On Monday night, America's most popular reggae singer took the stage wearing a black hat and a long black coat, but it wasn't a costume. The singer is Matisyahu, a former hippie from White Plains. Once he followed Phish. Now he follows the teachings of Hasidic Judaism. And tons of fans follow him.Monday's concert was the first of two sold-out shows at the Hammerstein Ballroom. And yesterday he released his major-label debut album, “Youth” (JDub/Or/Epic), which is all but certain to enter the pop charts near the top. The record is dull, and the concert was often worse.
Dancehall With a Different Accent
On Monday night, America’s most popular reggae singer took the stage wearing a black hat and a long black coat, but it wasn’t a costume. The singer is Matisyahu, a former hippie from White Plains. Once he followed Phish. Now he follows the teachings of Hasidic Judaism. And tons of fans follow him.
Monday’s concert was the first of two sold-out shows at the Hammerstein Ballroom. And yesterday he released his major-label debut album, “Youth” (JDub/Or/Epic), which is all but certain to enter the pop charts near the top. The record is dull, and the concert was often worse.
Still, once you hear Matisyahu’s music, you may wonder why someone didn’t think of this sooner. The plaintive, minor-key melodies of reggae aren’t so far removed from the melodies Matisyahu would have heard, and sung, when he attended the Carlebach Shul, on the Upper West Side. And the imagery of Rastafarianism borrows heavily from Jewish tradition: Matisyahu is by no means the first reggae star to sing of Mount Zion, although he might be the first one who has had a chance to go there.
Matisyahu’s black hat also helps obscure something that might otherwise be more obvious: his race. He is a student of the Chabad-Lubavitch philosophy, but he is also a white reggae singer with an all-white band, playing (on Monday night, anyway) to an almost all-white crowd. Yet he has mainly avoided thorny questions about cultural appropriation. He looks like an anomaly, but if you think of him as a white pop star drawing from a black musical tradition, then he may seem like a more familiar figure.
His sound owes a lot to early dancehall reggae stars, who delivered half-sung lyrics over bass-heavy grooves. On “Youth,” which was mainly produced by Bill Laswell, he is sometimes accompanied by electronics and backup vocals. The Hammerstein concert was sparser: a three-man band played the music while Matisyahu sang and twisted and hopped.
His heavy-handed lyrics (like “Fan the fire for the flame of the youth”), delivered in a slightly Jamaican-inflected accent, don’t benefit from the stripped-down arrangements. And while he worked hard to entertain — rapping in double-time, beat-boxing, showing off some exuberant, high-stepping dance moves — he rarely sounded like the musical conqueror he wants to be.
Perhaps Matisyahu’s fans aren’t familiar with a little-known group of performers who still make great reggae records: Jamaicans. Maybe they are waiting for a shopping list of the best recent reggae CD’s from Jamaica.
Matisyahu has built a following by bypassing reggae fanatics (many of his fans come from the jam-band world). That explains why he outsells and outdraws his Jamaican counterparts. And it may also explain why some listeners find his music so exciting. Certainly no one seemed disappointed after Monday’s concert. And as the crowd filed out, a wry young black woman working the door could be overheard singing to herself.
And in contrast, heres the NY Daily News article about the event.
HE BREWS HIS OWN REGGAE
SINCE the death of Bob Marley nearly 25 years ago, reggae music has steadily declined in mainstream popularity outside of Jamaica, so the success of New York’s Matisyahu is not only surprising musically, but also ethnically.
Born Matthew Miller, Matisyahu is a card-carrying, fedora-wearing Hasidic Jew who looks more likely to sell you a camera at B&H Photo than get you skanking to island rhythms.
At the Hammerstein Ballroom Monday, the lanky, bearded hero of Crown Heights fronted a three-piece guitar/ bass/drums combo in a 90-minute reggae concert. The music attempted to honor the old-school stylings of Saint Bob, as well as acknowledge reggae’s influences in contemporary hip-hop with varying degrees of success.
Matisyahu is a religious guy who flaunts the Star of David, but clearly lusts for his own stardom. He told the hometown, yarmulke- crowned crowd that there was a “special energy in the air” partly because it was Moses’ birthday. Who knew?
He sounded pretty authentic, but was dread wrong about the energy, battling to keep the audience’s attention. When not singing, he danced as though he was in a road show of “Fiddler on the Roof,” but his antics did little to quell the crowd’s unyielding chatter.
Don’t blame the fans. The Hammerstein is a tough venue with little intimacy – and Matisyahu just isn’t that proficient a showman.
While the concert was OK, it was never great. Playing cuts from his new release, “Youth,” Matisyahu coasted on musical novelty and a handful of strong songs.
