Reggae artiste Fantan Mojah. Photo: Jamaica Observer

The Rastafarian firebrand is said to have passed away on Tuesday evening at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston after suffering complications related to his heart.

A close associate of Fantan told Observer Online that the entertainer’s health deteriorated rapidly in the days before his death.

“Since he came back from the United States, he was hearty, but over the past week he started to ‘tek down’ and he was admitted to the UHWI,” booking agent Vertex said. “Last night, he was vomiting blood, and that was it. He passed away.”

Fantan Mojah had reportedly been preparing to perform at this year’s Reggae Jam Festival in Germany. According to the source, Schengen visas for the engagement had recently been approved.

The singer, who is reportedly the father of at least five children, had experienced serious health problems in recent years. In the days before his death, he couldn’t exert himself too much and he was reportedly deteriorating rapidly while staying with friends in Portmore.

In July 2024, he was hospitalised in Martinique after suffering breathing difficulties and tightness in his chest. At the time, reports indicated that his heart was functioning at approximately 15 per cent capacity.

By early 2025, however, the singer appeared to be recovering. Media reports described his progress as encouraging, and he eventually resumed touring in Europe.

Fantan Mojah, known for his powerful delivery and spiritually charged reggae songs, built a devoted following through recordings that blended Rastafarian teachings, social commentary and emotional intensity.

Further details surrounding his reported death were not immediately available.

Fantan had a meteoric rise in music. He was a simple window washer whose life story changed drastically when he crossed paths with Downsound Records chief Joe Bogdanovich.

“When I met him as a kid, he was a window washer,” Bogdanovich said in an interview years ago. “We got into a conversation that ended up with me recording him, and I made some really, really big records with him.”

The singer, whose real name was Owen Moncrieffe, had tried several times to break into the industry before meeting Bogdanovich. First going by the moniker Mad Killer, he entered talent contests in and around his St Elizabeth base while attending school. Mojah would later become a handyman for the Kilamanjaro sound system, before making his recording debut in 1997 with When I Rise for producer Tristan Palmer.

He went on to record the 2005 breakthrough Hail the King album at Downsound. His time at the label ended that year, igniting the start of an on-and-off relationship with Bogdanovich.

Fantan recorded the hit single, Nuh Build Great Men, while he was at DownSound Records.

After leaving DownSound Records, he went on to record Stronger and Rasta Got Soul, arguably his most famous track, celebrating Rastafarian spirituality and cultural roots.