Christafari

Item: Soulfire
Author: Bob Melvin

Soulfire

(1995)

Reviewed by Bob Melvin

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Label Gotee RecordsThe LighthouseDecember 1995

ccm reggae worship

Reggae is a unique animal in the music world. Rarely, if ever, has a single artist so influenced and shaped a genre that all that come after him suffer an inevitable comparison. That having been said, reggae music can safely be divided into two categories: Bob Marley and everything else.

Enter Christafari, which doesn't quite measure up in the first category, but fits very nicely into the second. These guys are definitely the real deal, and they got to show the whole country that last summer as members of the Sunsplash festival. Reggae's answer to Lollapalooza, Sunsplash showcases the best that the reggae and dancehall worlds have to offer. In addition to the opportunity to tour with reggae giants like Aswad and Top 40 faves Big Mountain, the boys from Christafari were given a much bigger platform to proclaim their no-punches-pulled message.

I find it refreshing to see Christian artists as talented and credible as Christafari who are also bold in their faith, as evidenced on their Gotee debut, Soulfire. The band's name [Latin for "Christ Bearer"] is an obvious play on words with Jamaican Rastafarianism, and is telling of their uncanny ability to speak to their audience where they are. God is often referred to on the album as Jah, and the band uses more Biblical names of God than I have seen on any recording in quite a while. A great example is the track "Christafari," which sports an almost (dare we say?) sultry feel, but is all about giving glory to God:

Well Christafari comes to evangelize, to preach the gospel with no compromise. Clearly in our words, in our lyrics and our lives-to dispel the lies and run come make them realize that God is our light and our salvation So we have to spread God's message out to every nation. We are missionaries out in the foreign back at home we edify always giving God the glory we lift Him on high! Christafari Jah Jah Jah Jah Jah Creator Christafari Jehovah Messiah my Savior

Throughout Soulfire runs the constant theme of the need for and the joy of serving a sovereign God. Songs like "Listening" and "Spirit Cry" extol the listener to submit completely to Christ, and tracks like "Selah" and "Come Children" express the peace that comes when we do.

It would be easy to give Christafari props based solely on their sold-out and radical nature, but it would do them a disservice to neglect to mention the quality of the music. The horns, the laid-back but still funkified bass lines, and background vocals on some songs (not unlike Marley's own I-Threes) make the lyrics that much more powerful. Soulfire does occasionally get a little bogged down when it attempts the ragamuffin/dancehall thing ("Boomerang" is a good example). But overall, it is a fantastic testimony to where Christian music is going. Praise Jah.