Christafari
Encyclopedia
Christafari is a Christian
reggae
band formed in 1990. It is centered around the personality of ordained religious minister Mark "Tansoback" Mohr (born October 23, 1971), an American
born-again Christian. Until the age of 17, Mohr was a Rastafarian
. The essential goal of Christafari is to promote Christianity to Rastafarians.
n patois
, the dialect prevalent in most reggae music. In 1989 the seventeen year old Mohr stopped using marijuana and committed his life to Christ at JH Ranch, a Christian camp. Two weeks later at another Christian youth camp Mohr wrote and performed his first gospel reggae song "Give Me Everything I Need" at a talent show. The bass-player that day said; "So you're no longer a Rastafarian, you're a Christafarian." The name stuck. Initially called the "Christafarians" Mark was backed by the "Steadfast" crew for his first few shows (September and October 1989). Eventually Mohr shortened the name to "Christafari", and pieced together his own band members. The Root of the name of this band is found in three languages; Greek, Latin and Amharic.
In 1993 Mohr enrolled in Biola University
and received his ordination in 1997.
Their first album, Reggae Worship, reached the Billboard Charts and created a buzz in the industry, garnering the attention of DC Talk
's tobyMac
who then signed the group to Gotee Records
. Soulfire proved to be an early success for the fledgeling Gotee Records. Valley Of Decision spent 15 weeks in the top 10 of Billboard
s "Top Reggae Albums" chart. The label began as a production company. Originally intending to produce Out of Eden
's Lovin' the Day
, they couldn't find a label to sign the act to, and so began distributing the band's material on their own.
WordSound&Power marked Christafari's departure from Gotee and the birth of Mohr's Lion of Zion Entertainment record label. The album was nominated in four categories in the 2000 Caribbean Gospel Music Marlin Awards. Christafari then released DubSound&Power, the bands's first dub album and arguably the first Christian dub album ever recorded. After this the group released Palabra Sonido Y Poder (Word Sound & Power), the group's Spanish debut that featured the single "El Amor De Mi Vida" (No. 1 in 11 Latin American Countries). After this Christafari released Gravity (2003), Gravitational Dub (2004) and their first kids album Reggae Sunday School (2005). 2007 Marked the release of Christafari's To the Foundation and the birth of the Positive Music Agency (that now books the band). Christafari toured 180 shows in 20 countries in promotion of To the Foundation.
In early 2009 the group headed back into the studio to record their 20th anniversary album "No Compromise" with subsequent tours in Europe, Latin America and the USA. In late 2009 the band went back into their studio the "Zionic Sounds Dub Lab" to record their second Spanish album, "Reggae De Redencion." This project was released in the Summer of 2010. In late 2011 they released two dub albums; Majestic Heights in Dub and Dub Shots. They also released Gospel Reggae Praise, a compilation project.
Christafari has also started their own film company, "Rank and File", and filmed various music videos such as Christafari's "Try Jah Love", "Taking in the Son/Brilla Sobre Mi", Jennifer Howland's "Righteous Revolution", and three videos from Avion Blackman's Third World Girl album. In addition to running Christafari, Lion of Zion Entertainment, Rank and File and the Zionic Sounds Dub Lab, Mohr is also the founder of the Positive Music Agency, a booking agency for the top gospel reggae artists in the world. Over the past five years Christafari has had a busy tour schedule. The band currently does around 100 shows a year in about 20 countries.
Christian message. Two examples are the songs "Why You A-go Look?" (WordSound&Power) and "Teachings of His Majesty" (Reggae Redemption Songs II), which use the words of Haile Selassie I
(former Emperor of Ethiopia
) to challenge the veneration of this Christian king as Almighty God
incarnate.
Musically, the group fuses rustic roots with modern dancehall and yardee culture to create their own singature sound. Full of vibrant horns and rich female harmonies (by Avion Blackman and Jennifer Howland), the group is has nine to ten members. In 1997 there was a division in the group that led to a split. Many of the members wanted to go mainstream in both sound and message, while Mohr refused to compromise the group's authenticity of sound or their evangelical message just to sell a few more records.
Mohr came out of the split releasing the landmark, "WordSound&Power" and launching Lion of Zion Entertainment. Erik Sundin and others formed Temple Yard. While Christafari continued with roots reggae and dancehall, Temple Yard was fusion oriented, showing pop
, reggae, soul
, and gospel
influence similar to mainstream artists like UB40
or Big Mountain
. Temple Yard released one CD on Gotee Records and then were dropped from the label and subsequently broke up.
