Posted on 03/30/2006 6:09:47 PM PST by SJackson
The guy likes reggae. Calm down.
Matt knows he's a minstrel act. he is no different than the 1000's of other Jewish suburbanite teen boys raised in the NYC burbs who moved to music to get stoned and laid in high school. Nothing wrong with that, I come from 4 generations of Jewish musicians.
I know dozens of other Jewish musicians our age we grew up around here who are by far better musicians.
To fully understand where Matisyahu comes from, listen to his unreleased song about White Plains high school. The spirituality was his "hook" to get the religious girls to put out, and he turned it into a career. He's still the 17 y.o. phishhead, add a few years of yeshiva study, but it's still a heavy stoner under that Lubavitcher facade.
http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=18680
disc 2 song 2
I've been to some small pre 1st record release gigs of matisyahu's, I couldn't resist seeing this schtick.
In between sets I grilled Matt and Alon Cohen about reggae, house, hall, dub, steel drum bands/musicians that are generally considered standard repetoire for reggae artists, trying to get a feel on where he came from, Matisyahu was blank on most of them, Josh Werner jumped in and took over the conversation. I also immediately saw Matisyahu as another Perry Farrell type, and they've since found each other.
I get a kick out of Matt stealing Jewish symbology BACK from the anti-Semitic Rasta culture.
And so do I, as others say, he rocks! My daughters were raving about him, and gave me his album as a gift last year. The Jewish lyrics are so much better than the drivel put out by some other reggae singers (although I do also like Bob Marley music).
This critics name is Kalefa, as in Khalifa. His views are probably colored by TROP. I don't care what he thinks..
He's a good reggae singer.
Either listen to him or don't, as you prefer. Quit whining. Stupid author, creating a fuss about nothing.
i've seen Matisyahu in concert - he's a very talented guy.
he was close personal friends with Jamaica's premier reggae DJ, producer and artist (until Bob Marley took his crown) Prince Buster.
Sanneh is a dumbass who doesn't understand the history of reggae music, and is apparently unaware of the fact that Bob Marley was as white as he was black.
I suppose that Sanneh doesn't listen to music by Jimmy Cliff or the Ethiopians or other seminal reggae acts because some of their music was written and almost all of it was produced by Leslie Kong, a Jamaican who must have been a "cultural appropriator" because he is Chinese, not black.
Ridiculous. O'Connor is most famous for ripping apart a photograph of the late Servant of God Pope John Paul II on live television - she is clearly an apostate, not a Catholic.
Matisyahu doesn't perform reggae exclusively - some of his tunes are reggae, some are melodic beatbox tunes and some are kind of neo-psychedelic jams.
Categorizing his music as "alternative" is proof of nothing.
"I get a kick out of Matt stealing Jewish symbology BACK from the anti-Semitic Rasta culture."
Me too! That's what I think is the best about him.
Matisyaho is ok. I'm personallu more a fan of dub like mad professor type stuff and also the more roughneck ragga styles.
yup
"To fully understand where Matisyahu comes from, listen to his unreleased song about White Plains high school. The spirituality was his "hook" to get the religious girls to put out, and he turned it into a career."
I grew up on Long Island - not far away. If that's what he was looking for, he should have just joined USY. :)
How many rastas do you know? Do you know anything about rasta culture? I worked for rastas for years and never heard an antisemitic thing ever. I've never heard antisemitic reggae either and they played that stuff ALL THE TIME. I'm not into the really hardcore Buju Banton type stuff. Matisyahu and Bob Marley is as reggae as I get.
There are several "houses" of Rastafarianism. The one Marley belonged to - Twelve Tribes of Israel - is not black supremacist.
They actually consider themselves to be a branch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and many of these Rastas have been received formally into that church.
There are other "houses" that are openly racist and who perceive Marley to be a talented but wussy sellout.
I think us rednecks should sue the Black community for appropriating our dialect.
Yeah mon!
I knew a few Rastas in Brooklyn and got no "heavy manners". No beef..
LOL! wow...
Well, "Day-Oh" was written by a Jew, and sung by a black (Belafonte) who seemed to specialize in fake "calypso" songs, and that was apparently alright.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.