So answer this question for me. Why would a white jew who just happens to be religious imitate music sung by blacks?
Matisyahu is not imitating black music... He is an artist who does many different styles of music. It is incorrect to label his art as 'rap' or 'reggae'... I think attempting to pigeon-hole his talent is a waste of time.
Then you can argue why would a Jew sing rock music, as it was ultimately invented by the blacks {as many musicoligists will point to the evolution of rock music through jazz & blues music}... And then you would attack all Jewish rock singers... And then you would start to attack Shlomo Carlebach who used a Guitar {which was not invented by Jews} and sang music which is similar to other music...
If he produced music which was morally wrong or supported opinions which run contrary to Judaism then I would condemn it... But Matisyahu is genuinely Jewish and his lyrics and his music are inspiring to many good Jews.
What is your beef with Matisyahu? Most people who comment have no idea what they are commenting on...
PS: Many great Rock bands also play Reggae... Does that make them black culture? No... Music style is not culture, it is a style of music which is inspiring to many. Also it is true that many melodies which we sing on Shabbat are not originally Jewish melodies but they are rather melodies of European origin. Should we not sing these Shabbat melodies?
http://www.jewishmag.com/129mag/jewish_music/jewish_music.htmFollowing the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Jews were dispersed throughout the world. As a result, all aspects of Jewish culture—including music—took on diverse and variegated forms. “After the dispersion,” wrote composer Herbert Fromm, “[Jewish] sacred music was exposed to the ever changing influence of other nations.” Consciously or unconsciously, Jews heard certain music in the various countries in which they lived, and absorbed it into whatever musical tradition they had. For this reason, musicologists have been unable to isolate a common melody—sacred or secular—shared by all of the world’s Jewish communities.
This great diversity has led many to ask, “What is Jewish in Jewish music?” The truth is that there really is no definitive answer to this question. In fact, the most widely accepted description of Jewish music is functional rather than definitional: “Jewish music is that music which is made by Jews, for Jews, as Jews” (Curt Sachs). In other words, rather than trying to determine what styles of music are fundamentally Jewish, it is better to look for that music which functions Jewishly: music for the synagogue, Jewish weddings, Jewish theater, etc. In this connection, musicologist Marsha Bryan Edelman observed that, while it may be impossible to define Jewish music, there is certainly “music of the Jews.”
