Biography
read full storyChristafari 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.
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 regg ...
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.
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 Jamaican 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", (pronounced Christ-a-far-eye) and pieced together his own band members. The Root of the name of this band is found in three languages; Greek, Latin and Amharic.
1) 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."
2) Representing the same definition with a closer spelling is the Latin word Christafari.
3) 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.
4) Lastly, in modern Greek, The name Christafari means "Soldiers for Christ" or "a salvation army."
In 1993 Mohr enrolled in Biola University and received his ordination in 1997.
Their first album "Reggae Worship" hit the Billboard Charts and created a buzz in the industry, garnering the attention of DC Talk's Toby Mac 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.[3] 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.
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