Want to spend Shabbat with Matisyahu?

Did I stutter? I don't think so. If you want to spend Shabbat Chabad-style with Chassidic reggae superstar Matisyahu on Friday and Saturday, September 8-9, click here for details (and if spending Shabbat with Matisyahu isn't enough, the whole Chein family will be there as well!). The shabbaton is free for UCSC students; don't thank me, thank the Chabad Student Center. And don't forget to RSVP.

In other Matisyahu-related news, a new Matisyahu website (MatisyahuWorld.com) was recently launched, but is not yet fully functional. So far, there is a nice d'var Torah from Matis and a new remix of Jerusalem.

This past Shabbos I think I met one of Matisyahu's biggest fans. He related how at Purimpalooza, he waited outside without a ticket because he heard that even though it was sold out, they were still going to sell a few tickets; but they didn't. So he just waited for like six hours. He also got a parking violation, and he said that he ended up losing about $500 throughout the night, which I hope was an exaggeration. But, it was maybe worth it, because "I actually saw The Man walk into the building; Matisyahu." Gevalt, gevalt! I told this guy to keep an eye on the JewniProj if he wants updates on The Man. Hopefully he took my advice.

MATISYAHU Youth

There was a time when music fitted neatly into categories like "Rock", "Reggae" and "Gangsta Rap". And then came Matisyahu.

This most unlikely of musical sensations to come out of the States in the last year cuts an unlikely figure in the plastic world of pop music with his full-length beard and fedora. His sound is heavily reggae-influenced, but draws on elements of dub, ska, and some lickety-split vocal sampling that can only be described as beatboxing.

Born Matthew Paul Miller, he turned to Orthodox Judaism in 2001, and took the name Matisyahu (a Hebrew derivation of Matthew). He reportedly won’t do concerts on a Friday, or share the stage with a woman.

'Youth', his first full-length release comes on the heels of a live recording — 'Live at Stubbs' — that went gold on a minimum of marketing.

While that album was bursting with energy and the raw sound of a four piece on stage, 'Youth' is tighter on the production, and draws more on the effects and samples.

The result is an album that manages the difficult feat of being instantly accessible while remaining intriguing and thoroughly listenable over the long term.

Stand out songs include the title track, a muscular call to arms that has troubled charts on both sides of the Atlantic. 'Time of Your Song', meanwhile, is pure pop perfection with its earnest lyrics, skippity rolling beat and subtle classical melodies.

The compelling 'King Without A Crown' is perhaps Matisyahu's signature song, the only track to feature on both albums; the studio version is undeniably weaker.

But that's probably because a musician like Matisyahu has to be seen to be believed — a reggae poet with a beard and a fedora who's set to become a superstar. Believe it.

Hasidic Jew makes kosher reggae for the masses

Rapper, singer Matisyahu infuses his faith into uplifting lyrics
Monday, August 21, 2006
BY JEFF DIAMANT
Star-Ledger Staff

Moshe Herson seemed perplexed. Never before had the 72-year-old Orthodox rabbi in Morristown been asked to listen to reggae to see if he could hear Talmudic overtones.

Of course, until three months ago no Hasidic Jew had ever been crowned Best New Entertainer at the International Reggae and World Music Awards.

So one recent morning in his office, Herson, dean of the Rabbinical College of America, listened on a borrowed iPod to Matisyahu, the 27-year-old Hasidic music sensation whose mix of reggae, rap and rock has won gold status for two recent albums, "Live at Stubb's" and "Youth."

Orthodox youth generally avoid pop music, but since 2004, Matisyahu's religious-themed reggae has become familiar to many young people across the Orthodox world, which includes the leafy campus of the rabbinical college.

Matisyahu is part of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement of Judaism. He wears black religious garb while performing. And his songs, which have sold more than a million albums, draw lyrics from prayers, psalms and Jewish themes on God, messianism and nationhood.

Until last month Herson had never heard the music. But as Matisyahu's popularity has surged, Herson -- like most Lubavitch Jews -- has come to know who the singer is.

"He seems to have transcended the Jewish community," Herson said.

Herson chuckled at a few lyrics, set to reggae beats, with themes he recognized from Jewish teachings collected in the Talmud. And he later found it simple to connect those lyrics to specific prayers and psalms.

For example, he mentioned the Matisyahu line "Without you / there is no me" -- which comes from "King Without a Crown," a song about striving to be close to God.

"That's from a concept elucidated by Hasidic philosophy," Herson said. "We are totally and constantly dependent on 'the being,' on the source of energy coming from above, so, 'without you, there's no me.'"

