Trials of a Hasidic Rapper

Music fans seem thrilled with Chabad-Lubavitch singing sensation Matisyahu; his new album, “Youth,” debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. Critics, on the other hand, are a tough bunch: Some complain that he’s not black, while others say he has betrayed his Jewish ideals.

On the day after his album’s release, The New York Times ran a withering review covering both the new album and a recent live show. The basic gist: Don’t let the black hat fool you; this guy’s as white as a ghost. “He is… a white reggae singer with an all-white band, playing (on Monday night, anyway) to an almost all-white crowd,” Times music critic Kelefa Sanneh wrote. And not only is the singer a cheap substitute for the real deal, Sanneh wrote, but his music is, too. “Perhaps Matisyahu’s fans aren’t familiar with a little-known group of performers who still make great reggae records: Jamaicans.”