Hasidic Reggae? Hasidic Reggae. In the crowded New York reggae scene, Matisyahu literally stands out like no other. Beyond his versatile voice which ranges from sweet and fluid, to rough and rugged, he's a very unexpected face; standing over six feet tall, wearing the traditional garb of a Hasidic male. With his long beard and black hat, this 24-yr-old lyricist, MC, and beatboxer is a singular performer, whose power, poetry, and skills combine the sounds of Bob Marley and Shlomo Carlebach, yet remaining wholly original. SHAKE OFF THE DUST...ARISE, Matisyahu’s new album out Oct. 12 on JDub Records, presents this remarkable performer as a a new cultural fusion, integrating the power of reggae music into his life in Crown Heights as he lives and studies Jewish texts among Brooklyn's Lubavitch community.

Matisyahu did not grow up an observant Jew; he spent his youth as a seeker, and jumped from one experience to another. After much struggle and determination, he found Hasidic Judaism, and put it all into his music. He transformed himself from a lost teenager searching for meaning to a young man immersed in Jewish study. And while it might sound like kitsch, Matisyahu is 100% real, conscious dancehall reggae.