He identified a line from the same song -- "You're like water for my soul / when it gets thirsty" -- as coming from Psalms 63:2: "God ... my soul thirsts for you."

And he noted that the line "Jerusalem, if I forget you / let my right hand forget what it's supposed to do," from the song "Jerusalem," comes straight from Psalms 137:5, which reads, "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither."

He stressed that while he felt Matisyahu's message is positive, he didn't endorse his music. Many Lubavitchers don't want their children listening to Matisyahu, fearing the line is too thin between his and other popular music.

And clearly, while Matisyahu doesn't sing about sex or drugs, some of his lyrics, at least taken in isolation, can seem better suited for a 1960s protest chant than for the iPods and CD players of Hasidic teens. For example, there's the chorus to "Youth": "Young man, the power's in your hands. Slam your fist on the table and make your demands."

But as several Orthodox fans noted in interviews, the song is meant to encourage young people, urging them to overcome their vanities, to "focus ... energy into a laser beam." Youth, Matisyahu sings, is "the engine of the world."

That message is why Chana Solomon of Morristown, a Lubavitcher whose 9-year-old daughter attends the rabbinical college's summer camp, said she lets her children listen.

"In this day and age, there's too many occasions of kids that want to do right but are afraid to get up and stand up there," she said. "A lot of songs teach what's wrong. Here's a song saying, 'Don't! Stand up and be strong!'... 'Slam your first down and say, I'm gonna do what's right.'"

Several students and counselors at the summer camp noted Matisyahu has wide followings among non-Jews, adding his approach fits well with the Lubavitch emphasis on outreach. While that outreach is usually directed to less-religious Jews, they said Matisyahu helps spread the spirit of Hasidism worldwide.

"He promotes godliness and pride for spirituality," said Yaacov Leaf, 23, a recent graduate of the rabbinical college. "We believe you shouldn't be intimidated by the world, that we should go out to the world and make the world a better place. Especially these days when we face so many challenges, Jew and non-Jew alike."

Many Lubavitchers clearly enjoy watching one of their own make a dent in popular culture while keeping his religious identity. Matisyahu declined to be interviewed for this article, but he has said on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" that he wouldn't perform on the Sabbath, even for millions of dollars; has performed his "human beat-box" on CNN; and has said on Portuguese TV that the deceased Lubavitch leader, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, inspired "Youth."

"It makes me happy to know the broader world is being affected by his good work. He's an emissary in his own right," said Levi Lipskar, 20, a graduate of the college, using the term Lubavitch Jews use to describe those among them who open synagogues around the world and encourage less-religious Jews there to become more observant.

Matisyahu is far from the first musician, Jewish or otherwise, to write songs with religious themes. Born Matthew Miller in 1977, the lanky native of White Plains, N.Y., grew up in a non-Orthodox Jewish home, listened to reggae in high school, and became Orthodox in 2001. His first album was "Shake off the Dust ... Arise."

Now living in Brooklyn with a wife and son, he has cited an eclectic mix of influences for his music: Schneerson, Bob Marley, the deceased Orthodox rabbi/musician Shlomo Carlebach, the band Phish and his growing knowledge of the Torah, ancient writings that provide the basis for Jewish law.

"It is interesting what he's doing," Herson said. "It's interesting that, from those concepts he has absorbed through his learning ... of Torah, he extracted certain items which serve now as the foundation for the songs."

Jeff Diamant covers religion. He may be reached at jdiamant@starledger.com or (973) 392-1547.

© 2006 The Star Ledger

Matisyahu's devout reggae makes deep connection

By Craig Rosen

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - It happened toward the end of Matisyahu's 90-minute set. While performing his signature hit "King Without a Crown," the Hasidic Jewish reggae singer knelt down at the lip of the stage and shook hands with a Mohawk-sporting punk. That one moment effectively illustrated the universal appeal of pop music's most unlikely star.

The devoutly religious Jew has managed to take authentic reggae into the mainstream and garner a diverse following whose loyalty runs deeper than radio-driven fandom. That was made clear by Matisyahu's show Wednesday at the Greek.

It's been more than a year since the White Plains, N.Y.-based singer emerged seemingly from nowhere with his independently released "Live at Stubbs," which subsequently was upstreamed to Sony BMG's Epic label and spawned the top 10 modern rock hit "King Without a Crown." His follow-up major-label debut, "Youth," debuted in the top five of the nation's sales charts in March, but since then the industry buzz surrounding Matisyahu has subsided. Yet fans at the Greek were on their feet for most of Matisyahu's set, strongly suggesting that the former Phish-head born Matthew Miller will maintain a healthy cult following long after the novelty has worn off.

