Rhythms of Peace

If ever there was a performer who took the old adage of finding one’s niche to heart, it would be Matisyahu. His innovative blend of Hasidic hip-hop and reggae music has quickly become a new standard for a growing number of fans who prefer to hear music created at cultural crossroads.

Matisyahu was born Matthew Paul Miller on June 30, 1979 in Westchester, Pa. and raised in White Plains, New York.

His journey to that intersection could be seen as a stereotypical young American male’s saga, with a healthy twist of old tradition.

Born Matthew Miller in White Plains, N.Y., he spent his youth as a secular Jew. In searching for his true calling, he discovered Hasidism and knew he’d found his spiritual path to maturity. Matisyahu took the Ashkenazi Hebrew and Yiddish version of his Biblical first name as a symbol of his shift from an angry youth to a religious devotee.

His 2005 arrival in the country’s social consciousness (his single “King Without A Crown” was an instant smash) has transformed him into a contemporary icon in traditional garb.

Earlier this year Matisyahu appeared in the PBS production Jews in America, a series that traced Hebrew history and traditions in the United States. The series described him as someone who “exemplifies the Jewish American paradox.”

“I do feel that part of what I am doing is trying to explain what I feel Judaism is, so I ‘m constantly digging into myself to understand deeper, what it is to be Jewish,” he says in the video.

Yet in various published profiles, Matisyahu seems a bit uncomfortable with the marketable phrase “Hasidic reggae superstar,” although he seems sincere in wanting to reach a worldwide audience with his messages of peace, redemption and spiritual transformation.

His fans embrace Matisyahu’s message of redemption, filling his message boards at his myspace (myspace.com/matisyahu) and Web pages (matisyahuworld.com/) with tributes and requests for his return to perform in their countries and cities.

Making Connections

The connectivity Matisyahu and his fans feel for reggae music has been growing since early tunes like Desmond Dekker were first heard on American radio waves. Many others have picked up on the connections between reggae song content and biblical sources.

“When I hear reggae music it sounds to me like the sound track to the Hebrew Bible— like, all the stories that were happening, it sounds like reggae music could have been playing in the air,” says reggae/ska bass player David Gould in the 2003 indie documentary Awake Zion. Directed by Monica Haim, the film makes musical connections between Judaism and Ethiopian Rastafarianism, hitting upon reggae themes of longing, displacement, spiritualism and redemption. Gould is deep into the mix, and once headed a music project, Adonai & I, that set traditional Hebrew prayers and chants to roots reggae.

“In Awake Zion, I use reggae music to explore a strand of multiculturalism that exists as a reality of the Jewish and African Diasporas, to not only reinforce ideas about inclusiveness and harmony within their own contemporary mixed urban realities, but also as a message to multicultural communities worldwide,” Haim writes on her film’s Web site.

(Check out Haim’s movie trailer at awakezion.net and Gould’s Web page at davidgould music.com)
As for Matisyahu, his choice in performing prayerful reggae is a natural outgrowth of Hasidism, whose followers believe in serving God through spirituality and joy, including dancing and singing.

“Somehow I felt my Judaism in that music,” the singer explains in the PBS clip. “I felt like that music—even though it was being sung by a Rastafarian in Jamaica, and it had nothing to do with this white kid from the suburbs—but somehow I felt myself in the music and really the connecting point there was the Old Testament and those stories.”

Matisyahu, who turns 29 in June, begins a summer tour in May, swinging mostly through cities on the East Coast and Midwest. Fans can expect to hear more from this musical messenger, as he is reportedly working on a new album, tentatively scheduled to be released this year.

“In Awake Zion, I use reggae music to explore a strand of multiculturalism that exists as a reality of the Jewish and African Diasporas, to not only reinforce ideas about inclusiveness and harmony within their own contemporary mixed urban realities, but also as a message to multicultural communities worldwide,” Haim writes on her film’s Web site.

(You can check out Haim’s movie trailer at awakezion.net and Gould’s Web page at davidgould music.com)

As for Matisyahu, his choice in performing prayerful reggae is a natural outgrowth of Hasidism, whose followers believe in serving God through spirituality and joy, including dancing and singing.

“Somehow I felt my Judaism in that music,” the singer explains in the PBS clip. “I felt like that music—even though it was being sung by a Rastafarian in Jamaica, and it had nothing to do with this white kid from the suburbs—but somehow I felt myself in the music and really the connecting point there was the Old Testament and those stories.”

Matisyahu, who turns 29 in June, and is now a father, begins a summer tour in May, swinging mostly through cities on the East Coast and Midwest. Fans can expect to hear more from this musical messenger, as he is reportedly working on a new album, tentatively scheduled to be released this year.