Matisyahu

Matisyahu
File:Matisyahu.JPG
Background information
Origin	West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA
Years active	2001—present
Members	Matisyahu Miller, Aaron Dugan, Josh Werner, Jonah David

Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), more commonly known as Matisyahu, is a Hasidic Jewish reggae artist.

Biography

He is a member of the Lubavitch Hasidic Community in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York; a community made famous by its leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Matisyahu was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania and his family eventually settled in White Plains, New York, he was brought up a Reconstructionist Jew, and for some time during those years he played by the alias "MC Truth" for MC Mystic's Soulfari band [1] [2] [3], however he turned to Orthodox Judaism around 2001 and began playing with the Jewish band Pey Dalid. Matisyahu learned intensively in Hadar Hatorah, a yeshiva for returnees to Orthodox Judaism, and he wrote and recorded his first album while still a student there. He counts among his musical inspirations Bob Marley, Phish, and Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, while giving credit to Simon Jacobson's book Toward A Meaningful Life[4], for the lyrical inspiration to the title song of his new album, Youth. His band has a unique sound, mixing reggae, traditional rap, and guitar solos typical of rock music. His fans are of different walks of life, religions, and ethnicities. He sometimes performs with Kenny Muhammad, a Muslim beatboxer. He also provides vocals on the songs "Roots in Stereo" and "Strength of My Life" for the 2006 album Testify by P.O.D., a predominantly Christian group.

His reggae vocal style is along the lines of traditional Rasta Roots stylings mixed with dub sound. The easiest comparison would be similar to the conscious and cultural sides of Buju Banton, Sizzla, Capleton, or Junior Kelly, but with the upbeat message of Luciano, Bushman and Everton Blender, and vocal dexterity of Barrington Levy. The production of the tracks draws from King Tubby, Augustus Pablo, Mikey Dread, and Linval Thompson. Similarities to the Foundation Sound of the late 1970s and 1980s would be accurate, and comparisons to Morgan Heritage likewise, would not be wrong. However, he mixes in contemporary stylings of rap and beatboxing, similar to Sublime, as well as the traditional Hazzan style of Jewish cantors and Hasidic nigunim. The otherwise critical New York Times' Kelefa Sanneh has compared him to "early dancehall reggae stars like Barrington Levy and Eek-a-Mouse." The Chicago Tribune's Kevin Pang has described a Matisyahu performance as "soul-shaking brand of dancehall reggae, a show that captures both the jam band vibe of Phish and the ska-punk of Sublime." Reviewers generally agree that Matisyahu may disappoint reggae purists, but acknowledge the unique blend of musical traditions that Matisyahu harnesses generally please the people who see his performances.

Most of his songs are almost entirely in English with just a few words of Hebrew and Yiddish sprinkled in. Matisyahu is also known for not performing in concert on Friday nights, as working on Shabbat is forbidden for Jews.

After a short period of much underground buzz, Matisyahu is getting some success in the mainstream with the live version of the song 'King Without a Crown', which has broken into the Modern Rock Top 10; an accompanying video and new album - 'Youth' - produced by Bill Laswell were released on March 7, 2006. As of March 14, 2006, the album has been the #1 download on iTunes each day.

Origin of the name 'Matisyahu'

Matisyahu is the Yiddish (and Ashkenazi-accented Hebrew) pronunciation of the name 'Matthew' (Modern Hebrew pronunciation: Matityahu).

The Biblical Hebrew name Matthew was pronounced Matithyahu or Motithyahu (מתיתיהו, often shortened to מתתיהו in Modern Hebrew), meaning gift of God. The name evolved to 'Matthew' through early Church Latin-speakers, referring to the author of the Gospel of Matthew (accounting for the spelling Mat[i]t[ya]hew).

In Jewish naming conventions, Matisyahu/Matthew refers to the Hasmonean leader, Mattathias (in Greek), who began the revolt against the Seleucid army during the second century BCE.

Matisyahu's album Youth was released on March 7, 2006.

Matisyahu Miller explained the origin of his personal use of the name in an interview in Kosher Spirit Magazine [5] (a Chabad Lubavitch publication) as follows: His full secular name is Matthew Paul Miller, and the legal Hebrew name he received at his bris at eight days of age was forgotten. In Hebrew school it was assumed to be Matisyahu because of the reason given above. The original certificate from the bris was located and he discovered that his actual name was Feivish Hershel, but the advice he received was to continue using the Hebrew name he had grown up with.

Discography

Album Cover	Date of Release	Title	Label	US Billboard Peak	US sales
	2004	Shake Off the Dust...Arise	JDub Records	Did not chart
File:MatisyahuLiveAtStubbs.jpg	April 19, 2005	Live at Stubb's (live)	Or/JDub	#30
	March 7, 2006	Youth	JDub/Or/Epic	#4
	March 7, 2006	Youth Dub	JDub/Or/Epic	Not yet charted

Download a Sample of "King Without A Crown"

Singles

Year	Title	Chart Positions				Album
		US Hot 100	US Modern Rock	UK Singles Chart	US Adult Top 40
2005	"King Without a Crown"	69	7	-	-	Shake Off the Dust...Arise
2006	"Youth"	-	-	-	-	Youth

Appearances

1. Jimmy Kimmel Live (August 24, 2004)
2. Last Call with Carson Daly (2004)
3. Steve Harvey's Big Time Challenge (2004)
4. The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (2005)
5. Late Night With Conan O'Brien (2005)
6. World Cafe (NPR) (aired: July 29, 2005)
7. The Late Late Show (CBS) (November 15, 2005 1:40AM EST)
8. mtvU Woodie Awards 2005 (performed: November 2, 2005, aired: November 10, 2005)
9. MTV 10 Spot (December 6, 2005 10:00PM PST)
10. MTVU : Uber (December 19, 2005)
11. Late Show with David Letterman (January 16, 2006)
12. Late Night with Conan O'Brien (March 7, 2006)
13. Jimmy Kimmel Live (March 8, 2006)

Band members

• Matisyahu Miller - Vocals
• Aaron Dugan - Guitar
• Josh Werner - Bass guitar
• Jonah David - Drums
• Pat Brewer - Saxophone

External links

• Matisyahu Official Homepage
• Matisyahu's MySpace page
• Matisyahu Fan Gallery
• MTV.com - Matisyahu
• Video of the Matisyahu's live concert in Paris
• Interview with FHM