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That process - the commitment and devotion one must undergo, study and live - is a dangerous thing. I am lucky, and happy, to have come out the other side in this place. But the more I study, I read, I listen, I learn.
-Matisyahu on his transition to the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic community |
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Miller was at a crossroads. Done with Phish and in failing health, he returned to White Plains, where he promptly chopped off his dreads. His parents sent him to an Outward Bound-style "Wilderness" program in Bend, Oregon. Upon completion of what Miller calls this "rehab situation," he rekindled his musical ambitions, filled with the experiences and emotions of the last half-decade.
Matisyahu by Jake Krolick |
"There was a coffee shop in town where I met a guy with dreadlocks who played guitar, and every Thursday we played there," he recalls. "Young kids started bringing turntables. I would wear an Israeli flag like a turban and we'd do crazy hip-hop chanting. And then boom, people started coming in for that. We ended up putting a band together. Back then I referred to myself as MC Truth, but my rhymes were far from spiritual content, more like a 'Learn Yourself' type of approach. Definitely crucial times for me."
Matisyahu returned to New York two years later to attend college at the New School. He began frequenting the Carlebach Shul on the Upper West Side, during this time forging a close bond with Dov Yona Korn, a Lubavitch rabbi he met in Washington Square Park.
Matisyahu bought a PA system and started collecting instrumental reggae tapes. I tell him sometimes his singing reminds me of one of my favorite artist, Sizzla, a pioneer of conscious dancehall deejay styles. Startled, he responds, "You can really hear that? I totally studied Luciano's flow and melody, and Sizzla's flow, energy, high notes, and stuff."
"Lots of the reggae artists are called conscious and the words are about their Lord," continues Miller. "I respectfully will not speak His name, but they're talking about G-d. So many roots lyrics were taken or adapted from Old Testament scripture. I was able to find my culture AND my own true identity in Judaism inside these inspirational songs. I hold onto the truths," he laments, somewhat subconsciously defending the accusations of his affinity for reggae music being insincere.
Matisyahu |
However, he does mix in contemporary emceeing and especially beatboxing, which has taken a prominent role in his live show. It's a talent he likes to incorporate, albeit sometimes a bit inappropriately, much to the chagrin of reggae purists. In addition to the boom-bap of his hip-hop roots, he's woven the traditional Hazzan-style of Jewish Cantors and Hasidic Rabbis into his act.
Matisyahu's music is a bewildering synthesis of Bob Marley and Shlomo Carlebach merged into a flawless flow of Torah-inspired rhymes. It's the cultural fusion Matisyahu is encouraging - a new musical medium fusing the historically insular Orthodox Jewish community with the world of nightclubs, secular fans, and marketing ploys - that really sets him apart. It also makes him a larger-than-life persona that's willing the Americanized Jewish youth back towards The Word and principles dictated to the Children of Israel from their monotheistic G-d through the teachings of Moses, Kings Solomon and David, and later reinterpreted by Rabbis like Menachem Mendel Schneerson, and Carlebach.
Matisyahu by Trevor Pour |
Initially, Matisyahu found a perfect partner in JDub Records, a young nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote Jewish voices in popular culture. Among JDub's other artists are the Yiddish-rapping hip-hop producer So Called, the Jewish indie-folk band Black Ox Orkestar, and punk klezmer group Golem. Executive Director Aaron Bisman met Matisyahu four years ago as Bisman was finishing up in the music business program at NYU and DJing with an electro-acoustic Jewish soul band. JDub was in its embryonic stage - as were Matisyahu's skills on the mic - and the two made a commitment to work together as they grew.
Matisyahu by Jake Krolick |
Unfortunately, as Matisyahu gained international prominence and became a star, his interests and the direction of his career changed. Bonnaroo with Trey Anastasio, Live at Stubbs' monster single/MTV video "King Without a Crown," and a cultural phenomenon sweeping the Jewish youth across the globe can do that to an artist.
The breakdown of his relationship with JDub was tumultuous, although Matisyahu did not speak on the subject during our brief conversation. The Internet message boards on JDub's site and other Jewish youth online communities have been bubbling with friction over how to perceive this abrupt change in representation, foundation, as well as possibly philosophy. It's as if Matisyahu was careful to steer the dialogue away from this clearly uncomfortable situation.
However, Matis did drop a few red herrings that said a lot while saying just a little. When we talked about his sharp turn toward orthodoxy, he at first was gleeful about recounting the beginnings of his mammoth spiritual quest. He told me about one night where instead of sitting on his NYC rooftop and blazing a spliff, as was his custom, he instead spoke to the Lord for the first time as an adult. The conversation was awe-inspiring, tremendous. "The power of this closeness to Him, was...," he says, his charged voice trailing off to a mumble.
Maybe most interesting was his description of his transition into the Crown Heights Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic community. On the heels of the separation from his label/manager/agent, he chose his words carefully. "That process - the commitment and devotion one must undergo, study and live - is a dangerous thing. I am lucky, and happy, to have come out the other side in this place. But the more I study, I read, I listen, I learn." Again the enigma's voice tails away in a whisper.
Matisyahu |
Is he for real, though?
The fans and charts, outside of Jewish cultural circles, seem to think that indeed he is. Both of his records - Live at Stubbs, and his studio debut Youth - have gotten heavy airplay on college radio and placed on the Billboard charts. His music has been received seriously, and often warmly, in the mainstream pages of Rolling Stone, Riddim, Vibe, though he's been slammed by noted critics like Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times.
Recently Matisyahu stopped by Club Midway to rock with Big Apple drummer sensation the Adam Deitch Project, which apparently unveiled some sinister flows and vicious freestyling, chatting, and beat-boxing. The singer also has a few dates lined up around the holidays. We can only wait and see what the messenger brings forth with future offerings.
JamBase | New York City
Go See Live Music!
MATISYAHU TOUR DATES
12.14 | Theater of Living Arts | Philadelphia, PA
12.17 | Hammerstein Ballroom | New York, NY
12.19 | Hammerstein Ballroom | New York, NY
12.20 | Avalon | Boston, MA
12.21 | Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel | Providence, RI
12.31 | House of Blues | Chicago, IL
03.09 | Langerado Music Festival | Sunrise, FL
03.10 | Langerado Music Festival | Sunrise, FL
03.11 | Langerado Music Festival | Sunrise, FL
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