On EP, critics' darling Matisyahu gets critical

Hasidic Jewish rapper from New York is exploring darker themes in new music

By Chad Swiatecki
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, November 06, 2008

It seems odd at first to hear a Hasidic Jewish rapper from New York saying his honorary second home is a non-kosher barbecue joint in the heart of Texas.

But then you consider the artist — Matisyahu — and the restaurant — Austin's live music stronghold Stubb's — and the incongruity fades. Stubb's was the site for the 2005 live album that pretty much launched the career of the man born Matthew Miller.

"We didn't want to do it in an expected place like a temple in Midtown Manhattan, so it was like, why not a non-kosher barbecue joint in Texas, which is about the most non-Jewish place you can imagine," Miller said recently by phone. "Because of how things turned out with that record, Stubb's and Austin is kind of a home away from home for us. There's always going to be a strong connection because of the people and how great of a city you have there in the middle of the South."

Miller returns "home" on Tuesday as part of a tour promoting his new EP, "Shattered," a recording that's a marked departure into the topical facets of the world around him. And he doesn't like a lot of what he sees.

"The period around (2005's breakthrough album) 'Live at Stubb's' was a really inspirational time for me. It wasn't long after I had discovered Judaism and I felt overwhelmingly positive and full of joy at this change in my life," he said. "Because of that, the feeling is what fueled the music and I wrote whatever came to me based on that. Now, I'm out of that bubble and I allowed myself to explore my feelings over the state of things and what's going on in the world."

Politics and global tragedies such as the plight of child soldiers in Sudan were on his mind while recording the new "Shattered" EP that contains the most aggressive, pointed and angry music the until-now carefree rapper has ever recorded.

"I'm glad that that comes through, because that's where I am in my thinking," Miller said. "I get up and read the paper and start thinking about what I'm taking in and how it makes me feel.

"With this album I spent some real time on the ideas behind the songs I was writing. Something like the situation in Africa with child soldiers, I allowed myself to feel angst and pain over what's basically child slavery. It's so intense and I explored that with a new friend in Israel through meditation so I could sort through how I was reacting to it."

Miller said he's happy to be back on the road after spending much of the last year at work on the songs on "Shattered," which will also appear on his next full-length album, "Light" next year.

It's obvious the live presentation is the most important aspect of Miller's career, giving him a chance to give his audiences the same joy he takes from heroes such as recently reunited jam band Phish and reggae legend Bob Marley.

"Seeing Phish when I was 16 totally opened me up to the power of music and made me realize that this was going to be the inner driving force in my life," he said. "Phish was about the music and the enormity of it and how it could overtake you.

"With Marley he was so cool because he was moving with his vocals and his presence but also just the way he walked to the stage was like he was heading out to war. Like he was heading for a fight but his music was a weapon for good. He got right to your soul."