Trip hop is a musical genre that originated in the late 1980s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound, often incorporating elements of jazz, soul, funk, reggae, dub, R&B, and other genres, typically of electronic music, as well as sampling from movie soundtracks and other eclectic sources.
Souls of Mischief is a hip hop group from Oakland, California, that is also part of the hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. The Souls of Mischief formed in 1991 and is composed of rappers A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, and Tajai.
Matthew Paul Miller, known by his stage name Matisyahu, is an American reggae singer, rapper, beatboxer, and musician.
Khen Rotem, known by his stage name Sagol 59, is an Israeli rapper, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being a Jerusalem-based hip-hop MC and has been hailed as the "Israeli godfather of hip hop." He also writes about music for many Israeli publications, including Haaretz and the Tel Aviv guide City Mouse. He also teaches Rap and Hip Hop classes at the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music.
Yitz Jordan, better known by his stage name Y-Love, is an American hip hop artist. An Orthodox Jew, Jordan was formerly Hasidic. He is a web developer, activist, and entrepreneur. Jordan rhymes in a mixture of English, Hebrew, Yiddish, Arabic, Latin and Aramaic, often covering social, political and religious themes.
The Brotherhood were a pioneering UK hip-hop group with a solid following across the UK from the early 1990s. Releases with seminal UK Hip Hop label Bite It! Recordings were followed by a later move to Virgin. The 1996 album Elementalz has been described as one of the best UK hip hop albums ever made and "a staggering achievement in British music". The band finally split in 1998 and have since been credited as one of the most influential bands on the 90s UK hip-hop scene.
Shtar is an Israeli Jewish rap rock band based in Beit Shemesh. Formed in 2006 by American rapper Ori Murray and English guitarist/songwriter Brad Rubinstein, the band released their debut album, Infinity, in Israel in 2010 and in the United States through Shemspeed Records in 2012. They have received considerable media attention, much of it focused on the contrast between their traditional Jewish dress and modern-sounding music. A second recording, Boss EP, was released through the band's own Heatseat Records in December 2012. In 2015, they were announced as contestants on the Israeli reality singing show HaKokhav HaBa.
Moshiach Oi! is an American Hasidic hardcore punk band from Long Beach, New York. Formed in 2008 by lead singer Yishai Romanoff and guitarist Mike Wagner, they released their debut album, Better Get Ready (2009), on Shemspeed Records, followed in 2011 by This World is Nothing. They were prominently featured in the 2012 documentary Punk Jews.
Lisp was an English trip hop band from East London. Formed in 1995, they were signed to Mind Horizon Recordings, a subsidiary of London Records, on which they released their first and only album, Cycles (2000), which saw radio success from its singles "Flatspin" and "Long Way to Climb".
Infinity is the debut studio album by Jewish hip hop band Shtar. Produced by then-drummer David Epstein, the album was originally released by the independent Shemesh Music label on May 2, 2010. After the band was signed to the larger indie label Shemspeed a year later, it was re-released by that label on March 5, 2012.
Boss EP is the debut EP by Jewish hip hop band Shtar, released on December 5, 2012. It follows the band's debut Infinity (2010), and is the first of two EPs meant to precede their second album. The EP was promoted with two singles, "Overload" and "Gone Again", both co-produced by Grammy-winning engineer Adrian Bushby. Jewish rapper Nissim is featured on the song "Rabbit Hole", his first musical appearance since retiring in early 2011.
Eden Daniel Pearlstein, better known by his stage name Eprhyme, is an American Jewish rapper and producer based in Brooklyn, New York. While attending The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, he became involved with the Olympia music scene as half of the hip hop duo Saints of Everyday Failures, with which he released two albums. According to Nic Leonard of the Weekly Volcano, Eprhyme "played a major roll [sic] in the creation of the Olympia hip-hop scene." He was noticed by local independent label K Records, who released his first two singles, "Punklezmerap" and "Shomer Salaam". He then released his debut album, Waywordwonderwill (2009), through Shemspeed Records, before returning to K Records for his follow-up, Dopestylevsky (2011). He is currently part of the alternative hip hop groups Darshan, with vocalist Basya Schechter, and Ruthless Cosmopolitans, with Jon Madof.
Nissim Baruch Black is an American-Israeli rapper, songwriter, and record producer.
Darshan is an American Jewish alternative hip hop group from Brooklyn, New York. Formed in 2008, the group primarily consists of rapper Eprhyme and singer-songwriters Shir Yaakov and Basya Schechter. Its debut album, Deeper and Higher, was released in 2015, followed by a second album, Raza, in 2017.
Electro Morocco were an Israeli American electronic music band from Brooklyn, New York. Formed in 2007 by members of Nanuchka, they released two EPs, Electro Morocco (2008) and Low Ride (2010) and were featured on the Shemspeed compilation album Sephardic Music Festival Vol. 1 (2010). They remixed and produced songs for Y-Love, DeScribe, and Eprhyme, and were noted for their unusual blend of electronic, rock, and Middle Eastern music.
Jewish rock is a form of contemporary Jewish religious music that is influenced by various forms of secular rock music. Pioneered by contemporary folk artists like Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach and the Diaspora Yeshiva Band, the genre gained popularity in the 1990s and 2000s with bands like Soulfarm, Blue Fringe, and Moshav Band that appealed to teens and college students, while artists like Matisyahu enjoyed mainstream crossover success.
Jewish hip hop is a genre of hip hop music with thematic, stylistic, or cultural ties to Judaism and its musical traditions.
Ari Benjamin Lesser is a Jewish American rapper, singer, songwriter, and spoken word artist. Known for his videos on Israel and Jewish Holidays, Lesser has released over a dozen albums, written hundreds of original songs on a wide range of subjects, composed raps about 200 different animals, and created accurate rhyming translations of Pirke Avot, Psalms, and other parts of the Siddur. He continues to perform and speak at events around the world.
Reuben Ezra Formey, known by his stage name Prodezra, is an American Jewish rapper and producer based in Savannah, Georgia. He has released two albums, Until When (2009) and Connection Revealed (2011). He is notable, along with Y-Love, Nissim, and Shyne, as one of several African-American Orthodox Jewish rappers.
Rory Murray, known by his stage name Ori Murray, is an American-born Israeli rapper, best known as the co-founder and rap vocalist of the band Shtar.
