Latest / Caught on the Mike... / Mojo Morgan

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Mojo Morgan · Caught on the Mike...

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Disclaimer.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Listener discretion is advised.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Today's gathering the name and a legacy that will win into the very fabric of regular music.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: This is Mojo Morgan.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Ladies and gentlemen, this is Caught on the Mike.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Caught on the Mike.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: And when I say exciting, I am truly excited.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Joining me on the podcast today is the Grammy Award-winning member of the legendary reggae family Morgan Heritage, his new album most recently released, Jamaica Love.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: My friend Mojo Morgan, how are you?
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: I'm doing great this evening.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: How are you doing, my brother?
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I am so good.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Man, I was uh cruising your social media.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Were you frying fish earlier?
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: So Graf is on the no water in my whiskey tour across America, doing great things, connecting with the Morgan Heritage fans, expanding the fan base.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, when we're on tour, it's life for us.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we we don't we don't do nothing different from home.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: We just it's just a continuation, and we share that vibration with our band and our musicians and our crew.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: So he's out there on tour cooking it up, Yadman Harris style.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: I love it, I love it.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's talk about your most recent release, Jamaica Love.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you've described it as your most personal and genre-fluid project to date.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: What was the emotional spark that set this EP in motion?
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it was born of tragedy and loss, you know, just traveling across Jamaica with PopCon and my brother Laza, you know, discovering the beauty of this island and the energy and the vibration of the people, things that I never experienced before.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: It inspired these songs and the things that we set out to do together before, you know, my brother ascended as entrepreneurs.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: You hear the resilience in the message and the perseverance and the heritage and legacy above all things.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: Because, you know, our purpose and mission now, with our new reality after his ascension, is that we have to make sure that this legacy that we built together continues until the year 3000 and beyond.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: And what that means is you get Morgan Heritage 2.0 with our nephew Jameer Morgan as the new lead singer.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: That means you're gonna get more new music from Gramps Morgan, you're gonna get more new music from Jameer Morgan, you know Morgan, and of course Mojo Morgan, right?
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: And it it's it's about doing what we love to do, which is music, and never stop doing that.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I love that.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: That warms my heart.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: I I think when your publicist first pitched this episode to me, I listened to your album for like a week straight, and I could feel the emotions, like every every song has a little bit of a different flavor to it, and I absolutely love that.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, man.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's the Rasta Rock right there.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm a little bit of hip-hop reggae rock and roll to move your soul.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Well, growing up as part of the Morgan Heritage, music and message are clearly in your DNA.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: How has that family legacy shaped the way that you approach music from a solo perspective?
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's this there's so many little anecdotes that you get when you're collaborating as a family.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like Peter would always say at the end of the mixes, is it gonna make her break the record?
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I wanted to kill him.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, dude, the dr the snare drum is too loud.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: Is it gonna make her break the record?
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's not gonna make her break the record.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: So but the attention to detail that we put into the production, I made sure I didn't compromise that integrity in creating this body of work.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, down to the very last edition, which was the When the Father Calls intro, which I felt set the tone for everything that was for everything else to come, you know, with all the the symphonies and the the Naya Bingy drums and and at the same time the the Western guitar.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's like you're hearing uh a potpourri of all these different flavors all in one while getting a message about nuclear disarmament.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like, who is this guy and what the fuck?
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: What is what what is what are you on?
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: What are you smoking?
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: Did you have a little poody or something, brother?
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like you're talking about revitalizing a message from a speech from Eilas Silassi from 1963 to the General Assembly at the UN, which also gave birth, coincidentally, to Bob Marley's war, right?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's the same speech that he took an S excerpt from to write the song War.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, when I when when I listened to it and I I got the transcript and wrote this with my brother Laza, who penned up that verse to me, right?
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, Nuclear disarmament is more vital today than ever before simply because of the the the abilities that we have, right?
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah or that we possess as as as mankind today.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's scary.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: Not just for us, but for our children to come.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: It really is.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: It really is.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: And that the fact that we live in a society, and and you know, we could get into the whole philosophical discussion about it, but we live in a society that is so knee-jerk because of social media and so quick to respond as opposed to listen.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um that it is almost yes, it's it's almost scarier now than what it probably was back then when the speech was originally delivered.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Hundred percent.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it's more relevant today than than it's ever been before.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, that's that's that's the journey of Jamaica love, man.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's that's what it takes you on.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: It really makes you think, you you you love, you feel, and and you you just want to be a better version of yourself.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: You want to try and be great, you know, you want to dream, you want to reach for the stars, but you also want to reflect on the journey and don't forget how you got to where you are and where you aspire to be in life.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes, and and I I gotta give you your props.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: That intro is so powerful, and I think that is in large part of why I've listened to Jamaica Love so much is because it does set the mood and set the tone for the entire collection before it starts.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: 100%, man.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you on that.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: You know, much love to the people that made that available for public consumption online.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um and and I was able to do what I had to do with it creatively and my my engineer on that, he really made sure that all the different elements and and and moods um really came across and it wasn't distorted.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, you know what I mean?
