Royal Mosiah

Local reggae artist Mosiah Jones is getting ready to release his first studio album, Trip to Ja, and is making waves on the local scene. Recently, I talked to him about his album and his rising career. In part one of our interview, we discussed his childhood and the remarkable story of his first major performance in his native Jamaica.

In 2007, Mosiah moved to the United States and upon arriving in Jacksonville, he was introduced to the hip-hop talents of The Prolegend Movement. Mosiah and The Prolegend Movement have worked together on several songs, including tracks off of the group’s latest mixtape, Black Diamondz. Mosiah does the hook on the song “Ayo Teaser”, blending hip-hop and reggae in a crowd-pleasing collaboration that is setting the club scene and the online world on fire.

After recording “Ayo Teaser”, Mosiah did a solo mixtape at home using his laptop. The Prolegend Movement forwarded it to Ivory (C.E.O. Point Blank Entertainment), who introduced him to what would become his producer, Jimmy Beats of Dark Beats Music. They began recording in February 2010 and the finished product is Trip to Ja, scheduled to be officially released late summer. The album is already available online at CD Baby, Itunes, Amazon, and other sites, and they have recently wrapped up filming a video for one of the singles, “Chicas Bonitas”, an upbeat track with a perfect reggaeton feel.

In addition to entertaining his audience, Mosiah uses his music to send a message to listeners. The track “Gone too Soon” was written by him as a tribute to young people who have died under tragic circumstances such as murder, suicide, or accidents. The song was partly inspired by his younger brother, Zaire Jones, who was robbed and killed April 23, 2009 while walking home from school. “It’s putting out there that people are gone too soon, and telling people to stop the killing, stop drinking alcohol and driving, all of that,” Mosiah stated.


When asked about the ongoing ‘daggering’ controversy surrounding dancehall music and lyrics that are sexually explicit and/or violent in nature, he had this to say, “The music influence people. People in Jamaica take the music serious. The music is a part of you. I think the reggae music, the dancehall music, is drifting off the path of where dancehall should be because I remember going to parties and you would dance with the girls, and girls and guys would dance and have fun. Now, I think its drifting away and getting too wild. Based on my tracks, I’m trying to bring back the feeling of good, clean feeling….People need to make good music and not just put something on a beat because they trying to get a sale.”


Everything about Mosiah, from his demeanor to his music, reflects a positive, inspiring take on life. He is a man on a mission, ready to do big things in the industry, and is definitely an artist to watch. His determination to succeed is reflected in his advice for aspiring musicians, “Make good music that people can listen to. Make music that your parents can listen, that a kid can listen. Make good music and keep pushing. If that’s something you want, don’t stop, keep going. Believe in what you do and keep pushing.”

- The Examiner

No Doubt, The Best Reggae Album of the Year !

author: Lankdizzim
From start to finish this album is bangin! The beats are definitely on point. Mosiah really does take you on trip to Jamaica...From the dancehall tracks to the inspiration anthems for all our people caught up in the everyday struggle. This album represents everybody and has something for all. This album is classic, get one for yourself and any other music lover. Its guaranteed to please. AYEE!!!!! MOSIAH and DARK BEATS are wicked. Hot gals and Rude Boyz get Money Mane!! Trip to JA !!! - Cd Baby

Local reggae artist Mosiah Jones, along with producer Jimmy Beats of Dark Beats Music, have teamed up to release Trip to JA, an 11-track album that displays the artist’s skills both as a songwriter and a vocalist.


Trip to JA was officially released online on June 28 and has been enjoying great success. The album has been consistently ranked in the top 20 on the reggae charts on CD Baby and peaked at #2 during its second week of release. DJ Ian played one of the tracks, “Chicas Bonitas”-a reggaeton inspired tune, during his weekly Reggae Vibrations show on 93.3 The Beat, and has also spun it at De Real Ting Café, getting very positive feedback from listeners.


The first track on the cd, “Ugly”, was written to give listeners a different perspective of Mosiah’s native Jamaica than the usual tourist image of steel pan bands and beautiful beaches. Mosiah wrote the song to let people know that “the people in the ghetto need help. People starving, people need help”.


“Gone too Soon” is another song with a serious message. It was partly inspired by the tragic killing of Mosiah’s younger brother Zaire, who was robbed and stabbed while walking home from school. The pleading melody calls for an end to the tragic deaths of young people through violence, drunk driving, and suicide.


