Matisyahu
Matisyahu
Matthew Paul Miller, known by his Hebrew and stage name Matisyahu, is a Jewish American reggae vocalist, beatboxer, and alternative rock musician...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMusician
Date of Birth30 June 1979
CountryUnited States of America
music people trying
The kind of music I'm trying to make is conscious, to make people think and feel and get inspired.
becoming feed fully ideas integrated jewish normal
The Jewish world is becoming fully integrated with the ideas of the normal world. They feed off each other.
agree fan hold judgment might music touched tried understand
I think when you're a fan of music - at least the way I've been a fan to artists that have really touched me - you're with them for the long haul. They might do things that you don't understand or agree with, but I think I've always tried to hold my judgment and give them the space to do what they need to do.
allow band constant interact music open people present search stage
For me, it's always this constant battle and search when I'm out on stage as to where and when do I really open myself up to the people that are there. How do I let myself feel present in the space, and how do I allow myself to get into the music and interact with the band members.
came emotions gave guess inside knew music pit strange stream time voice
It was a really strange way that I came into music. Once I gave voice to it, the pit of emotions that I guess I knew was inside of me for a long time, the stream never really stopped.
art change happen internal music
Change is an internal thing. Different things happen or transform, and music and art is a documentation of that.
coming immersed movies music recording secular spent
In 2004, when I started recording my first CD, I was coming right out of yeshiva. So I had spent two years completely immersed in the Hasidic culture, disconnected completely from the secular world - movies, music, people.
came david lyrics material music musicians producers took worked written wrote
With 'Light,' I collaborated with a lot of different producers and musicians I respected, and we all wrote and worked on material which I then took to an old-school producer, David Kahne, and we put it all together. The lyrics came first - they were written before the music.
art artist needs
If I've grown as an artist, it will be represented in the art. There's no need to explain it.
attention came cousins hearing liking man married music paying raised reggae remember summer traveled
My mother's sister married a man from Barbados, and my cousins were raised in Barbados. So we traveled down there, they came up every summer for camp, and I started paying attention to their music. And that was the first place I ever remember hearing reggae and liking it.
hockey ice loved
I loved ice hockey. I used to play ice hockey. So, you know I wanted to be a hockey player.
became bob came music natural reggae singing spoke
I got into Bob Marley, I got into reggae music. And that music just spoke to me and so it just became natural that when I started writing lyrics, and started singing them, they came out in that way.
beat beats became circle creative guy high mine outlet rhymes school sort
I started out with friends of mine in high school beat boxing. Everyone would sort of like be in a circle making up rhymes and raps, you know. That was like the creative outlet for my friends. And I became the sort of the guy that made the beats, like did the beats with my mouth.
asked gonna mean question
I never really thought of it. I mean I get asked the question all the time. If someone comes to a show because they think like, 'Oh, this is gonna be funny' or something they're gonna get there and they're gonna see that's not what this is about.