Wearing the traditional Hasid garb of a dark suit, tallit, a white shirt and a broad-brimmed black hat, the lanky, bespectacled and bearded singer commanded the stage with charisma to burn. At times, he stood nearly motionless, punctuating his vocals with a single hand movement. At others, he bounded around the stage like a light-footed prizefighter.

Backed by the three-piece Roots Tonic plus an auxiliary keyboardist and percussionist, Matisyahu and company dug deep reggae grooves that had much of the crowd dancing in the aisles. The trio of guitarist Aaron Dugan, bassist Josh Werner and drummer Jonah David was particularly tight, bringing to mind the instrumental prowess of the premiere reggae crossover act, the Police.

Matisyahu's brand of reggae is more authentic than the version that the Sting-led trio rode to the top of the charts in the '80s, but so far his two hits are only as memorable as some of the Police's album tracks, not close to the trio's indelible smashes.

Perhaps to make up for the lack of standout material, Matisyahu employed a few tricks to keep the set interesting. A rapper guested during one number, and a dancer made an appearance during another. At other points, Matis perched on an amplifier and showed off his skills as a human beatbox.

More important than the gimmicks, however, was a deep-seated passion and spirituality that flowed from his music. It was moving -- even if you didn't know exactly what Matisyahu was singing about -- and transcended religious and ethnic boundaries.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

Lord raise me up - Matisyahu in Paris

Pop culture pulls religion straight from the synagogues, launching a cultural shift

Pop culture pulls religion straight from the synagogues, launching a cultural shift
It's hip to be Jewish

By Jessica Wanke
Gannett News Service

Although the trend is rooted in Los Angeles and New York, Judaism as pop culture is spreading to places in the nation where people have traditionally been unfamiliar with Judaism, even intolerant of it.

For instance, in Arizona only about 82,000 people, or 1.6 percent of the population, are Jewish by religion or ethnicity. Yet Matisyahu, a recording artist billed as the "Hasidic Reggae Superstar," sold out a show this year in Phoenix.

The 26-year-old Hasidic Jew from the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., gave a high-energy performance for screaming fans.

Although Judaism is one of the oldest religious traditions practiced today, it is new to many of the non-Jews encountering Matisyahu's music.

Matisyahu's latest album, "Youth," peaked at the No. 4 spot on Billboard magazine's chart of the top 200 albums in March, the month it was released, and has since been a favorite on MTV and pop radio stations.

"People are looking for something that's eternal and something that's solid in a world of chaos," the soft-spoken singer said backstage after his Phoenix show. "So they're turning toward their roots and their culture and looking toward religion and to God."

Semetic celebration

Traces of Judaism in pop culture can be found on many TV channels: On MTV, Gwen Stefani's video "Rich Girl," is a take on a "Fiddler on the Roof" song; Comedy Central celebrates "Heroes of Jewish Comedy"; and the VH1 program "So Jewtastic!" recognizes the hipness in things Jewish.

T-shirts with such slogans as "W.W.B.D. (What Would Barbra Do?)," "Jewcy" and "Moses Is My Homeboy" have found their way into urban style.

Items such as these can be found for sale on the pages of Heeb magazine, an edgy, progressive chronicle of Jewish-related politics, culture and entertainment that derives its name from a long-held slur against Jewish people.

"For us, it was the reclaiming of this age-old badge of shame being turned into a badge of honor," explains Joshua Neuman, Heeb's publisher and editor in chief.

The magazine has taken off since it was founded in 2002 and has been somewhat of a catalyst driving the trend.

Growing phenomenon

"We went from being this tiny, saddle-stitched, black-and-white, 60-something-page magazine being made out of the basement of a Lower East Side New York synagogue, to this four-color, 80-page, perfect-bound magazine, which is now looked at as the voice of young Jews today," Neuman says.

In four years, the magazine's circulation has increased and though it is primarily targeted at 20- and 30-something Jews, the larger audience is starting to pay attention. Heeb can be found in bookstores and getting nods in the mainstream, in Playboy and on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart."

Cross-cultural dialogue

Whether this trend will leave a lasting impression on American culture is debated.

Like previous ethnicity- inspired trends - hip-hop, Latin salsa - Neuman predicts the commercial craze will die down.

"I see the celebrity worship that's happening around the Kabbalah centers as part of a general trend that happens in Hollywood, with new New Age formulas coming into vogue and then going out of vogue," he says. "The moment will pass."

For the time being, though, the trend is fueling cross- cultural dialogue. Matisyahu's show brought together people, such as Hasidic Jews and Mexican Catholics, who normally would never cross paths.

