What artists affect culture? Quite a vague question with unlimited possibilities as of an answer. In this article I will describe for you how the little known artist Matisyahu is not only a groundbreaking artist musically with his taking of various cultures and styles lyrically, but also an influencer of culture within his religious journey and his experiences he shapes those of Jewish faith and culture and spreads these beliefs through way of music. 

To start off and for those who don’t know Matisyahu, his real name is Mathew Paul Miller, and he was born in Westchester, Pennsylvania to Jewish parents, and though his parents were Jewish he was raised secularly. During his time in high school he was looking for an identity and was trying to find who he was. He said he first looked towards drugs but just never reached what he was looking for than in his twenties he had wanted to be close to God and sort of delve into Judaism, and he explored different branches of jewish teachings, and he decided to follow the teachings of Hasidic judaism which is a very conservative sect of Judaism. This new direction actually became a signature of him as you would see him especially in the early 2000’s sporting a beard, and long side curls with a wide brimmed hat and black coat. He even said he would attend all his jewish schooling during the day at the tabernacle but during the night he was working on his music. For many years his faith in God and his spiritual journey came to the forefront of everything, and he really incorporated this into his original albums (Hadari, 2011). Then, 2011 on his spiritual journey he left the hasidic sect in his debut of his fourth album “Spark Seeker”. He said in an interview the decision did not come easy to him, but in his relationship with God he determined that it was time that his walk with God had nothing to do with the way he dresses or the way he wears his facial hair. He made it clear though that he still follows the faith and that being hasidic from the place he was at really guided him and prepared his heart for God in his faith. He has kept this attitude and faith even up to now (Friedman, 2015). 

Matisyahu aka. (Mathew Paul Miller) is not only a complex individual, but his music is just as complex; he mixes many different styles of music together while artistically explaining very faith based topics. He mostly mixes Rap and Reggae but he also mixes rock with reggae. In an Interview he actually explains how big of role Bob Marley’s music had on him, both in sound and faith. Matisyahu explained how Bob Marley has quite a few songs singing to God, and about the old testament and how that really influenced him musically and he said in an interview that Bob Marley really influenced that reggae sound in his music. Another really influential artist in Matisyahu's eventual music foundation is Shlomo Carlebach which he accredits as really guiding his musical career. He says that Shlomo Carlebach was really influential with his passion for music and his conservative jewish faith. The first album he produced was with JDUB Record Company that is actually a non-profit Jewish record label and the album was “Shake Off the Dust... Arise” however this album did not make it far as he changed record labels and so they did not produce many copies of his first album. However this album truly outlines his sound and reggae tones. However, two years late Matisyahu would create the album that truly put him on the map with the hit album “Youth” which peaked at number four on U.S. 200 Billboard, Number three in the U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums, and Number one in U.S. Top Reggae Albums. The “Youth” Album would end up being Matisyahu’s most popular and sold album with over 500,000 copies sold. I think this album was so popular because unlike his previous album “Youth” Incorporated, rock, reggae and rap/hip-hop, unlike his album “Shake Off the Dust... Arise” as this album is honestly more solemn and is really focused on reggae and praising God. Another one of his biggest successes was the writing of the song “One Day” which he wrote with Bruno Mars, Ari Levine and Phillip Lawrence. Which became so much more than a song about peace. This song's peaceful optimism for Israel and the world would enamore many people and would actually go on to be played at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Matisyahu would go on too create one more album under the Epic Record label with the album called “Light” which still made it on the charts as number one in billboards for U.S. Reggae but would only peak nineteen on the Top Billboard charts in the U.S. . In 2012 Matisyahu would create his own record company labeled “Fallen Sparks” and would produce his own album “Spark Seeker” . It’s in this album “Spark Seeker” that we see a big change in Matisyahu as he decides to shave his beard and leave the Hasidic Jewish movement, which kind of did a couple of things too his fan base, in one place he connected more to his gentile fan base but he sort of alienated his more conservative hasidic jewish base. Luckily though despite this huge change in record label and in Matisyahu’s life he kept the same ratings as his previous album. However, with his next three albums I think his fan base simply wasn’t getting the Matisyahu they fell in love with and with his last two albums, “Undercurrent” and “Matisyahu” he didn’t even chart (Matisyahu | Biography, Music & News, n.d.). 

