Jah Mason
Artist. Dancehall, revival
- Active
- 1991-present
- Also known as
- Andre Johnson, Perry Mason
Jah Mason is a Rastafari deejay and singjay, one of the cultural voices the Rough Guide names alongside Sizzla, Anthony B, Prezident Brown and Determine, and a steady draw on European stages. Angus Taylor writes of "his granular voice, mournful sound, and conscious stance," with "unusual stress patterns" and "striking lyrical imagery," though less range than Capleton.
Born Andre Johnson in Manchester, he first recorded in 1991, as Perry Mason, with "Selassie I Call We" on Junior Reid's JR label, and took the name Jah Mason after joining the Bobo Ashanti in 1995. He first toured Europe in 1998 with Flames, Tony Rebel's production company. "Run Come Love Me," with Jah Cure, gave him his first number one, and "My Princess Gone," his best-known song, topped the chart in Trinidad before it did in Jamaica in 2005. Other favorites include "Lion Look," "Farmer Man" and "Babylon Rise."
He has made close to twenty albums, among them Wheat and Tears (Greensleeves) and Princess Gone... The Saga Bed (VP), both from 2006. He tours Europe most years, and at home he farms in Manchester, supplying hotels: "Everybody knows me as a farmer."
Last updated November 5, 2026
Connections
- Tony Rebel (producer)
- Junior Reid (producer)
- Jah Cure (collaborator)
Notes
- Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton, The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd ed. (London: Rough Guides, 2004), 355. Sade Gardner, "Jah Mason Finds 'Culture' Niche in Europe," Jamaica Gleaner, September 18, 2019, https://past.jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20190918/jah-mason-finds-culture-niche-europe.
- Angus Taylor, "No Matter the Time for Jah Mason," United Reggae, April 3, 2008, https://unitedreggae.com/articles/n131/040308/no-matter-the-time-for-jah-mason.
- "Jah Mason," Wikipedia, accessed October 22, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jah_Mason. Thinly sourced: the early name, first record and date of joining the Bobo Ashanti rest on Wikipedia alone. Nathaniel Stewart, "Jah Mason Rebukes Artistes Who 'Only Sing to Drive Fancy Car,'" Jamaica Gleaner, January 26, 2025, https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20250126/jah-mason-rebukes-artistes-who-only-sing-drive-fancy-car gives his birth name as Andre Corey Johnson.
- Stewart, "Jah Mason Rebukes Artistes." Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 370, on Flames as Tony Rebel's label.
- "Jah Mason," Wikipedia. Stewart, "Jah Mason Rebukes Artistes," which calls his 2025 release his twentieth studio album.
- Gardner, "Jah Mason Finds 'Culture' Niche in Europe."