Through his ever-evolving band and various artist compilations, Mohr was arguably the first to record and internationally distribute the following subgenres of gospel music; reggae, dancehall, soca, me-reggae, jungle, raggamuffin hip-hop, dub and various other styles. Mohr has always placed the popularity of gospel reggae before his own band. He is the founder and president of GospelReggae.com, a webstore that boasts the largest selection of gospel reggae and world music in the world including artists like Papa San
, Carlene Davis
and Zema.
and sing in a style typically associated with Rastafari. They have also criticized Mohr over the name of the group and the use of the word "Jah
" in songs to refer to the Judeo-Christian God. The band has previously defended the use of the word with the argument that "Jah" is a shortening for "Yahweh
" (also spelled "Jahweh") as used in the Bible. They are not the only Christian musical group to do this however, a primary example is P.O.D.
.
Former Members featured on studio recordings include:
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
band formed in 1990. It is centered around the personality of ordained religious minister Mark "Tansoback" Mohr (born October 23, 1971), an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
born-again Christian. Until the age of 17, Mohr was a Rastafarian
Rastafari movement
The Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...
. The essential goal of Christafari is to promote Christianity to Rastafarians.
Background
As a rebellious drug addicted youth, Mohr found an affinity for reggae music and became a marijuana grower and Rastafarian after a visit to Jamaica in 1986. He became well-versed in reggae music and learned JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n patois
Patois
Patois is any language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. It can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects, and other forms of native or local speech, but not commonly to jargon or slang, which are vocabulary-based forms of cant...
, the dialect prevalent in most reggae music. In 1989 the seventeen year old Mohr stopped using marijuana and committed his life to Christ at JH Ranch, a Christian camp. Two weeks later at another Christian youth camp Mohr wrote and performed his first gospel reggae song "Give Me Everything I Need" at a talent show. The bass-player that day said; "So you're no longer a Rastafarian, you're a Christafarian." The name stuck. Initially called the "Christafarians" Mark was backed by the "Steadfast" crew for his first few shows (September and October 1989). Eventually Mohr shortened the name to "Christafari", and pieced together his own band members. The Root of the name of this band is found in three languages; Greek, Latin and Amharic.
- First and most importantly is the Greek language through which God chose to write the New Testament. In this Language the name Cristoforos (Christafaros) means "the Christ bearer" and Cristoforoi (Christafaroi) which is plural meaning "a group of people that collectively bear or represent Christ."
- Representing the same definition with a closer spelling is the Latin word Christafari.
- This name Christafari can also be found in the Ethiopian language Amharic. "Christ" being the Greek word meaning Messiah, the anointed one "Jesus Christ". "Tafari" is the Amharic word for Creator, Almighty, awesome, Father and one who needs to be worshipped. Christafari gets its name from John 1:1-3.
- Lastly, in modern Greek, The name Christafari means "Soldiers for Christ" or "a salvation army."
In 1993 Mohr enrolled in Biola University
Biola University
Biola University is a private, evangelical Christian, liberal arts university located near Los Angeles. Biola's main campus is in La Mirada in Los Angeles County, California. In addition, the university has several satellite campuses in Chino Hills, Inglewood, San Diego, and Laguna Hills.-...
and received his ordination in 1997.
Their first album, Reggae Worship, reached the Billboard Charts and created a buzz in the industry, garnering the attention of DC Talk
DC Talk
DC Talk is the first studio album released from vocal trio DC Talk. It is the most hip hop-oriented of all of their albums as each later album gradually progressed into a more rock-centered sound. Michael Tait stated that their original goal for the album was to sell 10,000 units. It sold 7,142...
's tobyMac
TobyMac
Toby McKeehan , better known by his stage name TobyMac , is a Christian recording artist, music producer, hip-hop/pop artist, singer-songwriter, and author....
who then signed the group to Gotee Records
Gotee Records
Gotee Records is a record label founded by dc Talk member Toby McKeehan , Todd Collins, and Joey Elwood...
. Soulfire proved to be an early success for the fledgeling Gotee Records. Valley Of Decision spent 15 weeks in the top 10 of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s "Top Reggae Albums" chart. The label began as a production company. Originally intending to produce Out of Eden
Out of Eden
Out of Eden was an American Gospel music group often identified with R&B, and contemporary Christian music. It featured sisters Lisa Kimmey, Andrea Kimmey-Baca, and Danielle Kimmey...
's Lovin' the Day
Lovin' the Day
Lovin' the Day is the debut album of the Dove Award-winning American urban gospel group Out of Eden, released in 1994. It features sisters Lisa, Andrea, and Danielle Kimmey...
, they couldn't find a label to sign the act to, and so began distributing the band's material on their own.
