Music|April 10, 2018 01:17 EDT
Gospel Reggae Pioneers Christafari Returns April 13 With New Album 'Original Love'
On Friday, Gospel Reggae pioneers Christafari returns with their latest studio album Original Love. With a nearly three-decade career behind them, Christafari is the all-time top-selling Gospel Reggae act, with their last six albums debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Reggae Chart.
If the band members were to describe themselves, Christafari says they would consider themselves more than just musicians, but rather "musicianaries" (musical missionaries), spreading the Gospel message of hope and salvation globally to approximately 20 countries every year.
Founded in 1989 by Mark Mohr in his teens, after a season of straying from his faith and then experiencing a transformative encounter with God, Christafari got its name after a friend told Mohr, who is now a pastor, "So you're not a Rastafarian anymore; you're a Christafarian." More than just a play on words, the band says, in Biblical Greek the name stands for a group of people who bear or represent the name of Christ.
"At that time, the best advice I was given was to go to Bible College so I could be theologically and doctrinally sound," says Mohr, who attended Biola University where he undertook mission and pastoral studies. During his college years, Christafari continued to take shape as Mohr wrote songs for the band's first three albums.
"Christafari's mission is simple," says Mohr. "To go to the ends of the earth until all have heard, and until all have heard we're not quitting." The band sums it up in their 2017 song "Jump High Like a Massai":
For more information about Christafari, please visit their official website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Track Listing for Christafari's Original Love:
1) Original Love (feat. Dillavou & Avion Blackman)
2) Wounded for Our Transgressions (feat. Avion Blackman)
3) Good Good Father (feat. Avion Blackman)
4) Surely Goodness (feat. Avion Blackman)
5) Your House (feat. Avion Blackman)
6) Aloha Ke Akua (feat. Kapena, David Fohe & Avion Blackman)
7) What a Beautiful Name (feat. Avion Blackman)
8) Make Me Say Ooh (feat. Avion Blackman)
9) Love Supreme (feat. Avion Blackman)
10) He Reigns (feat. Avion Blackman)
11) Wherever Your Treasure Is
12) Your Beauty Chases Me (feat. Kevin Kinsella & Avion Blackman)
13) What Is the Difference? (Intro)
14) The Love of Jah
Christafari's 2018 "Original Love World Tour" Dates:
Feb. 7-22 - Brazil
March 22-April 1 - Philippines
April 2-5 - Nepal
April 12-22 - Southern California
May 10-13 - El Salvador
May 14-19 - Honduras
May 20-23 - Roatan
June 13-25 - Hawaii
Aug. 1-15 - Kenya and Uganda
Aug. 16-28 - Europe
Aug. 31-Sept. 16 - California
Sept. 19-Oct. 1 - Peru and the Amazon
Oct. 10-16 - Australia & Papua New Guinea
Oct. 17-22 - Solomon Islands & Melanesia
Nov. 7-19 - Brazil
Nov. 28-Dec. 10 - Seychelles, Mauritius & Reunion