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Matisyahu

Matisyahu looks somewhat out of place every time he steps onto a stage. Though a reggae superstar, he certainly does not look the part. Far from the dreadlocked Rastafarian reggae archetype, Matisyahu is a unassuming, lanky, bearded Jewish man in traditional dress (often, a black wool suit and a wide brimmed hat) who would look more at home in a synagogue than at a concert. The moment he opens his mouth and begins to sing, though, all doubts about his musical ability are set aside. Blending his conservative, old-world faith with a Sublime-esque reggae-meets-rock style is no easy task, but Matisyahu pulls it off surprisingly well.

Though he is now a strict adherent to the Hacidic Judaism movement - a very traditional, centuries old faith originating in Eastern Europe - that was not always the case. Growing up in White Plains, New York, Matisyahu (real name Matthew Paul Miller, his stage name Matisyahu is derived from the Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation of Matthew) was a rebellious teenager. He dropped out of high school at age 16 to follow a Phish tour, spending his free time taking a good deal of drugs. He ended up finishing high school at a boot camp in Oregon, spending a semester off at a study-abroad program in Israel that rekindled his interest in the Jewish faith. This experience led him to move to New York City after graduation, where he eventually embraced orthodox Judaism.

While diligently studying the Torah as part of his religious education in New York, Matisyahu purchased some DJ equipment and began to make his own music. Fusing the secular psychedelic rock of his childhood with his newfound faith, Matisyahu began to compose catchy rap and reggae music that echoed the sentiments of his religion. He released an album in 2004, Shake off the Dust…Arise, but his mainstream popularity did not swell appreciably until 2005, when a performance with Phish brought the unlikely reggae artist into the national spotlight.