Christian reggae preaches word of God

Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Burning Spear, Jimmy Cliff, Lucky Dube among others, making their names in this genre.
According to Wikipedia, reggae is based on a rhythmic style characterised by accents on the offbeat known as skank, and borrows elements from the African dance patterns for the dances and from the New Orleans Rhythm and Blues to produce a truly classical style of Jamaican music.
Since its emergence in the 1960s, a new crop of gospel artistes have ventured into reggae coming up with what has become known as gospel reggae.
There is no doubt that the gospel reggae genre has gained popularity in the Christian community, whereupon, some of these artistes sing purely praising and worshipping music, that is spiritually uplifting.
Some of the artistes include Mark “Tansoback” Mohr, who formed a Christian reggae group called Christafari that has really changed the landscape of Christian entertainment by fusing inspirational lyrics from the Bible with reggae.
Mohr, who is an American, was born in 1971.
He had a drug addiction problem before being born again, which was a turning point in his life.
Realising that he could make a difference in people’s lives, Mohr then began gospel reggae music targeting drug addicts and other groups of people in different social spheres.
His music was received by thousands of Christians in different circumstances, because they were able to relate to the issues that he was singing about.
Although for some time, reggae music has often been associated with Rastafarianism and smoking ganja, Mohr’s music is refreshingly unique and is highly inspirational.
Other Christian reggae artistes include Papa San, Carlene Davis, Claudelle Clarke, Stranger Cole and Ken Boothe among others.
It is the power in music that has seen one local artiste, Elvis Munetsi, venturing into Christian reggae, and the impact has been quite phenomenal.
Born some 42 years ago in Masvingo and qualified as a teacher, Elvis who in music circles trades by the name “Moonets” has adopted Christian reggae to preach the word of God.
While acknowledging that Christian reggae music was not very popular in Zimbabwe with most Christians, because of its perceived negative background, Elvis said it was a powerful genre that cuts across ages.
As a reggae enthusiast from childhood, Elvis said he found reggae easier to express himself.
“Reggae is a powerful tool of spreading the Word of God and it has actually a large following, contrary to beliefs that it was meant for the Rastafarian community.
“As an artiste I find reggae music more entertaining and easier to use as a communication tool,” explained Elvis.
He compared music as a vehicle that a person chooses for transportation purposes.
“To preach the word of God one chooses any genre of their choice which explains why he chose reggae music for gospel entertainment.
Traditionally reggae was used by African artistes to encourage rebellion against different forms of colonial injustices and it also encouraged social co-existence, economic and political liberation and black empowerment.
Christian reggae preaches the gospel of Christ and offers a gateway for spiritual liberation to a generation of people enslaved by sin.
Elvis’ musical talent runs through his veins. His passion was further developed in church where he took part in praise and worship.
His seven-track album that was produced in 2005 and contains such tracks as “I Will Worship You”, “No Matter What”, “Itii Mufaro”, “Munehany’a”, “Ndiregei Zvangu”, “The Lord is Wonderful” and “Zvandiri Inyasha”, is mainly a collection of testimonials of his life.
It tells the story of how he was saved from a life of sin by God.
“Throughout the album, I am telling people that my past was bad but God transformed me. Jesus is able to change a man in any life’s situation,” explained Elvis.
Although his album had a mediocre reception at the time of its production in 2005 due to the harsh economic climate that made it difficult for artistes to market their music, his second album titled “Revelations” recorded in 2010 really did well.
Elvis’ fame has also gone as far afield as Jamaica where he was invited by an acclaimed Jamaican Christian reggae artiste, Lester Lewis, in August this year but due to financial constraints, he could not make it.
Although artistes should enjoy some monetary benefits from their music, Elvis said his main purpose in music was not to make money but to minister to hearts and souls of people who hunger for righteousness.
“Sometimes I give free copies of my music to people. My main aim is to get people to listen to my music and appreciate the message carried inside. I have given free copies of my music to taxi and kombi drivers so that their passengers can enjoy my music and understand the message I am preaching through Christian reggae music,” said Elvis.