Christafari

    Christafari

    Los Angeles, California8 reviews across 7 releases

    ccmgospelreggaeworship
    DiscogsWebsiteBandcampFacebookInstagram

    Christafari is an American Christian reggae band formed in 1989 by Mark Mohr after his conversion from Rastafarianism, with the name coined as a play on "Christafarian." Based in Southern California at first, the group later moved to Nashville and built its identity around Jamaican reggae adapted to evangelical songwriting. The early Reggae Worship Volume 1 recast familiar praise songs in a polished reggae setting, with horns, steel drums and occasional reggae rap. On the 1995 debut Soulfire, Mohr's direct preaching sat over roots reggae with funk-inflected bass and occasional dancehall passages, while Valley Of Decision marked a tightening of the style: its rap and hip-hop touches were gone, leaving a more focused island sound. The songs remained explicit about Christian belief, but the music could move from a sunny groove to the strange roots-house hybrid "Jungle Inna Babylon."

    In 1997, a split sent some former members toward Temple Yard, while Christafari continued under Mohr's leadership. Mohr then moved the project away from Gotee's roster by founding Lion of Zion Entertainment, which issued Word, Sound & Power in 1999 with a lineup described at the time as entirely professional Jamaican reggae musicians. By Gravity in 2003, he was recording in a home studio without large-label financing, and the band had become a more self-directed operation. Avion Blackman joined in the early 2000s, contributing bass and vocals before becoming Mohr's wife and part of Christafari's family-led continuation with their daughter Ziza. The group also turned to dub, with Gravitational Dub reworking Gravity through added effects that accelerated the rhythm and foregrounded Mohr's deejay delivery. Christafari remains active.

    7 releases reviewed