“Legends never die, right?” Mojo Morgan tells me, his voice steady but heavy with memory. “So, not because [Petah’s] no longer within this realm, the legacy that we built should fall by the wayside. It has to continue until the year 3000 and beyond.”
Morgan Heritage has always been a family dynasty. Now, with the passing of Mojo’s brother Petah, the group’s sound and spirit have been forced to adapt. Jemere, Gramp’s son, has stepped into his father’s role, and Mojo, along with siblings Gramps, Una, and Lukes, have taken on the responsibility of carrying the torch forward. “Kudos to our nephew Jamiro, for answering the call, you know, when the Father called—no pun intended,” Mojo says. “It’s more about him stepping into shoes, and more about us as the founders of the group… making sure that the legacy we built doesn’t die.”
Last Friday, Mojo began a new chapter with the release of his solo EP, Jamaica Love. “The EP is entitled Jamaica Love, produced by myself and Lu Diaz as our long-time mixing engineer—worked from DJ Khaled to Rihanna to Beyoncé,” he explains. “There isn’t much people in the game that he has in touch with hip-hop and R&B. So he helped me fine-tune this body of work. Drop Top is representing heavy on this one.”
Mojo describes his style as Rasta Rap and stated, “There’s a whole generational connection with the music reggae and dancehall,” and Jamaica Love isn’t boxed in by reggae alone. “It’s not a reggae EP, it has influences of dancehall and hip hop,” Mojo says. “The song that I do is Rasta Raffa. This is an incarnation of it, right? Where we lean heavily upon the foundation which is reggae and dancehall. So we’re talking to the elements of modern dancehall on this one, and we definitely made sure that we’re connected with producers that are doing that on a daily basis to maintain the authenticity of what we’re doing with the music—and especially more so the message within the music.”
The timing of the release also carries weight: the EP drops on the final eligibility day for the 2026 Grammy Awards. “I guess we made the cut,” Mojo says with a laugh. “I don’t know how people vote, right? All I know is we released the music and we’re trying our best to connect with our fans in a way that they appreciate what we do. Anytime you receive any type of recognition—like when we was in the city of Tamarac and received the key to the city and a Congressional honor—they all fall under the same category for us, and it’s just appreciation of what we do while we are here within this realm.”
When I ask if the Grammys are still relevant, Mojo doesn’t hesitate. “I think it definitely adds a stripe to your reputation, to your ability, and it speaks to the integrity in which you, or even the passion in which you put into your music. Because the little that I know about the Recording Academy—it’s your peers. Whether they’re in literature, music, anything of the arts—that’s who votes for your song to become nominated and eventually go on to win if the stars align. So I think it’s always going to be relevant in that regard where it’s a solidification or a stamp of approval.”
The conversation inevitably turns to the state of reggae. With California band Stick Figure dominating Billboard’s reggae charts for the last five years, Mojo’s perspective is measured: “At the end of the day, reggae music is reggae music. So for me, for the family, we love to see when a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist is doing significant numbers. But it doesn’t reflect bad on us if none of us are there. I think I was watching a Bounty Killer interview where he said it well—like, me, I’m a boss artist, and that artist is not supposed to be greater than me. So how can we as a people create reggae music and not be appreciative of it still being consumed on a large scale? It may not sound the same way as it’s created in Jamaica, but it’s a derivative of what we created as Jamaican people. So we should see it proud at the least.”
Mojo insists this is no threat, but a reminder of reggae’s global resonance. “No, no, no, I love when they pay homage and remember when they used to open for us, right? I love when they let their audience know that yo, we exist because of this group. So that’s why you see we work with people like a Rebelution, a Souljah, a I-Ration. These are our peers and our friends, you know, that we tour with, that we collaborate with within the music. So it could never be a threat. I think it’s good competition. Good competition—I like that term.”
For all the business questions about Grammy eligibility and industry relevance, Mojo frames this EP as part of a personal process: “The EP caught me off guard on this journey—healing from the loss of our brother Peter, you know, there in Bart St. Thomas on the farm and traveling across the country. This body of work just poured out of me during that journey. And I wanted to share that.”
The next step is clear: a full-length solo album “Mr. Mojo Rising”, tentatively due in the second quarter of next year. But for now, Jamaica Love.
