Avion Claudette Trudy Henrietta Blackman (born 30 January 1976) is a Trinidadian reggae recording artist, and the wife of

Christafari Christafari is a Christian reggae band formed in 1989. It is centered on the personality of ordained religious minister Mark Mohr (born October 23, 1971), an American, born-again Christian. Until the age of 17, Mohr was a Rastafarian. Backg ...

front man Mark Mohr. She has produced three solo albums, as well as providing vocals and bass guitar for Christafari since 2003.

Early life

Blackman was born in San Fernando, Trinidad, the daughter of famed calypsonian,

Lord Shorty Ras Shorty I (6 October 1941 – 12 July 2000), born Garfield Blackman and also known as Lord Shorty, was a Trinidadian calypsonian and soca musician, known as the Father of Soca and The Love Man. Biography He was born Garfield Blackman in ...

. Her father invented Soca music (The Soul of Calypso) and later changed his name to Ras Shorty I and created Jamoo music. When Blackman was at the age of four, a spiritual quest prompted her father to move the entire family into the forests of Trinidad endeavoring to create a simpler and more humble lifestyle for him and his family. The next twenty years of her life were spent living in the forest, seven miles from the village of Piparo, where she was home-schooled along with her 24 brothers and sisters. The family lived a lifestyle of simplicity, with no electricity or plumbing, and growing most of what they ate off the land they were living on.

Starting in music

Because of her father's musical connections and roots, music was always a big part of Blackman's life. Even at the age of four she was singing in front of large crowds. When they all moved to the jungle, the entire family was involved in playing instruments and singing in Ras Shorty I's band The Love Circle and would perform regular concerts, tour the Island, perform for visitors and do regular television appearances. At the age of 14 she started playing bass for the family's band "The Love Circle" and made her first solo recordings, "Oh Why" and "So Free", for their ''Children of the Jamoo Journey'' album.

Christafari

In 2002, while she was teaching a seminar in Trinidad, Blackman met

founder, Mark Mohr and 18 months later they were married in Los Angeles. By this point Blackman had begun to play bass and provide vocals for the band, lending her voice to the songs "Hiding Place" and "My Sustenance" for the album ''Gravity''. She has been an integral part of the band since then, involved with all their subsequent albums and tours.

Solo career

Onyinye

It was during the recording of the Christafari children's album ''Reggae Sunday School'', that the idea of a solo album was first pitched by husband Mark and despite her initial reluctance, Blackman's debut album ''Onyinye'' was released later that year (2005). The album was released to critical acclaim and, at the 2006 Caribbean Gospel Music Marlin Awards, the album was given top honors, being declared the album of the year as well as winning in the Contemporary Female Vocal Performance category for the song "Marvelous Beauty". She was the first non-Jamaican to receive the award.

''Sweet Life''

In 2008, the follow-up album, ''Sweet Life'', was released, showing a move towards more reggae roots. The song "Yeshua" was a favorite and to this day Christafari will often close their concerts with this song. She picked up another Marlin award for the song "Sweet Life".

Third World Girl

In 2011, work began on Blackman's third album with a month-long trip to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and an expressed wish to "write and record a new song every day". Initially, recording was intended to be a demo session only but production instead turned into a full recording session. At the end of the month, a full album had been created and a music video for the title track had been filmed among the jungles and waterfalls of Hawaii. In 2012, the album was released and explored themes such as healing and relationships.

Other collaborations

As well as her solo work and involvement with Christafari, Blackman has also contributed to various collaborations including working on albums by

Sherwin Gardner Sherwin Gardner (Arima) is a Trinidadian gospel reggae singer. He is noted for his use of dancehall style and patois ''Patois'' (, pl. same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in l ...

and band-mate Jennifer Howland. She has also recorded around a dozen unreleased songs for ABC television, with placements in TV shows such as ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

'', ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

'' and ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

''.

Discography

Solo

* ''Onyinye'' (2005) * ''Sweet Life'' (2008) * ''Third World Girl'' (2011) * "Greatest Hits" (2013)

Other work

* The Love Circle, ''

Watch Out My Children "Watch Out My Children" is a song composed and recorded by the late Trinidadian calypsonian Ras Shorty I in the 1997. It is a song telling about drug abuse. It was translated into ten languages. "Watch Out My Children" was adopted by the United ...

'', Jamoo GoodNews Ltd. (1989) * The Love Circle, ''Children of the Jamoo Journey'', Jamoo GoodNews Ltd. (1999) * The Love Circle, ''Jamoo Victory'', Jamoo GoodNews Ltd. (1999) * Various Artists, ''Trinidad World Music'', Rituals Music (2000) * The Love Circle, ''Home Grown'', Jamoo GoodNews Ltd. (2003) * Various Artists, ''The Gathering: Trinidad & Tobago'', Lion of Zion Ent. (2004) * Geneman, ''Long Time'' (Background Vocals) (2010) * ''Reggae Revolution Mixtape'', Various (2010) * Jennifer Howland, ''Daughter of the King'' (2010) * Sherwin Gardner, ''Relentless'' (2011) * ''Reggae Revolution 2'', Christafari and Friends (2012) * Solomon Jabby, "Rocksteady" (2012)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackman, Avion 1976 births Living people 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago women singers People from San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago