http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matisyahu

Ok, me and my friends are just dieing to understand this. We turn on the radio and we start hearing Jewish Nigguns on the popular hard rock station... Then we listen to the words of the songs and say to eachother "Do they even know what he is saying?"

by "they" we mean non-jews... so Do you? Why in the world is this man so popular?

Oh, and incase there are any fans out there.. I'm about to spend the weekend with him (and 100 other people) in Long Beach, CA and we get a free concert Sat. night... (if you want to crash )

matisyahu finally made it, foolio. why u gotta be drinkin h4terAide?!1

he's a jewish reggae master, nuff said.

and the reason he is being played on alternative rock stations is because his newest and probably only hit, king without a crown has a very rockish sound - the guitar is awesome on that song. you can understand alot of what he's saying - erm, well maybe not the "ziggy iggy ohh" parts...



bwuahaha... who's they?

You understand what he means when he says "want Moshiach now?" and do you know who the king without a crown is?

I agree his music is great, but I just can't picture a bunch of non-jews singing "want moshiach now"

And do people know what "Hashem's rays fire blaze burn bright and I believe" means?

Personally, I love it... I just don't get it.

"ziggy iggy oi"- is a Jewish Niggun.. its a song with no words, just emotion.


Just incase I wasn't clear.. I LOVE his songs.. they are so damn powerfull and sound great... I just can't imagine non-jews thinking that as well...

daganev, im not going to get into a discussion with you about what i think his lyrics are about, that would be just... well, dumb. music is music, you dont have to understand every lyric to appreciate it. People feel that soul, that strength in his music and respond to it. You dont have to be a jewish scribe that understands hebrew to realize that his music is great.

I guess...

lyrics are why I like songs.

Nirvana is nice, but nothing special untill you understand his lyrics (imo) same with Metalica.

But my question still is ... "do you understand him?" If not, then not, if yes I'm not going to debate with anyone 'what they really mean' cause thats the whole fun with lyrics, I'm just curious if people know what its talking about. There is no scholar aspect to it, they are just terms used by the Chabad community.

Same way people ask if suburb folk know what the inner city language means.

Opinions differ, some people like music for the way it sounds and some like it for the words and meaning behind the words. Those that dont understand it like it for the way the words and the music entwine creating an awesome sound (never heard it, Im just going by what they may be thinking).

He was on the mtv university station thing they always show in the canteen, I liked his song, had no idea what it was about but it sounded nice.
love-mimi

Some of my friends have talked about him. I've never heard him bufore, but I hear is just insane.

I'm not religiously jewish, but for one the songs just sound great, and also I went and found out all the words I didn't know, and learned a lot in the processs. It's good stuff.

Misses the point.

You don't have to be Jewish or speak Hebrew to like this guy's music, any more than you have to be Catholic and speak Latin to enjoy the Latin Mass/Benetictine/Gregorian chants, or any more than you have to be black and fluent in his particular version of ebonics to enjoy Snoop Dogg, or Buddhist to listen to Buddhist mantras.

As far as Matisyahu himself goes - I like the music because it's so weirdly bad that it's good. Refer also to Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme's cover of Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun, and to R Kelly's Trapped in the Closet. The only difference is that it's in a different language, one I don't speak.

For the record, I haven't heard this Matisyahu's music yet.

But it should be noted, that some of the most powerfull pieces of music in the world are in foriegn languages, or have no lyrics at all. Has noone ever heard a full orchestra concert, or a REALLY good opera? That can be powerfull stuff, it hits ya right in your heart and emotions. Even if you don't understand a word they're saying. Good music should be able to speak beyond the boundaries of words, it should be capable of breaking through international borders, and speak directly to the hearts of those listening to it. In my oppinion, that is what the best music does to make it great.

point taken, however Motzart, as great as he is, is not in the top 20 of records sold.

I may not have much experience in the inner city, but when I hear snoop's songs I still understand what they are saying, even if I don't feel very connected to it. I'm just curious if people can understand Matysiyahu or if its just part of the "ooh new regae, sounds good.. I could never understand those guy's lyrics" thing, or if its a "ooh I like what he says, sounds good" thing.

Being that I -can- understand him, its hard for me to step out of my ears and hear what it would be like if you could not understand him.

Most of my music is Japanese (or without words at all). I enjoy not being able to understand the lyrics. So many English lyrics are really corny to my ears, so I avoid them mostly.

I must say that my taste in english music changed a lot the moment I was able to actually understand what they were saying, that put some at the same level than some spanish music I despise due to the lyrics.

It just makes me sad to listen to songs with silly meanings unless the music is really really good.

But still, being as I am against religion, some Requiems and other deeply religious music leave me open mouthed. And yes, having studied in religious schools all my life I know what the lyrics mean more or less (The wording might change a bit, but the meaning is the same because it's actually a funeral mass).

So I asked Matisyiahu why he thought non-jews like his music.

His first answer was "Why wouldn't they?" then he chuckled, and said.. "Everyone can listen to music and understand it, like a painting, it can have more than one meaning. If they like it, they obviously understand it."

It was quite interesting meeting him. He was so soft spoken and gave a great thing about making yourself humble inorder to reach greatness. Almost opposite to how he appears on stage.