Matisyahu continues to find inspiration in Judaism and music
“A musician has to deal with not burning up in their own flame,” he said, “and not letting their flame go out."
Matisyahu recognizes that creating art is a little messy.
“My career has had its ups and downs,” he said. “If you were on the outside looking in, you could certainly see things that have worked and things that didn’t. I’ve just allowed myself different phases. I’ve allowed myself to be a little messy.”
Matisyahu’s musical journey has followed a trajectory unlike many in the music industry.
He debuted as a Chasidic Jew playing music that mixed reggae and hip-hop influences, informed by artists like the Grateful Dead and Bob Marley, with a heavy dose of Jewish spiritualism.
Over the years, the black suit and hat, along with the long beard, have been shed. Matisyahu now looks like any other legacy act that might play a jam band festival alongside the likes of the Black Crowes or Phish, albeit with a large chai and gold chain around his neck and musical lyrics inspired by the Torah.
“I’ve ended up in a place that’s important to me and real to me,” he said.
One of the things that has been important, he said, is his religion, which has always been at the core of his identity.
“People will respect that, or they won’t,” he said. “It might not be for everybody at every moment.”
And while he’s an internationally known musician, Matisyahu’s career is filled with moments where his Jewish message wasn’t for everyone.
Going back nearly a decade, the artist had his performance at Rototom Sunsplash reggae festival in Spain canceled after he refused to reply to a demand to clarify his position on Palestinian statehood. More recently, he’s had shows canceled in Chicago, Santa Fe and Tucson.
Despite the controversy, there have been other shows that have strengthened his resolve, like a reggae festival he played in Las Vegas on Oct. 7.
“When I woke up that morning, I felt out of place in that environment,” he said, “until I saw someone in the audience with an Israeli flag.”
Matisyahu said he brought the audience member on stage, which helped revive his spirits.
“Muscle memory kicked in, and I went back to being the Matisyahu on stage in Spain performing before 1,000 BDS members with signs that said ‘Nazi-yahu.’ I went back to being the kind of religious Matisyahu and what that meant to me.”
In fact, one of his latest songs, “Fireproof,” is inspired by a dream he had and its religious symbolism.
“I had a very vivid dream,” Matisyahu said. “I was in a synagogue in some country in the Middle East in the days where there were synagogues there. There was a baby tiger I was playing with, and the mother was shooting flames out of her eyes, and when I looked down, I realized that I wasn’t burning even though I was consumed by fire, like the burning bush and Moshe.”
He explained that “Moshe” means “drawn from the water” and that the Jewish prophet was described as having humility — something the Matisyahu interprets as a fine line between fire and water.
“A musician has to deal with not burning up in their own flame,” he said, “and not letting their flame go out. As you progress as an artist, stamina is important and it’s something young people don’t think about — stamina and endurance.”
The song appears on his new acoustic EP, “Hold the Fire,” which he’s promoting on tour this year.
The shows, he said, will differ from some of the larger performances he’s done, featuring mainly just the performer with another musician, usually Adam Weinberg, but sometimes Aaron Dugan.
He said the performances feature acoustic versions of his work with beatboxing, singing and guitars.
“It’s multiple layers and loops and effects,” which means that sometimes the term “acoustic” isn’t the best describer for what people will experience, he said.
These stripped-down performances are different than what inspired his best-known song, “One Day.”
“I was inspired by Bob Marley and Shlomo Carlebach when I was becoming religious,” he said.
He said the song was written with the awareness that there’s a universal idea, some aspect of love, that can unite us all.
“I set out to create a song like that. It was good as a journey and it made that song work,” he said. “There aren’t many songs that address those issues that everyone can buy into that aren’t corny and aren’t cheesy.”
Of course, the success might have been bashert as well. The song was co-written by The Smeezingtons, an American songwriting and production team that included Bruno Mars.
The song has taken on a life of its own and is now a staple on radio, at Jewish day camps and during Shabbat services in synagogues across the country.
“No one cares who wrote ‘One Day,’” Matisyahu said. “It’s one of those songs that is bigger than the artists, in a way. It became more about the song than the artist. It’s a good song. It’s a great song.”
Matisyahu will bring his acoustic show to the Thunderbird Café in Lawrenceville on Sunday, Nov. 17. PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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