Interview-
Mark Mohr
Toots and the
Maytalls, Willy Williams, Yabby You, Sugar
Minott, Lt. Stitchie, Papa San, Carlene Davis.
A few names of christian Jamaican artists. And
this list is absolutely not complete.
Christian reggae is as old as reggae itself.
It is not a musical style, such as roots or
dancehall, but a spiritual movement. A
movement as diverse as the movement of
Rastafari, with whom christian reggae is also
closely connected. Many Rastafarians today do
no longer see Haile Selassie as God, and by
this they are abiding by the wish of His
Majesty, that he should not be worshipped.
Some become evangelical christians like
Sistren Judy Mowatt, others become Ethiopian
Orthodox (as Bob Marley did in his final days
on earth). |
In the 1990's the
reggaeband Christafari was formed. This band
quickly became one of America's most succefull
reggae-acts and introduced reggae-music to a
brand new audience: the american and europan
gospel lovers. Christafari's main man Mark
Mohr is known to be a very active man, and one
of his activities was to form a Christian
Network along with Christian reggae DJ Travis
Freeman, based after the idea of Reggae
Ambassadors Worldwide (raw). Christians of any
kind, from evangelical/charismatic to
ethiopian orthodox, can join the Sanctified
Truth Ambassadors of Reggae (star) where they
can establish contacts for their recordings
(as artists), or stage-shows (as concert
organizers) et cetera or enjoy felloship. I
went to Mark Mohr with some questions about
S.T.A.R. and this is what he said. |
|
BY
Messian Dread
www.dubroom.com |
 |
About star, I would
like to know what's the main reason to have it? |
|
When I started
performing Christian Reggae in 1989, I thought
that it was so original. I thought that I was the
only person in the world doing it. I felt alone
and it was hard to be a trailblazer. As the years
passed I began learning about a few other
Christian reggae musicians that had great
potential but were literally unknown in the U.S.
This concerned me. My personal vision for STAR
from the beginning was to put together a database
of all of these artists. I wanted to unite these
artists and give them a networking system for them
to connect with each other, labels, managers,
agents, labels, radio stations, etc..... My goal
was to promote, encourage and empower these
artists. Instead of being scattered, and
considered a novelty, I wanted Gospel reggae to be
a united force that could not be ignored. |
 |
What is the
differences between raw and star apart from the
religious aspect? |
|
There is no denying
that STAR was patterned after RAW. For years
Christafari has been a RAW member (#304). In my
mind it is almost a sub-group of RAW. It does
everything that RAW does but is smaller and more
intimate. You can get lost in the RAW system. It
is also definitely more specialized with a
narrower focus on Christian Reggae/Ska. And in
comparison to RAW, it is free. |
 |
Is it mainly
evangelical/charismatic, or since it is
international, is it also inter-denominational? |
|
STAR is a
Non-Denominational organization that has
interdenominational members. Our members represent
a wide spectrum of denominations and churches
within the Judeo Christian faith. |
 |
Are there any plans
to organize a star CD or other projects?
MARK: Yes, we have talked about making one. Lion
of Zion is currently working on future compilation
projects that will consist of STAR members. We are
very excited about the uniting of such powerful
forces. We anticipate to have the first
compilation out within a year. |
|
Something known
already of people meeting each other in star and
started projects together? |
 |
Not that I know of,
but I am sure that there are some great things in
the works. Up until now it has probably served
more as an educational tool empowering those who
are starting up in their music ministry. In the
last year Christafari has had the privilege of
performing on stage with many STAR members/bands
in different countries. This has been a great
experience. Also, I know that many artists have
gotten their music played by other STAR DJs. |
This network is
absolutely not for the honour and glory of
Christafari. Although it is Mark Mohr who was
involved in the starting process of this network,
I personally have found a diversity in STAR. I
find this diversity neccesary, because christian
reggae surely is not limited to the style of
Christafari. There is members from all over the
world, and the shared believe in Jesus Christ as
Lord and Savior is much stronger then
denominational (church) differences. In itself,
this show the many colors of the wisdom of Jah. I
am sure Haile Selassie would approve this network.
On the other hand, some of my Idrens that I know
do not want to become a member because they do not
like any organization. I can overstand this very
good and ofcourse I respect this. It is just for
those that feel like it is good to have this
network. |
~dubroom
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