Matisyahu

Matisyahu is a member of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic community in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York. Matisyahu was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania and his family eventually settled in White Plains, New York. He was brought up a Reconstructionist Jew, and sometimes performed under the alias MC Truth for MC Mystic's Soulfari band. At 16, Matisyahu took part in a semester-long program that offers students first-hand exploration of Jewish heritage at Alexander Muss High School in Hod Hasharon, Israel. His experiences there significantly affected his feelings towards Judaism. He eventually turned to Orthodox Judaism, becoming a baal teshuva around 2001 through Chabad of Washington Square and began playing with the Jewish band Pey Dalid.

Matisyahu studied Torah seriously in Hadar Hatorah, a yeshiva for returnees to Judaism, and he wrote and recorded his first album while still a student there. He counts Bob Marley, Phish, God Street Wine and Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach among his musical inspirations and gives credit to Rabbi Simon Jacobson's book Toward A Meaningful Life for the lyrical inspiration to Youth's title track. Matisyahu does not perform in concert on Friday nights in observance of the Jewish Sabbath.

In November 2005 Matisyahu was among the top 5 members in the American Jewish community in The Forward. Matisyahu was given an Esky for Most Lovable Oddball in Esquire's 2006 Esky Music Awards. The magazine called him "the most intriguing reggae artist in the world."

The live version of the song 'King Without a Crown', broke into the Modern Rock Top 10 in 2006. The accompanying video and new album - 'Youth' - produced by Bill Laswell were released on March 7, 2006. On March 16th Youth was Billboard magazine's #1 "Digital Album". During June 2006, Matisyahu was the Xbox Live Artist of the Month with the videos for "Youth" and a live recording of "King Without a Crown" available to download from Xbox Live in High Definition.

Also, his most recent accomplished output of exposure was his live showing in front of over 80,000 people at the Bonnaroo Music Festival 2006. In spring 2006, Matisyahu cut ties with his label JDub, which resulted in much criticism as well as legal action over the unlawful breach of contract this termination represents.

The Music, developed partly with his backing band Roots Tonic has a unique sound, mixing reggae, traditional rap, and guitar solos typical of rock music. He sometimes performs with Kenny Muhammad, a Muslim beatboxer. Matisyahu's major label debut album was produced by avant-garde musician and producer Bill Laswell, with minor contribution by pop producers Jimmy Douglass and the Ill Factor.

Most of his songs are almost entirely in English with just a few words of Hebrew and Yiddish sprinkled in. His reggae vocal style is along the lines of traditional Rasta Roots stylings mixed with dub sound. The easiest comparison would be similar to the conscious and cultural sides of Buju Banton, Sizzla, Capleton, or Junior Kelly, but with the upbeat message of Luciano, Bushman and Everton Blender, and vocal dexterity of Barrington Levy. The production of the tracks draws from King Tubby, Augustus Pablo, Mikey Dread, and Linval Thompson. Similarities to the Foundation Sound of the late 1970s and 1980s would be accurate, and comparisons to Morgan heritage likewise, would not be wrong. However, he mixes in contemporary stylings of rap and beatboxing, similar to Sublime, as well as the traditional Hazzan style of Jewish cantors and Hasidic nigunim. The generally critical New York Times' Kelefa Sanneh notes that "His sound owes a lot to early dancehall reggae stars like Barrington Levy and Eek-a-Mouse."The Chicago Tribune's Kevin Pang has described a Matisyahu performance as "soul-shaking brand of dancehall reggae, a show that captures both the jam band vibe of Phish and the ska-punk of Sublime." Reviewers generally agree that Matisyahu may disappoint reggae purists, but acknowledge the unique blend of musical traditions that Matisyahu harnesses generally please the people who see his performances. Matisyahu's style has been compared to Jew da Maccabi, an Orthodox Jew from Florida who includes religious lyrics within a musical style derived from hip-hop.

In an interview with Chabad.org, a popular Jewish website, Matisyahu states that "All of my songs are influenced and inspired by the teachings that inspire me. I want my Music to have meaning, to be able to touch people and make them think. Chasidism teaches that music is 'the quill of the soul.' Music taps into a very deep place and speaks to us in a way that regular words can't."