Mutabaruka Threatens Court Action Against Reggae Singer Fantan Mojah Over Inflammatory Video

A day after Reggae singer Fantan Mojah went on a rampage hurling accusations at Mutabaruka, the iconic dub poet is threatening to take legal action against the Fire King artist.

The impending lawsuit is resulting from comments deemed slanderous by Muta, which Fantan made about the dub poet, reggae legend Bob Marley, and former Miss World Cindy Breakespeare, who is also the mother of Reggae superstar Damian “Junior Gong” Marley, in an apparent “revenge” video, which is being circulated on social media.

Fantan’s inflammatory video shows him shouting out his claims about the three public figures, to a group of men.  The men were laughing and cheering him on, as he was being recorded.

The video came in aftermath of Muta’s criticisms of Fantan’s new Fire King song and video, which he said, among other things, was not in keeping with Rastafarian principles, during his Cutting Edge programme on Irie FM radio.  The very wild video for the song, shows Fantan Mojah cavorting with a slew of scantily clad young women.

However, Muta has offered the Mama Hungry artist the opportunity to apologise or provide evidence of the things he has accused him of.  As such, if Fantan moves quickly to apologize for his seeming act of defamation before the lawsuit is filed, it may help to mitigate damages (lessen the blow on his pockets), as dictated under Jamaica’s Libel and Slander Act.

Muta expressed his dismay and surprise at Fantan’s reaction and comments yesterday on Irie FM, where he extended the opportunity for him to make an apology.

“Dis morning I get a video… di video have in Fantan Moah in deh a meck some defamatory argument.  A don’t know weh him get these things… but him mus tell mi how him get dat.  Weh him get dat fram?” Muta stated.

“Which white woman him eva hear seh me deh wid?  Him mus tell mi and di female weh him mention, as it relates to Bob, which Cutting Edge and when him hear me seh.  When me have dah woman deh pon di radio  Him haffi guh tell me dat or him haffi guh talk to mi lawyer.    Suh if him nuh waan answer me, him haff guh answer a lawyer.  Because dat is defamatory, not only to me, but to the woman who is mentioned inna di suppm.  And obviously shi a guh hear it and den now him nuh haffi guh only converse wid mi alone, but im haffi guh talk to him fren dem.  Him haffi guh talk to me an di public.  Him haffi guh apologise tuh, because him haffi tell me di evidence weh him have,” Muta added.

Muta’s Criticism of the Fire King

Fantan’s consternation came in the wake of Muta’s rebuke several days ago, about his deviation from the principles of the Rastafarian Bobo Ashanti mansion, to which Fantan has aligned himself.

“Yuh have some man uh know weh wrap dem head yuh nuh Rasta, and mi a tell yuh seh mi caan believe weh mi a si.  Caw mi a look pon a video wid one artiste deh – a weh him name again?  Anyway mi a look pon one artiste yah in a video an mi a tell yuh, mi a seh wait, di man couldn’t even put on a likkle plastic bag pon him head Rasta.  I mean, apart from mi know seh him have locks and mi know him still, mi neva sin no twissy-twissy locks man duh a video like dat, much less a man who locks have turban pon him head Rasta, turban,” Muta had lamented.

“Yuh know what is a turban to a Bobo?   Yuh know how much ting Bobo guh through fi all dem turban?” he questioned.

As for the explicit gyrations of the women in the Fire King video, Muta had never before been seen such frantic and excessive “wining” in any Dancehall music videos, even from the raunchiest of artists.  Muta said the admiration he had for the Bobo Ashanti, he was flabbergasted that someone who aligned themselves to that mansion could have done a video that objectifies black women.

“An dis man have some likkle girl, dem battam gone up inna di air, and dem front gone dung… ah mean mi neva si nuttn like dat yet.   A COVID jump inna da man deh Ratsta.   Nobaddy caan tell mi nuttn.  DAh man deh have some serious concussion of COVID…” he said.

“To tell yuh di honest truth, inna all a di wineup video dem weh mi si enuh, a di most wineup-wineup mi eva si,” he said laughing.  “Becaw all mi a si wineup innna video enuh, it look like di Rasta excite dem more.  I like him get dem more excited and seh yeh, dem a wine up fi a Bobo; dem a guh exaggerate di winin.”

Muta said what was so disconcerting about what he described as the “frivolous video”, was that the artist seemed oblivious to or unconcerned about its potential negative impact on the image of Rastafari, which is supposed to be the vanguard for the elevation of black people everywhere in the world.

“One a di light dem shoulda jus drop pon him head pon stage…what is the purpose of making a video like dat?  Why are you putting your belief system backways?  And not recognizing that the image that you are projecting, is not conducive or related to nuttn weh yuh a deal wid?  Disgrace, total disgrace.  Mi a seh dat publicly.  An mi know seh di Bobo dem feel a way,” he said.

Muta also said there were cases in the past where Reggae artists have done folly, but they have never recorded it.  According to him, the new video had sunk Rastafari to a new low.  What was even worse, was that having gone viral, the video was now inerasable.

“Nuh care weh deh bredda duh now, it indelible.  Di amount a repeat and repeat weh it get it indelible.    Him can’t teck dat off again enuh because it gone…. Rastafari is a revolutionary group a ones weh suppose to a search fi liberation of African people all over the world.  African people weh suppose to a educate, inform and a livity.   Wi suppose to a live certain way…now man a come tun it in a way weh it look frivolous.  Is a joke,” Muta said.”