Since first emerging on the international stage in 2005, MATISYAHU has established a reputation for following his muse — from the stripped-down roots reggae of the gold-certified Live at Stubb’s (2006) to the trippy ministrations of Shake Off the Dust…Arise (2004) + Youth (2006) to the polished eclecticism of Light (2009) . He then incorporated heavier beats + beautiful Mediterranean instrumentations with Spark Seeker (2012) + his personal + emotional evolution with another studio album called, Akeda (2014) which is around the time of my interview with Matisyahu.
As of 2024, The discography of Matisyahu consists of five studio albums, four live albums, one compilation album, two remix albums, three extended plays + twenty singles.
As for the series of live releases, in 2010, the lyrical beat-boxing poet + rapper returned to the venerable Austin venue that introduced him for Live at Stubb’s II, demonstrating that all those travels had somehow only strengthened his connection to his musical bedrock. It was a whirlwind half-decade journey, one that earned Matisyahu a place in pop culture at large.
Outer garments, of course, long defined Matisyahu in the eyes of many.
“I was the Hasidic reggae superstar,” he says with a knowing laugh. “We live in a world where people tend to think in extremes and categorize with ultimate statements,” Matisyahu says.
“While it’s true that at one point it would’ve been pretty accurate to describe me as Hasidic reggae, for most of my career my music has been a blend, a mixture.”
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