Biography

Matisyahu is the Hebrew and stage name of Matthew Paul Miller who was born on the 30th of June 1979 and is a popular Hasidic Jewish reggae artist.

Matisyahu is a member of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic community in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York, which was led by its Rebbe, 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. He eventually turned to Orthodox Judaism, becoming a baal teshuva around 2001 and began playing with the Jewish band Pey Dalid.

Matisyahu studied Torah seriously 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 Rabbi Simon Jacobson's book Toward A Meaningful Life 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. Matisyahu's recordings are currently supervised by veteran producer and avant-garde musician Bill Laswell.

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 and Sizzla, Capleton, and vocal dexterity of Barrington Levy. He mixes in contemporary stylings of rap and beatboxing, as well as the traditional Hazzan style of Jewish cantors and Hasidic nigunim (melodies). Most of his songs are almost entirely in English with just a few words of Hebrew and Yiddish sprinkled in.

Matisyahu's popularity began with underground buzz. He then started to gain mainstream success as evidenced by his appearances on television. He appeared on the Last Call with Carson Daly in 2004, and was introduced by Carson as "the most exciting thing happening in music today". Matisyahu is currently 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. On March 16th Youth was Billboard magazines #1 "Digital Album" and as of April 4th stands at 16th on iTunes' top albums.

In November 2005 Matisyahu was among the top 5 members in the American Jewish community in The Forward. Matisyahu was given an Esky for Most Lovable Oddball in Esquire's 2006 Esky Music Awards. The magazine called him 'the most intriguing reggae artist in the world'.

In an interview with Chabad.org, a popular Jewish website, Matisyahu states 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".

Matisyahu is also known for not performing in concert on Friday nights, as working on Shabbat is forbidden for Jews. He is married to an NYU student named Thalia in August of 2004 and recently had a son, Levi Yitzchak. Matisyahu currently resides in Crown Heights, New York.

His most recent accomplished output of exposure was his live showing in front of over 80,000 people at the Bonnaroo Music Festival 2006.

Band Members:

Matisyahu - vocals, beatbox
Jonah David - drums
Aaron Dugan - guitar
Josh Werner - bass, keyboards


References:
Official Website Matisyahu
Wikipedia Matisyahu