matisyahu

I heard on NPR the other day that the two current top-selling reggae albums right now were by Matisyahu (a white Hassidic Jew) and Willie Nelson (more well known as a country singer). As a friend of mine would say: "interesting times".

From a certain perspective, its not surprising or deep that Willie Nelson, long-time marijuana advocate would cover a reggae song. Besides, many reggae songs definitely have a "country" or rural feel. But Matisyahu's very existence as a performer raises some more thought-provoking questions. For example, is Matusyahu's music a form of cultural appropriation? If he simply sung secular dancehall party music the issue might be alot simpler. But since he also performs more in the spiritual tradition of Rastafari-influenced reggae things get more interesting. Rastafarianism is, loosely speaking, a form of Christianity which sees former Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie as the fulfiller of certain Biblical prophecies. At the same time, Rastas tend to emphasize the Old Testament of the Bible and speak often of Babylon, Zion, the themes of captivity and exodus, and they incorporate other "Jewish" ideas into their practice, language and theology.

So on the one hand Matisyahu could be seen as a white guy playing black music. Or a Jewish guy playing Christian music. Or more circularly, a Jewish guy who is reclaiming a musical form popularized by Black Christians but ultimately inspired by Jewish spirituality in the first place. Any of those answers is probably too simple by themselves. Maybe we can only say he's an ordinary guy playing good music, and leave it at that.

Wikipedia on Matisyahu
Matisyahu's official website