WordSound&Power marked Christafari's departure from Gotee and the birth of Mohr's Lion of Zion Entertainment record label. The album was nominated in four categories in the 2000 Caribbean Gospel Music Marlin Awards. Christafari then released DubSound&Power, the bands's first dub album and arguably the first Christian dub album ever recorded. After this the group released Palabra Sonido Y Poder (Word Sound & Power), the group's Spanish debut that featured the single "El Amor De Mi Vida" (No. 1 in 11 Latin American Countries). After this Christafari released Gravity (2003), Gravitational Dub (2004) and their first kids album Reggae Sunday School (2005). 2007 Marked the release of Christafari's To the Foundation and the birth of the Positive Music Agency (that now books the band). Christafari toured 180 shows in 20 countries in promotion of To the Foundation.
In early 2009 the group headed back into the studio to record their 20th anniversary album "No Compromise" with subsequent tours in Europe, Latin America and the USA. In late 2009 the band went back into their studio the "Zionic Sounds Dub Lab" to record their second Spanish album, "Reggae De Redencion." This project was released in the Summer of 2010. In late 2011 they released two dub albums; Majestic Heights in Dub and Dub Shots. They also released Gospel Reggae Praise, a compilation project.
Christafari has also started their own film company, "Rank and File", and filmed various music videos such as Christafari's "Try Jah Love", "Taking in the Son/Brilla Sobre Mi", Jennifer Howland's "Righteous Revolution", and three videos from Avion Blackman's Third World Girl album. In addition to running Christafari, Lion of Zion Entertainment, Rank and File and the Zionic Sounds Dub Lab, Mohr is also the founder of the Positive Music Agency, a booking agency for the top gospel reggae artists in the world. Over the past five years Christafari has had a busy tour schedule. The band currently does around 100 shows a year in about 20 countries.
Style
Christafari's lyrics are characterized by a heart for Rastafarians, a passion for reaching the drug-afflicted counter-culture and a distinctly evangelicalEvangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
Christian message. Two examples are the songs "Why You A-go Look?" (WordSound&Power) and "Teachings of His Majesty" (Reggae Redemption Songs II), which use the words of Haile Selassie I
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I , born Tafari Makonnen, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974...
(former Emperor of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
) to challenge the veneration of this Christian king as Almighty God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
incarnate.
Musically, the group fuses rustic roots with modern dancehall and yardee culture to create their own singature sound. Full of vibrant horns and rich female harmonies (by Avion Blackman and Jennifer Howland), the group is has nine to ten members. In 1997 there was a division in the group that led to a split. Many of the members wanted to go mainstream in both sound and message, while Mohr refused to compromise the group's authenticity of sound or their evangelical message just to sell a few more records.
Mohr came out of the split releasing the landmark, "WordSound&Power" and launching Lion of Zion Entertainment. Erik Sundin and others formed Temple Yard. While Christafari continued with roots reggae and dancehall, Temple Yard was fusion oriented, showing pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, reggae, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, and gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
influence similar to mainstream artists like UB40
UB40
UB40 are a British reggae/pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. One of the world's best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records.Their hit singles...
or Big Mountain
Big Mountain (Band)
Big Mountain is an American reggae/pop band, most famous for their cover version of Peter Frampton's "Baby, I Love Your Way," which became a Top 10 hit single in the U.S...
. Temple Yard released one CD on Gotee Records and then were dropped from the label and subsequently broke up.
Through his ever-evolving band and various artist compilations, Mohr was arguably the first to record and internationally distribute the following subgenres of gospel music; reggae, dancehall, soca, me-reggae, jungle, raggamuffin hip-hop, dub and various other styles. Mohr has always placed the popularity of gospel reggae before his own band. He is the founder and president of GospelReggae.com, a webstore that boasts the largest selection of gospel reggae and world music in the world including artists like Papa San
Papa San
Tyrone Thompson, better known as Papa San, is a Jamaican reggae, dancehall and gospel singer.- Biography :Born in 1966, he was raised by his Rastafarian grandmother and turned to Christianity in 1997...
, Carlene Davis
Carlene Davis
Carlene Davis is a Jamaican gospel and reggae singer active since the 1970s. Successful since the early 1980s as a reggae artist, she survived cancer in the mid-1990s, after which she dedicated her career to gospel music.-Biography:...
and Zema.
