---

Matisyahu,

Matisyahu

For a little while I have been hearing rumblings of Matisyahu the white ragga man. I just got a copy of "Shake Off the Dust". Wow!! this guy rocks.

Yea, try look passed the whole religious thing, his music really taps into the zeitgeist spot.

Matisyahu's (pronounced "Mātis-yāhoo") band has a unique sound, mixing reggae, traditional rap, and guitar solos typical of rock music. His fans are of different walks of life, religions, and ethnicities. He sometimes performs with Kenny Muhammad, a Muslim beatboxer. He also provides vocals on the songs "Roots in Stereo" and "Strength of My Life" for the 2006 album Testify by P.O.D., a predominantly Christian group.

His reggae vocal style is along the lines of traditional Rasta Roots stylings mixed with dub sound. The easiest comparison would be similar to the conscious and cultural sides of Buju Banton, Sizzla, Capleton, or Junior Kelly, but with the upbeat message of Luciano, Bushman and Everton Blender, and vocal dexterity of Barrington Levy. The production of the tracks draws from King Tubby, Augustus Pablo, Mikey Dread, and Linval Thompson. Similarities to the Foundation Sound of the late 1970s and 1980s would be accurate, and comparisons to Morgan Heritage likewise, would not be wrong. However, he mixes in contemporary stylings of rap and beatboxing, similar to Sublime, as well as the traditional Hazzan style of Jewish cantors and Hasidic nigunim.

Source - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia