Matisyahu: An Orthodox Bob Marley

Some call him a phenomenon; others, a curiosity. Rolling Stone magazine described him as “the strangest thing to climb the Billboard charts this year.”

One thing is certain, however: Chassidic reggae superstar Matisyahu has arrived, and in a big way.

Despite his black suit, velvet kippah and tzitzit flying in every direction as he bopped around the stage at Toronto’s Molson Amphitheatre last month, the audience was dancing right along with him, mouthing lyrics such as “treif wine clouds the heart.”

Those singing along, however, were not Lubavitch – they were in their teens and early 20s, and were not necessarily Jewish.

Matisyahu’s unique blend of Chassidic adages and reggae pop has created such a buzz that his first studio album, Youth, released this year, debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard album chart. Not to mention that it has sold more than one million copies.

But the ba’al tshuvah/beatboxer has no desire to be the poster boy for Orthodox Judaism. “I’m not trying to do anything except be the best singer, performer, person, Jew I can be,” he told The CJN in an exclusive interview. “It’s not about trying to be a role model or trying to be an artist. I am who I am.

“Like everyone, I’m trying to be as good as I can be at what I do. In the process, if that inspires people or makes Jewish kids feel proud to be Jewish, that’s good. But that’s not my sole purpose.”

Although the genre of reggae pop is not the traditional avenue of Orthodox creativity, Matisyahu believes that what he creates is Jewish music.

“Whatever culture Jews are in or whatever area they were in, they adapted the music of that culture, and then they infused it with Jewish ideas and perspectives. I would say what makes music Jewish is the content of the ideas in the music… so I would say my music is Jewish,” he said.

Singing about Galus (exile) in one song, the High Priest in the next, and wanting Mashiach now on his most popular single, King Without a Crown, which enjoys heavy rotation on MTV, Matisyahu is arguably contributing the only example of “Jewish” music to popular culture today. He is definitely the only Orthodox Jew who, in the past few months, has opened for the Dave Matthews Band and shared the stage with Sting.

Seeing other Orthodox Jews make it in the mainstream music world is not necessarily a goal of the 6-foot-4 star. “It is what it is. I wouldn’t like to see Orthodox Jews becoming famous just because they’re Orthodox,” he said.

“It would be good to see people becoming famous that are substantial people and that have something to say, making a kiddush HaShem and making a good name for the Jewish people in general.”

In a world where anti-Jewish sentiments are not uncommon, a positive Jewish public figure like Matisyahu may be countering negative attitudes toward Judaism.

“I think my music is creating a good vibe for a lot of people, all kinds of people who don’t understand Jews or Judaism. I’m just being out there and doing something positive in the world, which Jews really have always done in Judaism,” he said.

Born 27 years ago to secular Jewish parents in White Plains, New York, the artist formerly known as Matthew Miller has travelled a distinctive path since he was taken to a Grateful Dead concert while still in diapers. Growing up, he was sent to Hebrew school and despised it. Later, he dropped out of high school to follow rock band Phish across the United States on their tour and he experimented with LSD.

Next, his parents sent him to a drug treatment centre in Oregon, where he performed reggae and beatboxing locally (beatboxing is the art of creating beats, rhythms and melodies using the mouth), calling himself MC Truth.

Upon his return to New York, a chance encounter with a rabbi and some visits to the Carlebach Synagogue put him on a completely different path to spirituality. He eventually moved in with the campus rabbi at New York University, changed his name to Matisyahu, and the rest is history.

Perhaps it is not surprising that Matisyahu has been compared to reggae icon Bob Marley: both focus on Zion, Jerusalem and redemption in their music. Compare Marley’s lyrics “Iron like a lion in Zion” to Matisyahu’s “Fire descends from on high in the shape of a lion/ Burn the sacrifice of pride and ride on to Mount Zion.”

Matisyahu can see the connection. “I think there’s a tradition in reggae music of artists drawing from the Torah for inspiration and quotations,” he said. “Within reggae music today, there’s a whole genre dedicated to consciousness. Not all music is like that. In the area of rock, there’s no such thing as ‘conscious rock.’ In reggae, there’s a genre: conscious reggae.

“Reggae music is spiritual music. Less is more. It’s humble music, it’s meditative music. Those qualities in themselves are spiritual,” he said.

Particularly spiritual is Matisyahu’s hit Jerusalem in which he sings, “3,000 years with no place to be/ And they want me to give up my milk and honey/ Don’t you see, it’s not about the land or the sea /Not the country but the dwelling of his majesty.”

It looks as though Matisyahu himself will be dwelling in the Zion he sings so much about. “I plan on moving to Israel, probably in the next year or two,” he said. “I would be based there and do travelling and touring.”

The aliyah of this rebbe-rastaman would be a rare example of an international star choosing to make his home in Israel. But to Matisyahu, it makes a lot of sense.

“Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people. It’s obvious to me. I was just there. It’s still the exile, it’s still Galus, and there’s still bad and negative things going on there, but it’s all Jews,” he said.

“It’s kind of like a family, you know? The family might be dysfunctional but at least we’re all together. Whereas when you come out into the world outside of Israel, it’s just dispersed. You don’t get that same sense of a family.”

He smiled as he reminisced about a recent flight to Israel with his wife, Tahli, and baby, Laivy. “My wife just takes my son and just drops him off on some lady’s lap, and three hours later in the flight, the lady brings him back to us. When you get on the plane to go to Israel and everyone on the plane is Jewish, it’s just a different vibe completely.”

Maybe living in Israel will make observant life a bit easier for the singer. “I won’t be doing any concerts during the nine days [before Tisha b’Av, during which traditionally music is not performed to commemorate the destruction of the Temples]. Everyone always needs time off and time to do different things. With me, I just know which days I need off very far in advance,” he said. “You can’t perform every day of the year anyways.”

Sometimes the pressure is on for Matisyahu to broadcast a certain message about Judaism or about life through his music.

“A lot of people tell me what they think, and I choose what I want to write about.

“I just try to represent what I know,” he said.