you look and see that your career is nice out there in the world but Jamaica a try fi fade it. It’s a good thing the real people know waa gwaan.

“Mi might never did a get the show dem a Jamaica or the full extent of plays on the radio, but other Caribbean nations and other places in the world gi mi da love deh. It encouraged fi never stop. A suh di song Stronger mek, as well as ‘They’re wishing for me to fall’. A di struggle and di pressure and everything made those songs, just like ‘The Most High Jah, Deliver Me’,” he said.

Fantan Mojah feels that his music, created years ago, is resonating among the masses globally. He encouraged emerging artistes not to release “disposable” music.

“Recently I was in Costa Rica. I performed for about 13,000 people and it was a wonderful concert. Everybody a sing Fanton Mojah music, line fi line. This is a Spanish country and when you see dem a sing every song from your set, you have to give thanks. That means the music reach. Back then, I made my name, but a now mi just buss. A now di song dem soak the world. Places in the world we go, you hear Fantan Mojah, some Turbulance and I-Wayne playing amongst the music of the elders. Most artistes haste the music and don’t get the full benefit. I feel like we as Jamaican artistes, sing too many songs and don’t give the songs time to breathe to make the world take on to them,” he said.

“A next problem with our music is the greed and bad mind. All a who think dem bigger than others, when dem go out inna di world dem realise seh no body nuh bigger than none. Use Charlie Black as example. He was a youth weh never get the love a Jamaica until dem see the world a give him da love deh, as a youth weh transform himself from selector to big top artiste. You have to give him that respect. Selfishness is in the music. Why would you want to block me from shows? Most of the big ‘dreads’ inna di business, from fly locks to turban man, most a dem bad mind the youth dem when the youth dem buss. Most of these artistes who sing the bad mind songs, a dem a di bad mind, wicked and evil artiste,” he said, adding that he feels he has been sabotaged over many years and prevented from working major stage shows in Jamaica.

Despite those realities, Fantan Mojah told the Observer that he is gearing up for a successful European tour in 2023.

“Look how much hit songs me sing inna Jamaica and you can count the few times Fantan Mojah work a Sumfest and several other shows, even inna mi hot process. Politics inna di music, but when dem fight me inna Jamaica me end up get bigger than dem inna di world because I service my base out in the world. We have Europe next year and we are getting calls for shows at the end of this year same way. Out of the blue, a man will call you from Africa and say they want a January show or a February show. I always try to keep the thing current.”