| Matisyahu is the Hebrew name for Matthew Paul Miller (who was born June 30, 1979). He was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. His family eventually setteled in White Plains, New York. He was brought up as a Reconstructionist Jew, and for those years, he played under the alias of "MC Truth". He eventually turned to Orthodox Judiasm. Matisyahu is a member of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic community in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York, which is led by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.He counts among his musical inspirations, Bob Marley, Phish, and Rabbi Schlomo Charlebach. Matisyahu's popularity began as an underground buzz. He then started to gein mainstream success as evidenced by his appearences on television. He is also getting some success in mainstream with the live version of the song "King Without A Crown", which has broken into the Modern Rock Top 10. In November 2005, Matisyahu was among the top 5 members in the American Jewish Community, in tThe Foward. (A Jewish-American newspaper) In an interview with chabad.org, a popular Jewish website, he states that, "All of my songs are influenced and inspired by the teachings that inspire me. I want my music to have meaning, to be able to touch people and make them think. Chasidism teaches that music is "the quill of the soul". Music taps into a very deep place, and speaks to us in a way that regular words can't.:" Matisyahu is amrried to an NYU student named Thalia in August of 2004, and recently had a son, Laivey. His band's sound is a mix of reggae, traditional rap, and guitar solos typical of rock music. Most of his songs are almost entirely in English, with a few words of Hebrew and Yiddish mixed in. |