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: So I appreciate you identifying the power within the music and how we were able to bring all of that together seamlessly to open the Jamaica Love story.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's talk specifically about mountain song.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's beautiful, it's layered, it's deeply symbolic.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: What do those mountains mean to you personally, and how did the collaboration with Gramps and your son come together?
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: For me, I'm a country boy, and in St.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: Thomas, in the eastern part of Jamaica where we reside, um, there's a place called Bath Fountain.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: It uh quick story.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, our when our dad discovered this place and bought the family estate there, he brought us there and explained to us the the meaning of this place, and it was this it was discovered by a slave, it's hot water coming out of a rock that, of course, is volcanic.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so there's a lot of sulfur components into it, so that gives it a healing component.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: And it was discovered by a slave that escaped his mastered hand.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: And what happened is that it became a gathering point for slaves after they were abused or beaten, would go there to administer healing to one another and gather, and and if I'm not mistaken, gave birth to the rebellion that went on to become the the Paul Bogle rebellion and and and and subsequently leading to the fight for independence for Jamaica from the the United Kingdom.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: So Mountain Song is just a journey down memory lane, just reflecting on those moments when we just got the land back in in the mid-90s in Jamaica and was tearing down this hill and building the recording studio in our future home and just smelling the roses.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: Because in life, you know, Mike, you you put on these blinders and you you you're you're you're you're on the journey 20 years in, and you never really stop to smell the roses or reflect on on all the work that you've done, the accolades you've amassed, how many millions of people you've touched around the world.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: And Mountain Song is that song of reflection, and you know, we were working on an album last year, January, before Peter ascended, and I wrote that song to be on the album.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I I I it was inspired by a television show called Um Uh Yellowstone.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: Gramps calls my estate in Jamaica Yellowstone, and where I have a farm, and he's like, You need to watch this.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: If you're gonna lead the family in this new era, you need to see this storyline about this family.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, Okay, whatever, whatever.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: My brother, when I dove in, I mean, I binged it for about two weeks, and I was like, when is season five coming?
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: What the hell's going on?
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: I'm losing my mind here.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I was so pissed.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: Episode one of season five, when well, the second half of season five when when they killed our boy, I was like, oh man, y'all couldn't work out whatever y had to work on behind the scenes.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: Really?
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: But still, you know, coming back to the story.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: My one of my brothers uh heard the song in Jamaica and um he said, you know, that sounds like Gramps style.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: You know, Gramps is the king of country reggae music.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: He said, if Gramps goes on that, it'd be different.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: Gramps didn't record until earlier actually when when was it?
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: Over the summer.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like early summer he recorded.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: And when he put his voice on it right before the European tour, it changed the whole essence and meaning of the song.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: Now it became like a tribute to my brother Peter.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: And my son Esh represents the continuation of the legacy in the third generation of Morrigan Heritage coming from our father to us, and now to you know, Jameer and himself and Peter's children doing music, um, to want to be a part of this story.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's an amazing story that we've been able to tell as a family, and Mountain Song is the embodiment of that story.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: You know, one father to another, you know, you can almost take that song and apply it, no matter who the listener is, they can apply it to some area of their life.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: And like for me personally, it was like my daughters all graduating high school this year and starting college.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: It was them moving on to their next chapter and their lives.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I I I was really dying to ask you that question.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, man, because it's it's it was a scene.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: I heard I heard the song, you know, in a at in a scene, and one one of the ending scenes of one of the episodes in Yellowstone, and I was like, man, that reminds me of days when we were at Bath Fountain actually living that.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we were on the riverside burning the fire, watching the embers in the night, and and cooking food, and and and then making our way down the hill.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: So when we made the music video, I was like, we're gonna go from the studio in Nashville, we're gonna jump on the jet, head to Jamaica, and go right to St.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: Thomas and enjoy that same vibration as we did 30 years ago when we just moved to Jamaica.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: And and and and and that story about togetherness, like you said, it's inspiring for families all around the globe.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, absolutely.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: Now you've called your sound Rasta Rock, and I absolutely love that.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Sam.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: Because it mixes so many different styles together, yet it's completely cohesive.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: How did you find that balance between honoring Roots reggae and experimenting across genres?
