Is anyone else digging this guy?
He is a Hasidic Jew Reggae Rapper. I know how strange that sounds, and most people think it is a shtick or an act, but it isn't. He is a serious artist with serious music.
It is pretty much reggae, so if you hate reggae, don't bother. The musicianship is good - the band is bass, drums and guitar. Matisyahu is an awesome lyricist. Let me say that I hate rap with a passion, don't even consider it music, but Matisyahu is different. When he raps, it is melodic and harmonic, more like fast singing. It is so smooth. He has a really good singing voice to, really unique. He is more than your average singer too, he is talented. He can beat box like crazy. When I saw him live - which was one of the best concerts I have ever been to - he had noises coming out of his mouth that seemed inhuman. Like a talking drum set.
I really ecommend this guy. All his music has a heavily religous influence in Judiasm, and I am not Jewish, but I still like it. Any time an artist sings about anything he really believes in and has a passion for is efreshing, no matter what it is. I would definatly recommend seeing him live to, like I said, one of the best shows ever. The guitar player is awesome - he reminds me of the guitar player from Rage Against the Machine (can't think of his name) becaue of the different stuff he does with his guitar. The drummer is also excellent - he did a drum solo that would make most prog drummers proud. It blew me away, especially since I never expected a drum solo so good.
Anyways, as you can see I just can't praise this group enough. If you like reggae and good music in general, give this a chance. He has two albums out, a live cut (Live at Stubb's) and a studio cut (Youth), both of which are really good. I am pretty sure you can download his song King Without a Crown (which us one of my favorite songs and will give you a prime example of is music) from the website (matismusic.com) or watch the video of King Without a Crown and Youth. If your interested check it out and tell me what you think.
Edited by ~Rael~