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Lutan Fyah was born Anthony Martin in Portmore, a sprawling housing community in Jamaica's St. Catherine parish. He has strong roots in Spanish Town, once the capital of the Caribbean country and stomping ground for big names like Lieutenant Stitchie, Papa San and San's late brother Dirtsman. In fact, Lutan remembers as a youth listening to San and Dirtsman performing at dances on his grandfather's Black Iniverse sound system in Thompson Pen, a community in Spanish Town. Watching them up‐close inspired his career path. After giving up a promising football career due to persistent injury, Anthony Martin morphed into Lutan Fyah. Among his best‐known early songs was There Is No Peace in Spanish Town, a catchy take on The Drifters' classic Spanish Harlem, which dealt with gang violence in Spanish Town. Lutan says it is difficult to escape the culture of crime that has dominated the 'old capital' for over 10 years. "Spanish Town is a kind of garrison where every man is a suspect. To keep yourself with the vibes you have to walk a chalk line," he said. Through regular tours, Lutan Fyah has made a name for himself in Europe where there has long been an appreciation for roots‐reggae acts like Burning Spear, Culture and the Mighty Diamonds. But after nearly a decade of looking in from the underground, he is ready to blaze a trail in the mainstream. "I am thinking about putting an album together but we want to create a new vibe, so we a meds how we can come up with it," he said. Thoughts of a new album have been inspired in part because of the way his music has impacted on the younger generation in Europe. "When we go to the (music) festivals, we see 16-year-olds, 10-year-olds, the majority are the youth. The youth love the music," he said. "When they organise dub-plate sessions, a some little boys you go see who own the sound systems, so I give thanks to know that the children gravitate to Lutan Fyah music." Lutan Fyah recorded his first songs on Buju Banton's Gargamel Records and his first two albums were released by Lustre Kings and Minor 7 Flat 5. Early 2008, San Francisco's 2B1 Records released Africa, a double disc, 30-song album by the prolific singer. The album included songs like St Jago De La Vega, Save the Juvenile and Outa Line, which are largely familiar to the sound-system audience around the world. It was released three years after Phantom War, a compilation of songs distributed by Britain's Greensleeves Records. The former footballer-turned-singer is down to perform in California, Dominica and Suriname in the coming weeks and just recently performed in Canada.