Rastafari
Some Rastafarians are offended because Christafari members wear dreads and use their colors (red, gold and green) and the Star of David (an image prominent in Rastafari culture) in an attempt to become all things to all men and bring Rastas to Christ. Some Rastafarians reject this approach and view Christafari's message as a direct attack on the divinity of Selassie I. Christafari argues that they are only fulfilling the challenge set forth by Haile Selassie himself who publicly denied being Christ and said "Let us labor to lead our sisters and brothers to our Saviour Jesus Christ." Selassie was an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian and many Rastafarians identify themselves as such, though others identify as Jewish by religion and Rastafari by ideology.Christian
Some Christians are offended because Mohr and other band members wear dreadlocksDreadlocks
Dreadlocks, also called locks, a ras, dreads, "rasta" or Jata , are matted coils of hair. Dreadlocks are usually intentionally formed; because of the variety of different hair textures, various methods are used to encourage the formation of locks such as backcombing...
and sing in a style typically associated with Rastafari. They have also criticized Mohr over the name of the group and the use of the word "Jah
Jah
Jah is the shortened form of the divine name YHWH , an anglicized version of the Tetragrammaton . The name is most commonly associated with the Rastafari movement or within the word hallelujah, although Christian groups may use the name to varying degrees. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses use a...
" in songs to refer to the Judeo-Christian God. The band has previously defended the use of the word with the argument that "Jah" is a shortening for "Yahweh
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
" (also spelled "Jahweh") as used in the Bible. They are not the only Christian musical group to do this however, a primary example is P.O.D.
P.O.D.
Payable on Death is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Sonny Sandoval, drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel, and bassist Traa Daniels. Their Christian faith is an important part of their music.They have released seven studio albums and...
.
Members
Christafari has played with many musicians over its 20 year career. Thus it is difficult to construct a complete list of former members. The current line-up is:- Mark Mohr — Founder, lead vocals, producer and key songwriter
- Avion BlackmanAvion BlackmanAvion Claudette Trudy Henrietta Blackman is a reggae recording artist, and the wife of Christafari front-man Mark Mohr. She has produced three solo albums as well as providing vocals and bass guitar for Christafari since 2003....
-Mohr (Mark's wife) - Bass, background and lead vocals - Jennifer Howland — Background and lead vocals
- Obie Zachary Obien — Lead Guitar
- Solomon Jabby — Guitar, percussion and background vocals
- Ryan Skiles — Keyboards
- Tyrone Rudulph — Drums
- Danny Ramirez — Trombone
- Matt Murdock — Trumpet
Former Members featured on studio recordings include:
- Drums: Jay Press, Ken Yarnes, Kevin Kelleher, Glen Pfaff and Fritz Madden
- Bass: Jimmy Connolly, Lyndon Allen, Johnny Guerrero and Jim Kleinman
- Guitar: Bill Kasper, Anthony Case, Rick Strickland and Rob Alo
- Keyboards: James Pach, Marky Rage, Rob Ray, Scott Whelan, Jeremy Borum and Bobby Cressey
- Saxophone: Johnny Guerrero, Max Fulwider, Jaime Koerselman and Allen Mascari
- Trumpet: Joey Ko, Denver Bierman and Carlos Centeno
- Trombone: Barry Green, Stephen Scot Hughes
- Vocals: Erik Sundin, James Pach
- Background vocals: Letitia Eugweke, and Wendy Marin
Major Releases
- Reggae Worship Volume I (1993)
- SoulfireSoulfire (Christafari album)Soulfire is the first major release by the Christian Reggae group Christafari.-Track listing:#"Listening" - 4:33#"Thanks And Praise " - 0:11#"Selah" - 5:17#"Christafari" - 5:04#"Soulfire" - 4:05#"Inside Burning" - 4:01...
(1995) - Valley of DecisionValley of Decision (Christafari album)Valley of Decision is the second major release by the Christian Reggae group Christafari.-Track listing:All songs written by Mark Mohr and Johnny Guerrero.#"Valley of Decision"#"Can't Stop"#"Best Friend "#"Best Friend"#"Dinghi "...
(1996) - Word, Sound, and Power (1999)
- Reggae Worship: First Fruits (1999) - a re-release of their first album with some new material and previously unreleased earlier recordings.
- Dub, Sound, and PowerDub, Sound, and PowerDub, Sound, and Power is a 2000 album by Christafari. It contains instrumental mixes of songs from his Word, Sound, and Power album.-Track listing:All tracks by Mark Mohr except were noted# "Dub Inna de Night" – 5:45...
(2000) - a collection of DubDub musicDub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
versions of songs, mostly from Word, Sound, and Power. - Palabra, Sonido, Y Poder (2001) - versions of their songs overdubbed in Spanish.
- Gravity (2003)
- Gravitational Dub (2004) - a collection of DubDub musicDub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
versions of songs, mostly from Gravity' - Reggae Sunday School (2005)
- To the Foundation
- No Compromise (2009)
- Reggae de Redención (2010)