Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), better known by his Hebrew name Matisyahu (Hebrew:מתתיהו) is an American
Hasidic Jewish reggae
musician.Known for blending traditional Jewish
themes with Reggae, rock
and hip hop beat-boxing sounds,
Matisyahu's single "King Without a Crown"
was a Top 40 hit.Since 2004, he has released three studio
albums as well as two live
albums, two remix CDs and one DVD featuring a
live concert. Through his career, Matisyahu has worked with Bill
Laswell and reggae producers Sly & Robbie.
Matisyahu fuses the contemporary styles of rap, beatboxing,
and hip-hop in general, with the more traditional vocal disciplines of
jazz's scat singing and Judaism's hazzan
style of songful prayer—more often than not rolling it all into a
dominant background of reggae music.The New York Times' Kelefa
Sanneh wrote that "His sound owes a lot to early dancehall reggae
stars like Barrington Levy and Eek-a-Mouse."
The Chicago Tribune's Kevin Pang 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."
Matisyahu's style has been compared to JewDa Maccabi,
an Orthodox Jew from Florida
who includes religious lyrics within a musical style derived from
hip-hop. Coming from his Jewish beliefs and compounding his use of the hazzan
style, Matisyahu's lyrics are mostly English with more than occasional use of Hebrew and Yiddish.
In 2006, Matisyahu stated that "All of my songs are influenced and
inspired by the teachings that inspire me. I want my music to have
meaning, to be able to touch people and make them think. Chasidism
teaches that music is 'the quill of the soul.' Music taps into a very
deep place and speaks to us in a way that regular words can't."
In 2009, he said about his recently released album Light, "I think the vast
majority of people that respect what I do are willing to move with me. I
think it's not so much about genres or styles of music as it is about
expressing the emotion or the idea. ... Whatever allows you to do that,
whatever style, as long as it's authentic."He also in 2010 confirmed his
first speaking date at the university of central florida.
Collaboration
Matisyahu has performed with Kenny Muhammad, a Muslim
beatboxer. He also recorded the song "One Day" along with Akon
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