Big Tings A Gwaan for Gospel Reggae!
Jan. 14, 2010 - Back in the summer of '94 I recall visiting a Southern California Bible bookstore and finding a delightful surprise on the music shelf; Christafari's Reggae Worship. At the time gospel reggae was such a unique concept, though I was sure that this novelty would eventually go the way of gospel grunge, Christian ska and techno praise. I was wrong. Over fifteen years later, the genre is not only surviving, but thriving! In fact, many would argue that the burgeoning genre of gospel reggae is currently stronger than it's secular counterpart. The last six months have a lot to do with its growing success with hit releases by most of the major players in the field. Here are some of the highlights...
First out of the gate is Christafari's rootsy No Compromise, the bands 20th anniversary release that features guest appearances by over 30 top gospel reggae artists and features by Urban D, RedCloud and Dominic Balli. As a tribute to the late Keith Green (who had an album and biography of the same name), for the first three months the Christafari made the album available for whatever fans could afford--or even free. The response was so great that it actually knocked down their web server a few times! In promotion of this release Christafari did extensive touring in Europe and South America in addition to some spot dates in the US. This album is now available for purchase on iTunes and GospelReggae.com and ended up being the top gospel reggae seller of 2009.
Other high profile releases include Koen Duncan's Shine High, that incorporates elements of hip-hop, roots, dancehall and Trinidadian soca. This CD is a splendid response to Koen's award winning freshman debut Bring Down. Another noteworthy release is Papa San's long awaited Higher Heights. This CD is more of a throwback to his earlier sound and even earned him a Steller Award nomination.
After this came a release that launched a partnership between two of the biggest powerhouses in gospel reggae; Lion of Zion Entertainment and Lion of Judah Sounds. Lion of Zion was started back in 1998 by Mark Mohr (of Christafari fame) and almost 50 releases later they have the broadest distribution in the genre. Lion of Zion are responsible for launching the gospel careers of top artists like Stitchie, Sherwin Gardner, Mr. Lynx and Avion Blackman. Monty G initially signed with Lion of Zion back in 2002 and since then has co-produced over thirty titles with DJ Frost under his own label Lion of Judah Sounds. With this new partnership the biggest tastemakers in the gospel reggae industry have united.
Their first project under this new agreement was Positive's Never Let Go. Hailing from the sunny southern Caribbean isle of Tobago, Positive has had unprecedented success in the secular reggae scene with every one of his singles and videos hitting number one despite his decidedly Christian lyrics. Following this was Mr. Lynx's The Seeds You Sow and DJ Frost's explosive Streetlight Mixtape Vol. 4, the best selling mixtape series in the genre. These releases culminated around Monty G's first USA tour that had Monty and his crew of almost a dozen artists braving the unforgiving winter in a Winnebago while traversing from state to state in promotion of the new releases by Lynx, Frost and Monty G's highly anticipated World Domination CD.
Other noteworthy releases include St. Matthew's Fellowship Ova Friendship, Solomon Jabby's Firmly Planted in Dub, Jermaine Edwards' Destiny, Avalanchee's Uncut and the incredible re-releases of Ricardo Clarke's Uprising and Dominic Balli's Public Announcement. Overall, the gospel reggae genre is on the rise. For more on the genre and these albums check out http://www.gospelreggae.com
By Nosmo King
