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Answer:
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Although my songwriting method varies from track to track on each album, here are a few of the ways that I create songs:
1. IN MY MIND
I rarely need a point of inspiration to write a song. The two times when I write the most songs are in silence; when I am alone driving long distances on the road and the band is asleep, and when I am trying to go to bed at night (or in the morning). I often lie in my bed at night tossing and turning, then my mind starts creating hooks melodies and rhythms. When this happens, I usually fight it for a while and then end up rising out of bed to sing the melodies into my handheld cassette recorder.
I always carry my cassette recorder with me--you never know when you will get an inspiration that can so easily be forgotten as time passes. I also occasionally wake up in the morning (or afternoon) with a song finished in my head--I never know where it came from (hopefully God), but I run to my recorder before it is lost forever.
In my day to day life, I am always humming, singing and writing songs in my head. I love to beat box new rhythms and play drums beats hitting my hands on my knees and anything else that makes a good sound.
I usually write a hook (chorus melody and lyrics), bass line, horn line or drum beat first. I then write the lyrics down with specific notations and record the ideas into my cassette recorder. I never take this to an instrument at this time--that comes much later during band practice, or in the studio.
2. INSPIRED BY ANOTHER SONG
Some of my ideas don't come out of thin air, they are inspired by others and their music. Artists like Steel Pulse, Cultura Profetica, and Aswad, often inspire me to write songs. But the music that inspires me the most is Dub music (primarily instrumental reggae). I love to listen to Dubs and sing my own lyrics. Often times, when I listen to a song for the first time my mind hears new melodies, or wants the track to go in a different direction. If my ideas are significantly different from the original track I may decide to work more on the song.
Overall, my mind literally fills in the blanks when I hear music. I automatically produce everything that I listen to. Sometimes if I hear a song softly in the distance, my mind fills in the blanks and creates a song. Then as I walk closer to the source I realize that I created something completely different. I then think, "what a cool idea," and record my concepts into my handheld cassette recorder.
3. INSPIRED BY A SERMON OR LIFE EVENT
Another major source of inspiration area my pastors teachings. All that it takes is one good quote and my mind starts writing a good melody for it. This also happens when I read the Bible (as you know, all of our songs are packed with Scripture).
Furthermore, life events, whether tragic or positive, and my relationships with others (such as my wife) inspire me to write lyrics and sing melodies.
4. THROUGH COLLABORATION
I also absolutely love to write songs with others. But this can never be forced. If a friend shares a song with me, and I don't hear something immediately, I usually move on to another concept. My favorite person to collaborate with is Ace Winn (Whom I wrote many songs with such as "Love of My Life," "Warriors," and "Why You Ago Look," to name a few).
Since I don't play any instruments, my handheld cassette recorder is my best friend. I then go through my boxes of cassettes before I am going to record our next album and start an archaic system of filing the ideas. I put every idea that I have for each song on it's own cassette and then listen to them carefully. From there, I decide which songs I want to demo and continue writing and developing them. From this point on, I stop all new inspirations and dedicate myself to the songs selected for the demoing process.
Out of hundreds of ideas I usually demo the best 30 songs. By the time I am ready to demo the songs I already have 85% of the track together in my mind.
When I have the lyrics and the melodies, I usually find the key and write a bass line (in my mind). Once the bass line is written, I know what the drums should do and have an idea as to how the chord progression should go. From there comes the bubble (organ) and guitar parts and then the horn line. Although I rarely hear the entire song in my head at once, when one part is finished and I don't have to think about it anymore, the other parts rise to the top.
In demoing I tell my band members exactly how to play each part (although I cannot play their instrument myself). They usually add their own vibe to the part make it sound nice.
Once the demos are done, I send copies off to my friends, family members, and diehard fans. I have these people give an honest criticism of each song. After taking their constructive thoughts to heart, I try to select the best songs. I look for the tunes that are most popular with the critics that have the strongest message and continue to patent Christafari sound, yet take us in a new direction (What is the purpose of doing something that has already been done before?). If possible, I also like to take the songs and play them out live so that they can have a chance to breathe and evolve so to speak. It is also great to gauge the audiences response on these tracks and find out what is a hit and what is a miss.
After all of this has been done, I select the final songs for the album (usually between 12 and 14) and begin living and breathing them. When I am ready, I then take them into the studio with my band and various guest artists and record for about three months. This is how I write songs for Christafari. I hope that you find my answer helpful.
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