On the Hip Hop Kulture page...
Can a Jewish Rapper Embody the
Spirit of Hip Hop Culture?
By Kamau Austin
Jewish Rapper Matisyahu Shocks the Music Industry!
Some people love the fact that Hip Hop has gone commercial
and cuts across racial and cultural boundaries, while other people feel
Hip Hop has lost its roots. More profoundly the origins of Hip Hop spring
from tough inner city young people of Black and Latin descent, who seemed
to be an after thought in Euro-American society. These resilient young
people usually alluded to as slackers and undereducated losers where
able to create a powerful popular musical expression from the throes
of their cultural experiences. The early epicenter of Hip Hop culture
comes from the terrain of the Bronx New York, gained momentum in New
York's Brooklyn, and was managed well by Black working class visionaries
in Queens New York by the likes of Russell Simmons, Run DMC and LL Cool
J. In nexus eventually Hip Hop leaped over to the West Coast and became
unstoppable.
With this rich history and background of struggling with
the mainstream establishment for a voice and place in American culture
there is no wonder that there are rap and hip hop purists who look twice
at just "how real" is the "blowing up" of hip hop
into popular culture status. Add to this dynamic that Black - Latino/Hispanic
and traditional Jewish groups in their business interaction have been
strained (to put it mildly) and you have a controversial artist in Jewish
rapper Matisyahu. Matisyahu is a traditional Jew in a musical medium
known for its social and cultural edge.
Matisyahu would probably be nobody to discuss, or a source
of good material for urban or Hip Hop comedians -- if he wasn't so good!
If love his Jamaican influenced dance hall rap type music. Actually
I am sure I had the reaction of many people who heard and have seen
his performances on TV - Live - or on the web. To come to the point:
I was in awe of Matisyahu!
I wondered despite Matisyahu's obvious tremendous talent,
if a Jewish rapper from a traditional religious sect could really embody
the spirit of authentic Hip Hop? From my perspective the truncation
of Hip Hop music comes more from it base commercialism today than its
transcendence to a diverse worldwide cultural expression and commodity.
Hate me if you want, but if Matisyahu is obviously working to bring
about diverse cultural unity and personal expression with Jamaican influenced
Hip Hop music, he more personifies the spirit of true Hip Hop than some
of the self-destructive "keep it real" garage reeled out to
us today.
To his credit Matisyahu is purported to be doing concerts
with artists of different backgrounds (even Islamic artists)! I only
hope the Hip Hop community at large will be open to his unique expression.
I also pray that he make himself accessible to positive interactions
within inner city Hip Hop communities. The Spirit of Hip Hop to me is
the ability to have a voice in music and song and Matisyahu personifies
this drive. You can see and interview and video of his performance Here
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