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: So when we took a break during the solo years from 2008 to about five years, came back 2012 to our day job as Morgan Heritage, we wanted to share with the world what we contribute to the entity known as Morgan Heritage.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: For me, as the rocker in the group and the rapper, I'm inspired by the godfathers of rap, um Coo G Rap, Curtis Blow, Fat Boys, Dougie Fresh, Biggie Small's Tupac, two of my biggest influences.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: But also being born in Brooklyn and educated in Springfield, Massachusetts, I was exposed to the godfathers of rock and roll.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: Bon Jovi, you know, Def Leppard, Van Halen, Pat Benatar, pop pop rock radio, right?
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: That was what we experienced in Springfield, Massachusetts.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: So in my sound, I've learned I've figured out a way how to bring together simple melodies, good stories with progressive chords, and that's rock music, right?
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: You listen to Coldplay Jack Johnson, they can't sing like Usher, right?
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_01: They can't sing like Chris Brown, but they can tell a great story.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: And when you put those chord progressions on there, and you're like, wow, that sounds amazing.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's the greatest ever.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's not.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's because it's the greatest song.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's how it's put together, it's the greatest record, but it's not the best singing you've ever heard.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: And and I knew that I was able to do that with Roster Rock by bringing together reggae, dance all, rock and roll, hip-hop, you know, to really be able to have something that connects with you, with your ears, but also with you physically and spiritually, and makes you think mentally above all with the lyrical content.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what I you know, but that that thing about alternative rock music is like, yeah, it's high energy, but there's also they're saying something, don't get it twisted.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: They're saying something.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: It's not a whole bunch of tattoos and drugs flinging nah.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: I agree.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's crazy because it's it's almost endearing that if you look at these younger generations, like guys our age, you know, we had back in the day, if you listen to a style of music, you kind of gatekeep that style of music to a certain extent.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: But kids now, kids now just look at music as being music, and it's so endearing because it gives artists more creative freedom and more abilities to go outside of the bounds that you know structurally in the past we were all beholden to.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: We were limited to a genre, and now you're you're there's a term called genre fluid.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I remember my boy Warren Glois, one of my partners, on when we during the Solar Years Gideon Um Soldiers, he had an artist that he was bringing to the marketplace, and that was his whole thing that he's genre fluid, that he was blurring the lines.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: Now that goes across the board.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: You listen to Post Malone, it's like, is he a rock artist?
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: Is he a hip-hop artist?
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: Is he a country artist?
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_01: You don't know, but you know that he does good music, and that's what Roster Rock is all about.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: Is it good music?
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_01: Then it's for you.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: So kind of expanding upon that, how do you see the reggae influence and Jamaican culture evolving globally?
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: And where do you find your latest release, Jamaica Love, fitting into that movement?
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I see it at this stage, right where it needs to be.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: With the dawn of the digital age that we're living in, we're living in a historic moment.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's like those that were alive during the at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: We're at the dawn of a new era.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the reality.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's scary, albeit it's scary, but it's it's it's our reality.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: So for me, seeing reggae music connect with new audience with through different ambassadors that are not Jamaican, and I'm speaking about the the US born and based reggae artist, right?
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm talking about the European born and based reggae artists and dancehall artists, Asia, Africa, from different Caribbean islands, evolution is inevitable.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_01: So you're gonna hear reggae with different influences being that it's created in different parts of the world and not just in the Mecca in Jamaica, right?
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that the best is yet to come.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: I think Jamaica Love sets the tone for you to still be able to be authentic Jamaican music, but at the same time still be able to push the envelope and creatively express yourself in a way that's unique to you, that makes you feel good, but also has a place with an audience somewhere out there in the world.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't know if you've observed it, I know I have, but I don't know what it is about this past couple of years.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's the post-COVID world, I don't know.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but have you noticed a re-emergence of like neo-soul, neo-funk, neo-reggae music, like people purposefully trying to put their heart back into music to make people feel good again and it affecting the live dynamic.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: 100% because um the pandemic did something very bad.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: It it it it turned up the dopamine levels times a thousand.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone became hooked to these little devices that we hold in the palm of our hands, and going to see somebody in concert was it didn't have the value it did.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: When Bruce Springsteen dropped a record and he went out and he announced the tour, everybody wanted to see Bone in the US there out because they didn't the only place they could do only place they could consume the music was on the radio, right?