Matisyahu is a very distinctive artist and for many years was really the only Hasidic Jewish Reggae singer. Culturally Matisyahu really opens the doors through his faith and the music mixes he loves. Matisyahu being Hasidic and following the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement which is a really conservative religious movement. This is really important because it represents almost an untouched religious demographic and I think no one from as a Hasidic Jew has even touched the fame and widespread listeners that Matisyahu has. He truly is this outreach for such a socially conservative group. Matisyahu continues and is very active within the Jewish and Israeli causes. One of his cultural accomplishments was in Crown Heights, New York. Matisyahu is a very accomplished artist but a devoted man to his spirituality. In an a interview he explains how as a hasidic jew there are two teachings secular teachings and religious studies, but their are really no art studies, Matisyahu explains that God is involved in all of this and he really wants to teach his children this and other jewish children who want to be involved in the arts that they can do that and still follow what God has called them (Matisyahu Sharing His Life Story, 2010). He accomplished this by basically putting a community together that agreed with this and he met someone who had the same idea as him and they formed Lamp Lighters which has stayed active until recently in 2020. The school helped to get this message to more jewish students. More than just being an influence and change within Matis’s community he is also a big advocate for peace which is no easy feat but with his song “One Day” he sings about peace among the future generations and people from all different backgrounds sing this song in harmony. I think it is also important that Matisyahu highlights his spiritual journey not only in appearance, but how he shows it within his music and honestly can be easily seen and the journey God has always been an important piece within his music, which is really unseen in any musician. I think this is really important for culture and society Matisyahu isn’t ashamed of his walk with God he’s incredibly open with it and follows what God tells him without shame and actually in an interview he says everything I sang about that “old Matisyahu” still aligns with Matisyahu now and his faith now which I don’t think many artists can agree with that statement (October 7th CHANGED Matisyahu | Clip from Ami’s House Ep #1, 2023). 

 All in all Matisyahu will live far beyond his life on Earth, and not only in his music but his lasting legacy in Judaism and world peace. Matisyahu is so awesome because he is so unique, one of a kind, he’s no hip-hop artist and he’s no rock and roller. His purpose isn’t fame; he started his career that way and that’s the way he stays because ultimately he’s singing to God just as his two role models Bob Marley and Shlomo Carlebach did. He’s a role model for the youth and for the older generations in peace and in musical worship.

References

Friedman, G. (2015, October 16). Matisyahu Struggles With Leaving Orthodox Identity Behind. Haaretz. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/culture/2015-10-16/ty-article/matisyahu-struggles-with-leaving-orthodox-identity-behind/0000017f-db93-df9c-a17f-ff9bde190000

Hadari, S. (2011, October 15). Jewish NYC: Matisyahu Exclusive. Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCUR9V-Awb4&ab_channel=JBS

קולולם | One Day - Matisyahu | חיפה | | 14.2.18. (2018, February 22). Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqvKDCP5-xE&t=1s&ab_channel=Koolulam

Matisyahu on Music and Religion. (2012, July 23). Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNBKB-vVdgs&ab_channel=AssociatedPress

Matisyahu on Religion, Music. (2010, September 16). Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URnomv4QbxY&ab_channel=ABCNews

Matisyahu Sharing His Life Story. (2010, November 23). Www.youtube.com; Zing Mit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuBuFd1xS-c&ab_channel=ZingMit

Matisyahu | Biography, Music & News. (n.d.). Billboard. Retrieved December 7, 2023, from https://www.billboard.com/artist/matisyahu/chart-history/tsl/

October 7th CHANGED Matisyahu | Clip from Ami’s House Ep #1. (2023, November 14). Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tODy1TCcDmg

Why did Matisyahu shave his beard? (2012, November 20). Www.youtube.com; BackstageOL. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KID8gRBdxZ8