Dub dot dash

Matis-who?
While Matisyahu was in Austin playing at SXSW recently, his other SXSW highlights included "spotting Elijah Wood, Jessica Simpson's dad, and Karl Rove and Karen Houghes (ok, we didn't see the last two, but all our friends did!)". Matis -who? Read on.
Matisyahu has the distinct advantage of cornering one particular genre - beatboxing Hasidic reggae MCs. Here's the live video to prove it.

From Rolling Stone: "He sticks to his virtues," says D'niscio Brooks, an organizer of New York's massive summer Reggae Carifest, which Matisyahu will headline. "When I first heard Matisyahu, I was taken aback, just at the thought of a Hasidic Jew doing reggae . . . but he's so authentic."

"He can really rip," agrees hip-hop producer and bassist Yossi Fine (David Bowie, Me'Shell Ndege-Ocello), who is himself part Israeli and Afro-Jamaican Jew. "He's extremely fierce, jumping around the stage. The only difference between him and a Jamaican rapper is that he takes the lyrics from the Bible instead of from Rasta. He changes 'Jah' to 'Hashem' [Hebrew for God]."
Reminds me a bit of Snow (remember 'Informer'?) crossed with RATM's singer.
Brookyln Vegan reviews a recent gig at a sold-out Iriving Plaza in NY. Quote; "When someone first offered me two free tickets to see a Hasidic Jew who sings reggae, I assumed it was a joke (see 2 Live Jews). Then I watched the video on Matisyahu's official site, and realized he was more than for real. He was actually really good."

There's a live clip of his latest album on MTV here. His band are more lightweight Sublime than say Bad Brains; maybe a horn section would give their sound a bit more flavour.

Here's video of Matisyahu's national television debut (performance and interview), in which he braves the tauntings of Scott Baio and Kevin Nealon on Jimmy Kimmel's TV show. You gotta wonder if he will last past the sheer novelty value of his appeal Scott Baio gets smart by asking him how does he grow a beard like that, cos Scott has been trying to grow one. Matisyahu answers by telling Scott the trick is to stop shaving. Musically, there's no doubting his sincerity, but the way media works, he will get chewed up and spat out, in all probability...




Matisyahu's story is almost as interesting as his talent....
"Matisyahu, the 25-year-old Hasidic Jew who is a rising star on the reggae music scene, is no novelty. He is part of a growing wave of young Jewish performers who have merged their religious interests with contemporary musical styles. His peers include So Called, a rapper who rhymes in Yiddish; Balkan Beat Box, a group that blends hip-hop and electronic dance beats with Israeli and Eastern European music; and Golem, a post-punk rock band with a strong klezmer influence....

A few days later at his home in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, Matisyahu discussed his unusual journey. Named Matthew Miller by his parents ("Matisyahu" roughly means "Matthew" in Hebrew), he grew up in White Plains, N.Y., in a Reconstructionist Jewish household.

"I've always wanted to sing," he said. "I participated in gospel choirs, performed in theater productions — anything that would enable me to sing." He left high school at 17 to follow the jam band Phish around the country."

From NY Daily News interview... "Any listener who hasn't been warned about the singer Matisyahu has the same reaction when they first see him. "They laugh," says the singer. "They think it must be a joke." After all, it's not every day you see a guy in the black suit of a Hasid singing and rapping over swaying reggae melodies, goosed by a hip-hop beat. "This is my path," the singer explains. "It's how my influences unfolded."

And of course, he is the cause of much blog-angst among young Jewish bloggers which is fascinating. Example; "During Matisyahu’s Boston’s gig on Chanukah my friend Jamie summed it up: "this man can make tzitsis cool!" Or "Matisyahu successfully takes reggae and elevates it, infusing it with kedusha."

ADDED listening right now to author/indie label lackey/internaional librarian of mystery Gareth Shute on BFM, he's talking about music journalism in NZ - he's part of a panel called Dancing About Architecture, Writing About Music at the Writers Festival this weekend. 6pm this Saturday, at Maritime Museum, with Gareth, Nick Bollinger and Graeme Reid, chaired by Chris Knox. And BFM host Noelle M just dropped the bombshell that she's heard that Staple magazine is closing down - stink! One of the top magazines in NZ, gone in a flash.