Rene Portillo, 33, of Sonora, Mexico, drove to Phoenix for the show after becoming familiar with the artist's music. Explaining what it is about Matisyahu that appeals to him, Portillo lifted a gold cross on his neck and said, "He's Jewish."

"We're humans, we're brothers. Todos somos iguales."

We're all the same.

Copyright 2006 Lansing State Journal

Commentary

As for the appeal of Judaism, I think a big part of it is that there is a degree of authenticity to what Jews do and how Jews live. They don't go out violently conquering and converting people. They don't make outrageously false claims at persecution like many Christians do (think Bill O'Reilly). Jews actually have been slaughtered and persecuted by the millions. And yet they still go on. And I think there's something very compelling about that. Plus there is the sense of community. Christianity is a very outward-looking religion, focused on making disciples of everyone else. Modern Christianity does not seem to bear much interest in the well-being of its followers once they've been 'saved.' They just move on to the next heathens and go at them. Judaism is primarily concerned with its own followers. Not to mention, Judaism is viewed as the parent of the religions that dominate the world today, which lends it an air of precedence.

Another appeal of Judaism that it shares with the 'New Age' religions is that it comes in so many different incarnations. You can believe almost anything and still refer to yourself as a Jew. From Kabbalists to secular Gnostics to Orthodox Jews, there is a flavor for nearly everyone.

Funky Philosophical ... Thoughts

Anyway, the other day, my mom gave me an article about the Hassidic Reggae Superstar, Matisyahu. It was in the local newspaper -The Herald Dispatch- under the section where they cover new musicians and arts and stuff like that. However, before she gave it to me, she had talked to me about it a bit and I thought she was talking about Etan G, the Jewish rapper I raved about last night. I got some of his songs and ... they were good. But I still hadn't read the article.

Later that evening, when we were having family time, she gave me the article, which I later found online. Most of it was very ... normal and not really all that interesting ... but there was one quote by the artist in question that I thought was quite ... interesting ... and tied into something that my pastor had been talking about as well. The quote follows:

"People are looking for something that's eternal and something that's solid in a world of chaos. So they're turning toward their roots and their culture and looking toward religion and to God."
-Matisyahu, to the Gannett News Service[1]


The part that I'm going to pull out of that quote is that first sentence. The part about people looking for something eternal and solid in a world of chaos. My pastor said something quite along those lines not a few months ago - people are looking for something that is genuine now. Something that they can feel and experience and know. But the real thing that they're looking for is something genuine. It's something that is quite lacking in the post-modern world that most of you are living in.[2]

This, to me, partially explains the explosion of what I'm going to call Pop Judaism in the last few years.[3] In the song "Be Good, Be Cool, Be Jewish," it states that "Judaism has been around for thousands of years" and "have made more of an impact than anyone."[4] These are earmarks of something genuine. And this is very attractive, especially to the disillusioned Gen-Xers. They're able to attach themselves to something strong, something enduring, something bigger than themselves in Judaism and that's what they are crying for.

whoa, lollapalooza

my roommate dragged me to watch matisyahu and i'm glad that she did! we sat down in the grass and just chilled out to his music.

Brooklyn becoming new celebrity locale

NEW YORK, Aug. 6 (UPI) --

Celebrities, including film actors Heath Ledger and Jennifer Connelly, are flocking to live in the New York borough of Brooklyn, a report says.

The New York Post said Brooklyn, with its brownstone buildings and its noticeable distance from the public spotlight, is increasing its celebrity population as more stars seek a low-profile residence.

Famed musicians such as Mos Def and Busta Rhymes have recently come to call the borough home, as have the members of the quirky rock band They Might Be Giants.

Many of the area's celebrities are set to be featured in author Anthony LaSala and photographer Seth Kushner's new book "The Brooklynites," which will focus on area residents in familiar locales, the newspaper said.

The Post said among those celebrities to be featured in the new book will be actor Steve Buscemi, rapper Matisyahu, and "The Ice Storm" author Rick Moody.

The last few bands have been revealed for this years' V Festival.

Pure Reason Revolution and Mute Math have been added today, as well as The Pipettes (Weston Park Only, Saturday 19th August) and Matisyahu (Hylands Park Only, Saturday 19th August) to replace The Concretes and The Dodgems (Weston Park, Saturday 19th August, Hylands Park Sunday 20th August) to replace Love Bites.

Festival Director, Bob Angus comments: "With just under three weeks until the festival, we are delighted to add the final touches to the line-up. Our vision at the beginning was
to deliver a first class line-up that would suit all music tastes. The fans will let us know if we have delivered, but we are confident that we have!"