Biography

The reggae and beatbox musician known as Matisyahu was born Matthew Paul Miller in 1979 in West Chester, Pennsylvania but spent his formative years growing up in Westchester County, New York. Matisyahu was raised in a strict Jewish household, but by the time he was a teenager he’d started to reject the rigidity of his upbringing. Inspired by the band Phish, Matisyahu followed the band on tour for awhile and began experimenting with hallucinogenics.

A wilderness expedition trip in Oregon brought Matisyahu back to his religious focus, and he began exploring Judaism under the tutelage of a rabbi in New York. He began to study different facets of Judaism, but also began to explore a career as a musician more seriously. After signing with JDub Records, Matisyahu released his debut album, Shake Off the Dust… Arise, and he began to tour extensively, performing at festivals such as Bonnarroo. Audiences were captivated by Matisyahu’s unique blend of reggae, rap, hip-hop and Judaism’s hazzan style of prayer.

Shake Off the Dust… Arise didn’t chart, but it paved the way for Matisyahu’s sophomore album and big breakthrough. The album, Youth, arrived in 2006 and rose to the number four spot on the mainstream charts, the number three spot on the rap charts, and the number one spots on the reggae charts. Since that time, Matisyahu has released the chart-topping reggae albums Light (2009), Spark Seeker (2012), and Akeda (2014.) Notable singles include: “King Without a Crown,” “Youth,” and “One Day.”

In recent years, Matisyahu has also started a film career, beginning with his appearance as Chassid in the film A Buddy Story (2010) and most recently with his role as Tzadok in the film The Possession (2012.) He continues to perform and record, however, and recently in 2016 completed a 12-college campus tour throughout the United States.