Christafari

Since emerging at the start of the 1990s, the Christian reggae ensemble Christafari has issued more than two dozen albums that blend gospel themes with reggae rhythms. Fronted by Pastor Mark Mohr, a onetime Rastafarian who embraced Christianity, the band gained traction in the latter portion of that decade via several strong releases on the Gotee imprint. Mohr later launched his own label, Lion of Zion, which has continued to handle Christafari output across subsequent decades. In the process the group explored dub, Spanish-language, and holiday projects, guiding titles such as the 2012 album Reggae Worship: A Roots Revival and the 2018 release Original Love to the top of Billboard’s Reggae Albums chart. The next decade opened with Under God in 2021.

A family visit to Jamaica in 1986 ignited Mohr’s fascination with reggae sounds and Rastafarian culture. As a defiant adolescent he began growing marijuana, acquired Jamaican patois, and adopted Rastafarianism. At age 17, during a Christian youth camp, Mohr committed himself to Christianity and in 1989 formed a band meant to spread the gospel while drawing musical traits from his brief Rastafarian period. Arguably the first Christian reggae act, Christafari started performing together later that year. Their album debut arrived with 1993’s Reggae Worship, Vol. 1 on California’s Frontline Records. The project appeared on Billboard’s reggae chart and stirred enough attention in Christian music circles to secure a deal with TobyMac’s newly founded Gotee Records. The arrangement brought Christafari notable visibility for the following two albums, Soulfire (1996) and Valley of Decision (1996), the latter reaching number seven on Billboard’s Reggae Albums chart. Mohr was ordained in 1997 after graduating from Biola University, a Christian college. For Christafari’s fourth album he established his own company, Lion of Zion Entertainment, and released WordSound&Power in 1999. Another Top Ten reggae chart entry, the album was expanded the next year into a dub edition (DubSound&Power) and a Spanish-language edition (PalabraSonidoYPoder).

While ministering in the Caribbean in 2002, Mohr met Trinidadian musician Avion Blackman, whom he married eighteen months later. Blackman first appeared with Christafari on 2003’s Gravity and its 2004 dub companion Gravitational Dub before joining as the group’s permanent bassist and vocalist. With an occasionally rotating cast of experienced players around Mohr and Blackman, Christafari maintained a steady output in the years that followed, including 2007’s To the Foundation and 2009’s No Compromise. In 2012 they became the first Christian group to reach number one on Billboard’s reggae chart with Reggae Worship: A Roots Revival. Their initial holiday project, Reggae Christmas, arrived a year later, accompanied by the compilations Greatest Hits Vol. 1 and 2 in 2014. During the second half of the 2010s Christafari entered one of their strongest commercial stretches, sending albums such as 2015’s Anthems and 2018’s Original Love to the top position. They also continued issuing dub versions of most releases and in 2020 put out Reggae Christmas 2: Reason for the Season. Their next studio album, Under God, arrived in 2021.