His performance was uneven from the start. The second song, “Jerusalem,” was a dud that he followed with an excellent rendition of the title track to “Youth.”
That’s the way much of the concert went. Good song, yawner, good song, and so on. Had he played this show at Irving Plaza or Webster Hall – where he could have cashed in on some up-close charisma – the dull thud of his human beatbox routine and lesser songs like “Late Night in Zion” and “Unique Is My Dove” might not have been as noticeable.
Is Matisyahu reggae’s messiah?
No, but perhaps his efforts will help make Rastaman vibrations begin to reverberate again.
One more!
The Journal News: Matisyahu at Hammerstein Ballroom
Matisyahu proved one thing Monday night: He’s no novelty act.
The Hasidic reggae star’s show at Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom (311 W. 34th St., 212-485-1534) bounded with energy, much as he bounded across the stage in his long black coat and fedora, tsitsit swinging at his sides.
The 13-song show, which had no intermission, moved slowly at first. That sluggish feeling wasn’t helped by the opening act, the low-key Trevor Hall.
But as the show gained momentum, the White Plains native showed Matisyahu’s raw talent for the tumbling lyrical style of modern-day reggae. And his unique ability to mix a wordless nigun melody with his human beat-box thumpings astounded.
Don’t get confused, though — this isn’t your papa’s Burning Spear.
Matisyahu’s band — Aaron Dugan on guitar, Jonah David, drums, and Josh Werner, bass, — expressed its mastery of the reggae off-beat and echoing reverb.
In fact, the band seemed barely constrained in Matisyahu’s deceptively simple reggae voicings. Especially guitarist Dugan, who busted into full blown Hendrix-esque guitar solos and subtle surf-rock riffs when given the chance.
The show’s most energetic song of the night came at 9:49 p.m., halfway through the show, when guitarist Yossi Piamenta of the Piamenta Band — dubbed the “Mizrahi Rockers” — joined the band on stage and Matisyahu exploded into a raucous rendition of “Close My Eyes.”
The mostly white, urban crowd seemed almost mystified when at the end of the song, Matisyahu gave a shout out to “White Plains!”
Matisyahu mixed new songs like “Jerusalem,” “Youth” and the touching “Unique is My Dove” with older songs like “Chop ’em Down,” “Exaltation” and “Warrior.”
The college-campus favorite and most well-received song of the night, “King Without a Crown” finished his set.
For an encore, Matisyahu burst into “WP” and brought rapper Stanley Ipkis on stage. They ended the song with another enthusiastic cry to “White Plains.”
Shmueli Lovitch, 28, an NYU law student from Crown Heights, mouthed the words to Matisyahu’s hits throughout the show.
“I think (Matisyahu) was really into it tonight,” Lovitch said before the encore. “He was really feeling the crowd, plus the venue is incredible.
”I’d seen him before in a smaller venue in Raleigh, N.C. and (the show) was very diverse. But here, it’s mostly yuppie New Yorkers. It’s like it’s ‘cool’ to be into reggae now.“
Monday night’s effort caps off a flurry of activity for Matisyahu, formerly known as Matthew Miller. His third album, ”Youth,“ is in stores Tuesday, when he also performs another sold-out Hammerstein Ballroom show followed by an appearance on NBC’s ”Late Night with Conan O’Brien” at 12:30 a.m.
CHer
Listen to a clip of Matisyahu Sing Yechi Adonienu:
http://www.canonist.com/wp-…
Anonymous
The New York Times is not out to make anyone look good.
“Perhaps Matisyahu’s fans aren’t familiar with a little-known group of performers who still make great reggae records: Jamaicans”
Sounds like the author of that article has his own agenda.
Boycott NY Times
The New York Times rears its ugly anti-Semitic head once again. Ironically the paper is owned by a self-hating Jew. There was a movement at one point which sort of took off to boycott the NY Times dure to its unpatriotic, anti-Israel, anti-America, anti-Semitic views. As with any business, it all comes down the the bottom line – the dollar. The only way they will change their blasphemous ways is when they start feeling it in their pocket via a boycott. That ought to have them singing a different tune.
Ilan Weinberg
I ask the question, “Why would a Chabad website want to put up articles that bash a Lubavitcher who is spreading awareness of Judaism, Chassidic ideas, and representing Frumkite in a positive light amongst the non-Jews?”
