Matisyahu's new EP is not only a departure from his usual sound, but the meaning behind the songs could not come at a more pertinent time.
The 44-year-old Pennsylvania-born musician burst onto the scene almost 20 years ago when he went viral with his breakout hit "King Without A Crown." But what set Matisyahu apart and helped put him on the map was he a practicing Hasidic Jew, not something you see every day in the mainstream music world, let alone in hip hop or reggae.
He has since shed his more Orthodox religious beliefs but still remains deeply embedded in religion and it continues to influence his music, including his forthcoming EP, Hold The Fire.
Matisyahu tells Newsweek the theme across his five-track EP is that of "stamina" in the face of adversity. In his new music this is represented by fire and "the flame which engulfs you" looks different for everyone. For him, it was his battles with anger, drugs, isolation, alcohol, reevaluating his religion, a marriage breakdown, and more recently, the October 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel.
"It's the idea of water and fire creating balance," he explains.
This representation appears as a metaphor in his music, the concept of "a fire that doesn't consume itself," because a person must find balance. On a more political scale this represents "the continuation of the Jewish people and how we must not let our fire go out and not burn everything else in the process."
The theme for the Afro Pop EP came to Matisyahu in a dream and made him realize "life is an ongoing process." Coming out of the COVID lockdowns made him want to "ignite the flame," to find his passion for music again.
"My entire career, my entire life has been ups and downs," he says.
But with everything going in Israel and Gaza, he feels Hold The Fire and its two lead singles, "Fireproof" and "End of the World" really have a much stronger meaning now.
"I had a show that Saturday night after the massacre and everything felt different for me, like there had been some kind of shift," he explains of the surprise attack on Israel by members of the military arm of the Palestinian group, Hamas. Around 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 kidnapped.
In the days since the attack, Israel has waged a campaign of air strikes and military ground operations in Gaza, which it says are an attempt to destroy Hamas. More than 24,285 people have been killed in Gaza by Israel's actions, according to the Associated Press, citing Gaza's health authorities.
Matisyahu is clear on what needs to happen moving forward to end the conflict in the Middle East.
"I would like to see any terrorist, Hamas, or person who believes Israel has no right to exist or the Jews have no right to it, I would like Israel destroy those people," he states.
"Then I wold like to see some type of new world that comes about in Gaza where Jews can go back to the Middle East," he says. "Where we can go back to synagogues, where our great-grandparents were and we can pray together."
He adds: "I would like to see the destruction of evil."
Matisyahu admits he does not have the answer on how peace can come to Israel and Gaza, but the Grammy-nominated singer hopes it happens soon.
He is currently in Israel on a trip funded by Israeli airline El Al and the antisemitism lobby Maccabee Taskforce, who believe "the BDS movement is at the forefront of this troubling trend," namely, the rise of antisemitism on college campuses.
The Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) movement is a pro-Palestinian campaign that has been advocating for global pressure on Israel since 2005. It urges consumers and countries to disengage from companies operating in or with Israel, including McDonald's, Burger King and Starbucks. BDS also calls for countries to sanction Israel and companies to not invest in the country.
Matisyahu himself was a target of BDS in 2015 when he was dropped from a music festival in Spain because he would not endorse a Palestinian state. Of that incident, and others that have seen pro-Palestinian protesters turn up to his concerts, Matisyahu says it just makes him want to persevere even more for Jewish people and Israel.
"Something inside me switches on when I feel this type of antisemitism. It lights a fire for me," Matisyahu says. "I think that's the case for the Jewish people and the reason why we still exist like no one does, and you could say we have had the greatest impact on humanity out of any other people in the world."
He says that's because Jewish people have been attacked "time and time again, and our story is miraculous."
"When there's pressure against us, we thrive," the rapper adds. "The level of unity and light pouring out from the Jewish world is unprecedented."
Once he returns from Israel, Matisyahu will kick off a 34-date tour of the U.S. starting on January 31. His fans can expect to hear his new sounds, but still come to see the Matisyahu they know and love.
The singer talks about what one of his biggest fans told him recently.
"'We've seen your ups and downs,'" he recalls the fan saying. "'We've seen different sides of you and what we love is the fact that every time we see you, it's real and it's authentic. It's always inspiring.'"
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
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