All of the tracks are not as serious however. “Chicas Bonitas”, which means ‘pretty girls’ in Spanish, and “She’s a Queen”, celebrate the beauty of women and provide alternatives to derogatory means of addressing them. “Glow” is a party tune, something to get loose and jam to in the club.


“Bad Girl” can almost be interpreted as the other side of the coin in contrast to “She’s a Queen”. Jimmy Beats summed up the song’s concept neatly when he said, “we must recognize that there are some women who are ‘bad girls’…that have other motives in their relationships with men….most of the time, we as men fail to recognize it because we are captivated by other things rather than inner beauty. But then when we do recognize it we then see what everyone else saw and was trying to tell us in the first place”. The song is done over near the end of the album as a dub remix.


My favorite song on the album, “Cry”, particularly showcases Mosiah’s vocals and has an interesting story behind it. Mosiah’s father, a follower of the Rastafari movement, sang the melody and played the guitar riff to him as a child-“the reason why I-man cry” (‘this is why I cry’). Mosiah wrote the song to say that he cries when he sees what goes on in the world today. He recalled that when his father heard the song for the first time, he just kept laughing and playing it over and over in amazement. The plaintive lyrics and catchy hook will cause many new listeners to press repeat as well.


“Everything’s Gonna be Okay”, another standout piece, contains a hopeful optimism that resonates throughout the track and will appeal to many. Mosiah describes it as “a song of hope, no matter what you’re going through, just believe and know that everything is gonna be okay, everything’s gonna work out…no need to worry”.


“ 5:0-0” is a playful take on the difference between Jamaican and American work ethics that Mosiah observed after moving here. He remembered working late as was the custom in his native country, only to realize that his American co-workers were counting the minutes until 5 p.m.


Overall, Trip to JA is a quality, well-produced album with lyrics that are at turns entertaining and thought-provoking. Mosiah’s vocal ability shines through on the songs. There is no fear here of buying the album only to find one or two tracks worth listening to. Trip to JA does more than take listeners to the Caribbean-it takes listeners back to a time when all artists told stories and put a piece of themselves in each song. The album has set the bar high for new artists in the reggae genre and I’m eager to see what is on the horizon for Mosiah as his career takes off.

Trip to JA is available at CD Baby, ITunes, and Amazon

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- The Examiner

Those who grew up in Jacksonville during the 80’s and 90’s know that there is a strong reggae music following here. Inspired by the movie Cool Runnings about the famous Jamaican Olympic bobsled team, reggae nights of the same name began taking place at clubs around the cities. Downtown Jacksonville boasts De Real Ting Café, a restaurant/nightclub that is the site of some of the best reggae events in the area.

So it should not be surprising that local musicians in Jacksonville are starting to make a name for themselves in the reggae music world. One of those artists is Mosiah Jones, who is getting ready to release his first studio album, Trip to Ja, this summer. I had the chance to see him perform recently at Endo Exo with a local hip-hop group, The Prolegend Movement, and also sat down with him for an interview.

I asked him about the significance of his first name, which is also the middle name of Jamaican born Black nationalist Marcus Garvey. He explained that his father, a Rasta, told him that his name means that he “must go higher, most higher”, which sounds like “Mosiah” when spoken in a fast Jamaican patois. Mosiah went on to say that this has inspired his music career by encouraging him to keep “going higher and higher all the way”.

Born and raised in Ochos Rios, Jamaica, an early love for music was instilled in Mosiah by his father. His first performance was at the age of 6 at a fundraising concert with his nephew and two friends. His main musical influences included Bob Marley-naturally, as well as Garnett Silk, Beenie Man, and Beres Hammond. Mosiah named Buju Banton as especially important to him, saying that he would often learn and perform his music.

The story of his first breakthrough performance is nothing short of a fairy tale. Mosiah was working as a vendor at the Pepsi TeenSplash at James Bond Beach in St. Mary’s, Jamaica. During a break, as Beenie Man was preparing to take the stage, Mosiah left his vending station and approached the emcee, asking for a chance to get on up there and perform. The emcee relented and Mosiah made the crowd go wild with his rendition of “Mishika”. When the song was over, he went back to his vending cart. As he recounted this unbelievable story, the first thing that came to mind was the plot from the film Dancehall Queen, in which a street vendor becomes a top-rate dancehall star, all while keeping her true identity a secret.

Mosiah immigrated to the United States in 2007, where his remarkable story continued. Stay tuned for the second part of my interview with him as we discuss his musical collaborations in Jacksonville, along with his upcoming album release.

- The Examiner