Many people reading your webiste may never see or hear Matisyahu’s music. If you were to post articles that reflect Ahavas Yisroel, it would spread a better image of someone who is trying to use his talents l’shaim shemayim. I wish that I was using my kochos in spreading Yiddishkeit to the same extent that Matisyahu is.
matiis=shlomo
I’m a bit surpised at the comments. Does Matis’ HAVE to be good? While he might have the right intent, were he not one of ‘us’ he would be persona non grata for most Lubavitchers as he is for most of the orthodox establishment. The previous post reminds of the Jackie mason line’ I was speeding down the highway and this cop gives me a ticket, the anti-semite.’
Be Real
Although Matisyahu might have good intentions, we must not be blinded by them. For better or worse, he is a role model to kids in CH. Just yeterday I heard that kids in Lubavitch Yeshiva are banging their hands like Matis does in his video. Now that he has changed his garb from always in black, to now wearing whatever he wants, he will affect our children the same way. When he says in an interview "I want to be famous", our children will imitate that trait. These are not examples of chassidish middos, nor is singing a song about how much he loves his wife.
What exactly is the message of his new album? And is that a message that should represent Chassidus?
Being a shaliach is not always the litmus test of what is right. 300 years of chasidis and a stable culture is.
Mottel
I happen to enjoy matis myself -but frankly, his popularity is mostly his novelty as a chassidic singer . . .
Ilan
Just to clarify, my comment was not intended to say that Matisyahu ‘must be good,’ nor was it to say that the newspapers are anti-semitic. I was questioning why a Lubavitcher website would post things which are a clear gnai about another Jew, another Lubavitcher.
Moshe Cohen
Why are you bashing matiyahu hes a wondeful chasidishe yungerman. He has a great guy with a varm chaisdishe hartz. He uses his talents to spread yidishkeit and ruchnius. AlthoughI dont think he has to perform with a Hat, he is a good example. I just think people expressing negative comments, are either jealous or posses negative energy.
a fan
Matisyahu is doing an amazing shilichus and alot of people are becoming curios to learn even more. A few days ago a couple of goyim stopped my friends and asked them what’s ain sof. then they sang the phrase it came from and they realized it’s from matisyahu. He’s really doing a huge shluchos and yasher ko’ach!
Go Matis!
The concert was a kiddush hashem and it was SPECTACULAR!
The EAR
ugh i dont not like him or like him but fact is he isnt jamacan and theres no way he can ever get the authentic accent but for a white jewish guy i htink hes doing a great job!!!
kislev
His success is in not diluting the message. If he looks like
a chossid and sounds like a chossid, yet at the SAME
time adapts to the outside world in presentation, he
will have the brocha of the one who he represents –
the Rebbe and chassidus.
His tremendous ufaratza relies on the fact that it is
undiluted. If he maintains his chassidishkeit, and
can do this in the midst of fame – his brocha is
unlimited. If he remembers his true tafkid, and
comes across as a true chossid in world surroundings,
he will accomplish a "mitzvah which no-one else can
do". The main thing is the brocha from the one he
represents – don’t change to the outside world, Matti!
BrooklynHabiru
None of the articles cited above do Matisyahu or the concert in which he performed any justice – I think that some peoples motivations in their criticism is not what they say. I attended the concert and wrote a post on my blog about it here: <a href="http://brooklynhabiru.blogs…">BrooklynHabiru</a>.
Inspired
I was at a mechanic fixing my car on atlantic avenue and a group of Goyim came up to me and asked me if I heard of Matisyahu and I said yes he lives just a few blocks away from here. They couldnt belive it. They wanted to know if I ever see him just walking dow the street and I said yes. They were going nuts. They just couldnt belive it.
We are living in Moshiach’s Times.
Think about it, a Group of young Goyim coming up to a Jew and instead of mugging him they were so excited about the info I was telling them about a fellow Lubavitcher.
In Response to Be Real
"Be Real" wrote: "These are not examples of chassidish middos, nor is singing a song about how much he loves his wife…"
That song is entitled "One Woman", emphasizing not how much he loves his wife but the importance of living a moral life and the value of it. Don’t you know that’s one of the sheva mitzvos bnei noach?? Have you spread the sheva mitzvos to the extent that he has?
Much hatzlacha to Matisyahu!
Itzik_s
Look. Matisyahu’s music is not intended for Chassidim – other than the HASC clips which are passe anyway, I do not play it on my radio station (http://www.frumspace.com/radio) nor would I ever do so because I don’t listen to it myself. On the other hand, he is very effective in spreading the message of the Rebbe, the message of the Geula, to the world at large and to unaffiliated Jews. I also suspect he has a positive effect on those, especially teenagers, who are wavering in their Yiddishkeit.
So, his career is a very big Kiddush Hashem and Kiddush Lubavitch. Still – we don’t need to listen to him if he isn’t our style.