Mojo Morgan outlines reasons musicians do cross-genre, cross-generational collabos

Mojo Morgan, one-third of the legendary Jamaican Reggae group Morgan Heritage, has outlined reasons for cross-genre and cross-generational collaborations between musicians.

Olele Salvador of 3Music’s Daily Culture, Wednesday, March 8, 2023, broached the controversy of Sarkodie rapping on a new version of the iconic Bob Marley’s ‘Stir It Up’ with producer MOG Beatz reworking the beat or music from a Hiphop perspective.

Asked if he considers Reggae too sacred a genre to be reimagined and if Sarkodie’s rap verse which begins the new ‘Stir It Up’ is a desecration, Mojo responded with an emphatic no.

“What makes it [a genre, in this instance, Reggae] sacred?” Mojo quizzed.

In a series of rhetorical questions, he underscored why artistes cross borders of genre, land and eras to collaborate.

“How do you make what’s old new again?” he first asked.

“How do we introduce [a new generation to an old genre or artiste]?” he went on.

“Like you guys grew up on our [Morgan Heritage] music. How did that happen? Because your parents were listening to it.

“I think [these types of collaborations] makes what’s old new again,” he said. “But it also makes sure that we as the next generation don’t forget the road that was paved for us.”

He insinuated that the aforementioned commemoration and memorialisation cannot happen if younger generations are not allowed to musically and creatively interact with their predecessors.

Mojo added that younger generations of musicians pay respect to the older by way of collaborations.

“So now [imagine], say Reggae is so sacred [that] it cannot be touched or reimagined the way Sarkodie did on that song…

“It’s just a form of homage and it shouldn’t be looked at as anything else,” he pressed.

He argued that if anyone says differently, they are simply looking to stir trouble for attention.

“Anything beyond that, is just – we’re looking for a headline,” he categorically noted. “I’m sorry.”

Appearing on the interview without Gramps and Peter, Mojo was proud to admit that the Grammy winner Morgan Heritage is famed not just for Reggae music but cross-genre fusion music.

“That’s what we call Rockaz music; Reggae music that rocks,” Mojo said.

He recalled that Morgan Heritage “went on tour with Rock and Roll icons like Bad Religion, NOFX – legendary artistes like 311 – this was back in 2001/2002 on a tour called the Vans Warped Tour. Nothing but Punk Rock music but the owner and producer of that tour – big up our brother Kevin Limon – he came to see us perform in the late 90s.

“At a Bob Marley Reggae festival in Long Beach, California, and San Diego, California, where he was the stage or production manager. And he said that is the sound that he grew up on when he discovered Peter Tosh and Bob Marley in the 80s as a kid and he wanted his Punk Rock audience to get into that because the message of Punk Rock music was very similar to in traditional Roots Reggae music; that revolutionary, social commentary, and it was a success. We did it two years, back to back.”

Furthermore, Mojo Morgan decried genre puritanism.

“And for us, looking at where we are now, musically… there is no individualised sound anymore,” he posited.

In explaining, he added: “Country Music is now sounding like Hiphop.” He snickered a bit and went on with: “When you look at Florida Georgia Line collaborating with Nelly, [it makes you wonder] ‘Okay, that’s Country Music?’”

He stressed that if you take the famed Country Music or Cowboy “accent off” these contemporary Country Music songs, “all of a sudden, you can hear Jay Z rapping on that.”

He drew a unanimous sigh of affirmation from the Daily Culture team.

“So that’s where music is today,” he said. “So it’s really important that these barriers that we’re putting [up] – I don’t know why we as Black people always have to create these barriers amongst us but I don’t really think it’s necessary.”

“Because it’s music at the end of the day,” he clarified catching his breath. “Music is free.”

With that, he said if one feels he needs to go make music with Congolese giant Fally Ipupa, “then more power to you.”

'We Like Dat' is an Afrobeats piece, the latest offering, from Morgan Heritage.