If there’s one thing Matisyahu wants to make clear, it’s that he, like his music, can’t be easily understood in simple terms, in boxes or categories. “I’m a varied artist, I don’t really have my foot stuck into one genre,” he explains in my recent interview with him. Important words from a man whose career has often depended on the assumptions brought on by labels: “Jewish.” “Orthodox.” “Reggae.”
But perhaps we’re getting ahead of ourselves. First things first: “OMG, did u c Matis w/o his yamikkuh (sp.?)???” “LOL! i no, rite?”
When Matisyahu’s Twitter and Facebook accounts lit up with photographs sans–kippah and beard, the Jewish blogosphere erupted. In the weeks that followed, every writer with an Internet connection and a couple of the hit iconoclast’s songs on his iPod had thoughts about Matisyahu’s transformation from average American kid to frum reggae warrior and back again. Many were confused. Others said his liberalism was inevitable. And a few, though perhaps more than the Internet let on, felt the whole debate got out of hand too quickly. Those in the last category, we salute you.
It’s not that Matisyahu’s personal journey isn’t compelling. After all, Matthew Miller, who chose his Hebrew name as his musical moniker, just did a quick left turn from uber-Orthodox poster child to Eminem circa1999. No kippah? Nopeyos? No facial hair at all? And then, a few days later… blond hair? Of course, it’s compelling.
But the debate wears thin quickly. Some in the Orthodox camps are pissed and many liberal Jews are shaking their fingers about the risks of becomingbaalei teshuvah(Jews who become Orthodox as adults). Must be Tuesday.
I know what you’re thinking: “But, fair reviewer, you don’t understand. Matis is Judaism’s first observant foray into pop culture. And isn’t Matisyahu’s look the biggest part of his success? Wasn’t his image his most appealing asset?” A resounding yes—at least till now. Exit the yarmulke and enter “Spark Seeker,” his new album. Ironically, but no less poetically, the moment when Matisyahu’s image seems less certain is also the moment he develops a creative voice that truly suits him. Which means we finally have reason to let chatter about his naked, bleach-blond head fall by the wayside, if only for a season.
Matisyahu himself resists being reduced to his resume, his accomplishments or even to a single interpretation of his work. When asked about his aspirations, he balks. “I guess I know my entire life as not so much ‘What are the things that I’d like to succeed at?’ but more to be the best at what I do,” he says. “To do what I do to the best of my ability, you know? And that being the music that I make.”
If Matisyahu is aware of how much of his career hangs on the outcome of his latest project, he doesn’t betray it during our interview. Soft-spoken, he maintains a steady air of quiet confidence throughout our exchange. He is direct and plain, speaking without flourish or flattery. To call him tired would be a disservice. “Comfortable” is just right. Matisyahu has earned every right to be comfortable. “Spark Seeker” is a quirky, endearing and unabashedly summer-ready LP. For once, his music doesn’t feel like a desperate bid to feel authentically Jewish, or anything else; each of his previous records has sunken under the weight of that element. Now, he’s free.
“[Recording this album] was very different from the last record, from ‘Light,’ which was a difficult process and painstaking and monthsandhoursandhours,” Matisyahu explains. “This record was made in much more of a fun kind of way, in the sense that I became close friends with the producer and it was just the two of us in the studio for most of the time, just having a good time and rocking over beats, basically.” Summing it up, he says, “It was a very enjoyable way to make the record.”
Even moments when the album threatens to be compromised by an oversaturation of spirituality are leavened with tongue-in-cheek humor. Take “King Crown of Judah,” where Matisyahu andShyne, anotherJewish rapper, sound off about the depths of their spiritual devotion. That is, before Matis describes his “double-edged sword that swings low by my knees” and the whole thing falls to hell with one delightful, silly gibe after another. The track’s energy is infectious on its own terms, but it’s just exciting to feel how much fun Matisyahu is allowing himself.
“Buffalo Soldier” (also featuring Shyne—and no, not the Bob Marley classic) is another excellent example. Everything about this track should doom it to failure: the badly distorted hook, an odd intro verse from Matis that mixes lines like, “Ancient words that teach me to love you” with a gangsta swag. Wouldn’t you know it—it’s the best track on the album.
“The difference is I definitely write all my lyrics out,” Matis replies, when asked about his work with Shyne, an artist known for a sharp mind and quick tongue. “I don’t come into the studio with them memorized, and cutting them in different parts. I try to take it and do them in longer chunks. So it’s a little different creatively.”
It’s hard to deny that Matisyahu’s collaborators go a long way in enhancing his sound. Shyne, Orthodox Jew and occasional Lil Wayne track feature, is right there with him on some tracks. Kool Kojak, producer for Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry and Ke$ha, ties it all together in a cohesive way. Both enhance Matisyahu’s penchant for caricaturing by surrounding the subject with poppy sounds that sell the whole package. Matis himself acknowledges the new dynamics at play here: “Me and Kojak were more like peers, like a buddy you have in high school where you go over to his house and work on music, and kind of blow each other away with ideas.”
But what of his faith? Well, that’s here too, though there’s nothing too surprising: Matisyahu is still Jewish. Moreover, Matisyahu still loves to sing about Judaism, and he does so with fervor. One look at the track titles – “Searchin,” “Baal Shem Tov” and “King Crown of Judah” being standouts – and it’s clear that the wannabe guru in Matis is here to stay. But even that gets an upgrade. Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, the founder and rebbe of Jewish Renewal, makes an appearance on “Searchin.” A short speech about the role of the rabbi in the life of a spiritual Jew is chopped and screwed, then used for the track’s hook, intro and outro. It’s both catchy and deep, which is something Matisyahu strives for but rarely achieves so perfectly.
He sees this as the continuation of a concept he explored in his earliest work: “On my first record ‘Shake Off the Dust,’ I had incorporated the rabbis whom I was learning from at the time in the yeshiva. I recorded them, and we worked them into the songs.” Of Schachter-Shalomi’s clip, Matisyahu says, “I asked him to do it. I have a relationship with him. And that’s what he came back with.”
What’s the verdict? From his almost entirely revamped sound and a surprising sense of fun, to his choice of rabbi cameos, thoughtful collaborations and a range of genuinely memorable hooks, “Spark Seeker” emerges from his other records as an indispensible piece of Jewish pop culture and Matisyahu’s best record since “Shake Off the Dust, Arise.” And the bleach-blond hair? He replies, “Right now, it’s not so blonde, it’s a little darker now. It’s changing. I’m just trying out things to see what feels good.”
Beautifully put.