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: Or maybe a performance on TV.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: MTV wasn't a thing yet.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: There weren't no music video channels, you know, even though the didn't have a cheesy music video, it wasn't played a lot anywhere else.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_01: And you wanted to see that experience live so people would draw tens, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty thousand people.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: It's very difficult to do that now when you can just open your phone and you can see Cardi B shaking her ass.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right, yeah.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, you you've got it all, you've seen it all.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: I don't need to go to your concert.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: I I saw everything already.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: More than I probably should have seen, right?
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: So for me, I I believe that we can use this technology to our advantage.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: And if we don't oversaturate our presence, we can create good music that attracts people to want to come and see you live.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: And you find that the music that focuses on a deeper or comes from a deeper connection with life.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: Like you mentioned, a lot of soul, Neo's soul, um reggae's soul, and all these things that have soul attached to it.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: I think people felt their mortality, to tell you the truth, Mike.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: I know I did after COVID.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, God damn, I I could die at any moment, man.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: I was coughing my lungs away.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: For 10 days.
• 22:01
  unknown: Oh shit.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_01: But I made it.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: Here I am.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: Then and it makes you say, what is it at all worth?
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_01: If life has gone like that and everybody moves on, life goes on.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: And everybody's gonna dry their eyes and continue with the struggle in this life.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why for us we give thanks every day when, you know, whatever you call them, God or her, whatever it is, that energy, that force that created us that you believe in allows us to open our eyes for another day.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: We have to be grateful, you know?
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: I find it very ironic because I was just having this conversation with somebody else about things that I've learned about myself in the post-COVID world, and uh a lot of it, two big things stick out to me.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: I I relearned my own humility, and you mentioned it, mortality.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I feel like I faced mortality in a much different way, in a much broader sense than before COVID.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, kind of tying it to the music aspect with the neo soul, the neo funk, new reggae music, new island music in general, like moments where we are musically celebrating life seem to be more important again than maybe they were beforehand.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like things that we maybe took for granted.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, 100%.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I became a big crybaby, you know, after that experience, I lost 30 pounds in 10 days.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: It was it was scary.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I was with one of my kids' baseball coaches after, and I was like, feel my legs, man, it's softer than your lady's legs.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: He's like, Yeah, my girls' legs are harder than that.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: I was putty, I was on my way out, I was knocking on the door, and coming back out of that, you know, it it gives you a sense of purpose in whatever it is that you do.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: You, you, you have your podcast, your talk show host, and I'm sure you're involved in several other things, it just put things into perspective and and it changes your how you approach things as well.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: So with us as musicians and within the entertainment circle, it's like you want it to have purpose, you want it to have legacy, you want it to be able to live on.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I'll give you a little shake your booty and and and and and clap that ass here and there.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's a part of life, but it has to be more than that.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_01: So for me, it's just balance and coming out of COVID, it was trying to live a life with more balance.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: Silencing the phone at night at a certain time, making the time for the family, um, you know, remembering to call the kids, even though there's some ungrateful sons of guns.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: They never pick up to call you, but it's all good.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_01: We still love them.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_01: But you do what you you do you do what you must, and and and you make sure that you you remember it's the little things that it's those little whispers in the night when the lights go off in the stadium or on on in the arenas and and you're in your hotel alone at night.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_01: It's those memories that keep you moving, and you remember what what you're doing this for.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yes! That's oh, wise words, my friend.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, you've made no secret about the fact that your mission is to inspire not just with your music, but how you live and you lead, and you actually just kind of illustrated that with what you just said.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: What does that look like for you right now as an artist, entrepreneur, and a father?
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: Ah, I gotta breathe on that one.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: I gotta exhale on that one.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: Heavy as the crown, my heavy is the crown, my friend.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: It it's an interesting journey, to say the least.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_01: Because I was just saying to my girlfriend, in two hours I did a week's worth of work before this call.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_01: I was non-stop, probably a dozen calls, all important, rapid fire, right?
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_01: Now I need five days off to recuperate.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: But what it what it what it what it is for me when you put it all into perspective, it's about being present in every moment.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_01: Because yes, I I had a dozen calls in two hours, but each call I didn't skip a beat.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: I had to give it my undivided attention.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_01: And and that's how I I have to approach my life at this critical juncture where there's so many lives that hang in the balance, that I have to make sure that when I'm dealing with my my wife to be and my children, that I give them a hundred percent of me.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_01: When I'm dealing with my entrepreneurial ventures, that I give it a hundred percent, when I'm dealing with my group and its business and the empire that we built called Morgan Heritage and the legacy that I give it a hundred percent when it comes to Mojo Morgan and all that I want to achieve and and you and use it as a tool to expand the Morgan Heritage fan base, that I give it a hundred percent.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's all encompassing and finding a way to lead by example.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_01: As my father said, I don't ever try to be a boss, but be a leader, like onto Moses, as the story is told.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna roll up my sleeves and my pants foot, and I'm gonna step in the mud and make those mud bricks to build the pyramids, right?
