Ok, so this one is a little different. I think there is value in expanding horizons so I’m sharing this extremely talented yet uncategorizable musician. Matisyahu is a Hasidic Jewish reggae, rap artist, and frankly he is very good. Good enough in fact that Sting performed with him in Israel!
Here he is doing a song called Jerusalem on Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel. If you take a few minutes to listen to it I’d be really surprised if you don’t find it extremely interesting. Matisyahu definitely doesn’t live up to any pre-concieved notions and perhaps there is a lesson to be learned there…
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Giving nothing but love to Matis (who I’ve had the privilege of performing with and knowing for years), the title is a bit of a misnomer. I wouldn’t say Matis is a rapper (in the hip-hop sense of the world), but rather a reggae artist (“best reggae artist” in the eyes of some Grammy judges) who uses rap to spice up his reggae flows intermittently.
I have been doing Hasidic underground hiphop for years — and believe me, none of the “hip-hop ciphers” sound like “King Without A Crown”.
(And — shameless plug — feel free to write up my music if you are into hasidic rappers :D)
Y-Love – You are absolutely correct. My title is not very accurate, most likely because I was dazed and confused at the time I posted it after watching Matis do his thing. :-)
I checked out your music as well, and it sounds great. You are very talented, and I love the fact that you guys are all tearing down barriers and demonstrating that you can’t simply judge a person by their appearance.
Take care,
John
You are very talented– it’s difficult to understand reggae lyrics– There R many jewish rappers now; kosha dillz is good but sounds like most– then there’s Greenie — produced by Krs-One [now THAT's ironic!]– Greenie has songs like “My Son, The Schvartze” [is it Sh'Vatze ?] that are VERY witty, clever–and probably universally meaningful– Maybe we can start a Jewish rappers hall of fame = D?