Christafari

Christafari is a Christian reggae band founded in 1989 by Mark Mohr, a former Rastafarian who converted to Christianity at age 17. The band’s name came from a play on “Christafarian” after Mohr’s early gospel reggae performances. Mohr, an ordained minister and husband of singer Avion Blackman, shaped the band’s mission to fuse reggae music with evangelical Christian messages. Christafari gained early attention with their debut album Reggae Worship, leading to a contract with Gotee Records and subsequent successful albums like Soulfire and Valley of Decision, which charted on Billboard. Over the years, Christafari released numerous albums, including dub projects, Spanish-language albums, children’s music, and worship albums, many of which achieved No. 1 positions on the Billboard Reggae Charts. Their 2012 album Reggae Worship: A Roots Revival marked a historic achievement as the first Christian reggae album to top the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart. The band also expanded into music videos and films, amassing a catalog of around 80 YouTube videos and touring extensively worldwide as full-time “Musicianaries,” performing in over 35 countries, at two Olympic Games, and even before the President of the United States. Christafari’s style blends worship, roots reggae, and dancehall, characterized by vibrant horns, female harmonies, and lyrics focused on evangelism, reaching Rastafarians, and counter-cultural communities. While the band experienced a split in 1997, leading to the formation of Temple Yard by some members, Christafari continued under Mohr’s leadership, releasing albums through his Lion of Zion Entertainment label. The group has remained a prominent force in Christian reggae, with multiple consecutive No. 1 Billboard reggae albums, including Hearts of Fire (2017) and Original Love (2018).