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_01: I am going to be by your side through thick and thin as we trot this journey.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: We are going to rise together.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: As my brother Luke said, when the tide rises, all boats float.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_01: So for me, my biggest joy is for everyone around me to be happy.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_01: Because if they're happy, then I'm happy.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_01: If they're not happy, then we have a problem.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what life looks like for me at this time.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I love that.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so similar, my friend.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so similar.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: I was having this conversation with my wife similarly, uh, just a few days ago.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm about to go down to the podcast studio and I'm like, all right, I'm about to go record another one.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: She goes, You look upset about it.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: She goes, You love doing this.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, Yeah, I've got a lot.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I'm recording more than I'm able to keep up with releasing right now.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, it's good problems to have.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: But when you're in the thick of it, you're just like, okay.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's a lot is the crown, and you you know you have a purpose because your platform is is is giving a voice to people like myself to be able to tell these intricate stories behind the music, what makes you who you are, and not just, yeah, here's my new record, yeah, Jamaica Love, play the music.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, what makes it special?
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I watched some of your episodes and I was like, man, you really dive into what you're doing and the people that you bring on your show.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I appreciate you having me and giving me the opportunity to share my story and who I am as Mojo Morgan of Morgan Heritage.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: Dude, I I tell you what, that is that is the most important thing.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like, there's a thousand million freaking music podcasts out there in the world, but mine, what I feel makes mine different is the fact that I, if you give me your time, you've given me the most valuable gift in the world.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: And everybody is an individual, uh, you know, so you have to respect that.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: And it's all about relationship building, how we make the world a better place through building these small moments and small conversations that can have massive impact, you know?
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: Facts, you know.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: So speaking of massive impact, uh, if you could leave listeners with one feeling or message after hearing Jamaica Love, what would you want it to be?
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_01: Love life and live it to the fullest.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_01: No man is promised tomorrow or woman, for that matter.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_01: So make the most of the time we have today.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_01: Because you never know if it's gonna be your last.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_01: Live with love and let love live.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: Love it.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: Mojo, my closing question, which I ask every single guest that does my show.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, what is your advice for making the world a better place tomorrow than what it is today?
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: You kinda hinted at it, but what's your specific advice?
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_00: Small things they could do.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_01: Don't try and change the world.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's not gonna happen.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_01: Find a way to create impact.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_01: One life at a time, one day at a time, one experience at a time.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_01: Be the best version of yourself and hope that that light will shine and inspire others around you to live according to what they saw you do.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, lead by example.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because at the end of the day, right?
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_01: Neighborhoods make up communities, communities make up cities, cities make up states or provinces, and those make up countries.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_01: So it comes back to you as a human being.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_01: If you can be the best version of yourself and inspire one more person to do that, and they pay it forward, the world is gonna be a better place at the end of the day.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, sir.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, sir.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: Tell my viewers and listeners where they can find you and their your music online.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_01: At Gopmojo Morgan on all social media, at Morgan Heritage across all platforms, MorganHeritage Music.com, the mojo morgan.com website is coming, launching with some tours and merchandise and all these amazing things.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_01: The new EP Jamaica Love is out now, right?
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_01: So go get it, stream it.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_01: The music videos are on my YouTube, got mojo morgan.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much, Mike, for having me.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I look forward to talking to you real soon when we drop the full-length album next year, Mr.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_01: Mojo Rising.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_00: I was just gonna say, man, I am so glad we are connected now.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_00: Glad to now call you a friend.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: You know, my door is always open anytime you want to come back on and just hang out.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, sir.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much, man.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_01: Much love.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: Mojo Morgan, the world is a much better place with you and it, my friend.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: Blessed love.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: I want to once again thank my friend Mojo Morgan for joining me on the pod today.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_00: Go check out his new album, Jamaica Love, full-linked version coming soon.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_00: Can't wait for that.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_00: Give him a follow on Instagram atMojoMorgan.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: And also follow Morgan Heritage on the same platform.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: While you're being generous with the followers, make sure you are following Cot on the Mic on our social media platforms, and make sure you take a few moments out and subscribe to my YouTube channel.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: You can also visit www.hotonthemic.com.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_00: This has been Cot on the Mic with Michael Clark.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Michael Clark.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, thank you.