On Friday, March 27, Grammy-winning recording artiste and musician Mojo Morgan kicked off his Spirit School Tour, an initiative which he hopes will connect and inspire the youth of Jamaica.

The tour is named after his latest single Spirit, which was inspired by his own personal experiences.

“Spirit came from a very real and emotional place in my life. I met my fiancée and expectant mother of my identical twins during a time when I didn’t expect love, and through her, I rediscovered a song that had been around me for years, but never fully connected with me until that moment,” Morgan told Observer Online on Sunday.

Mojo Morgan poses for a photo with students at Dunoon Technical High.

The singer continued, “When I finally sat with it, I broke down for hours. It brought back memories of losing my father, my uncles and most recently, my brother Peetah. That moment of reflection made me realise that this message, which was originally created by Hillsong United, needed to be expressed again, but through my own journey, my own voice and my own pain.  So, for me, Spirit is deeply personal. It’s healing, its reflection and its purpose all in one.”

Spirit was used as the theme for the annual Kingston City Run, a move which Morgan cites as the song’s connection with listeners.

“Honestly, it felt aligned with everything the song stands for. The Kingston City Run represents endurance, perseverance and pushing through challenges and that’s exactly what Spirit is about. So, when I heard it was chosen, I didn’t see it as a coincidence. I saw it as confirmation that the message is reaching people in the way it’s supposed to,” Morgan said.

“The song is real.  Everyone has gone through something. Whether it be loss, uncertainty, struggle or doubt. Spirit speaks to that place where you feel like you’re drowning, but you’re still searching for strength. The message isn’t complicated. It’s about holding on when life gets heavy. And I think people feel that honesty. They don’t just hear the song; they actually feel it.”

The Spirit School Tour made its first stop at the Dunoon Park Technical High school in east Kingston. Bridgeport High in Portmore will be the second stop on Monday, March 30.

Asked why he decided to take the song’s message into the schools at this time, Morgan said, “Because the youth need it now more than ever.  We’re living in a time where there’s a lot of violence, pressure, distraction, and uncertainty among young people. I didn’t want this to just live online or on radio, I wanted to bring it directly to the students. The Spirit School Tour is about connection. It’s about showing them that no matter what they’re facing, they can rise above it. And when they see me standing there, sharing my story, it becomes real for them.”

Each school visit will include a motivational talk centred on overcoming adversity, real-life lessons from Mojo’s journey as an artiste, entrepreneur and father, live performance of Spirit and student participation with selected students joining Mojo on stage.

Said Morgan, “Right now, we’re building it step by step. We’ve already started, and the vision is to expand across Jamaica and eventually internationally. This isn’t a one-off initiative; this is something we’re growing into a movement, and this is where the real impact happens. If we can reach the youth early and remind them that greatness lives inside of them, we change the future in real time.”

Morgan said primary schools aren’t the only target demographic for the tour.

“We’re starting primarily with high schools because that’s a critical age where identity and direction are being shaped, and I’d also like to visit some churches and sing with their choirs. But the message of Spirit is universal. As the tour grows, we definitely want to reach younger students, communities and even institutions beyond schools. This is about impacting people at every level,” Morgan reasoned.