Hebro

Last updated
Hebro
Birth nameRaphael Ohr Chaim Fulcher
Also known asSoulja, Rephael
Born (1987-05-30) May 30, 1987 (age 37)
Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York
Genres Jewish hip hop
Years active2016–present
Website hebromusic.com

Raphael Ohr Chaim Fulcher (born May 30, 1987), known professionally as Hebro, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer.

Contents

Early life

Fulcher was born in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, the youngest of six children. [1] [2] His parents are African American Orthodox Jews, having converted to Judaism in the 1970s under the guidance of Rabbi Jacob J. Hecht, known as the assistant and translator to the Lubavitcher Rebbe. [1] [2] [3] The family left Crown Heights when Fulcher was four and he grew up in Rocky Mount and Charlotte, North Carolina as well as St. Louis, Missouri. [1] [2] [3] He attended an Orthodox yeshiva from second grade through high school, then studied abroad in Israel. [1] He has described the experience of growing up black in predominantly white Orthodox schools as "often challenging". [2] [3]

Hailing from a family of vocalists, Fulcher began making music for the first time after high school, performing freestyle raps at parties, weddings, and Battle of the Bands competitions both in Israel and at Queens College when he returned to America. [1] [3] It was while organizing musical events for the campus Chabad at Queens College that he discovered his love of singing live, and after spending Lag BaOmer at the Chevra Ahavas Yisroel synagogue, he decided to stay in Crown Heights and spend time honing his craft. [3]

Career

Fulcher was featured on Orthodox singer-songwriter Aryeh Kunstler's 2011 remix of "Gam", a song from Kunstler's 2010 album Our Eyes Are On You. [4] The following year, Fulcher performed at a Purim concert at the Canal Room in Manhattan, alongside Moshe Hecht Band, The Groggers, and The Shop. [5]

His debut single and music video, "Gam Ki Eilech", was released on September 26, 2016. [1] [6] The following year he released a Purim single, "Shoshanat Yaakov Remix", as well as "Far From Perfect", a collaboration with singer Pinny Schachter that was recorded and mixed by C Lanzbom. [7]

Fulcher released his debut EP, Genesis, on March 21, 2018, through Bandlot Records. The EP featured both "Gam Ki Eilech" and "Far From Perfect", the latter of which was also remixed by Miami-based producer Nykore and released as a single. A release party was held at The Loft and Rooftop in Manhattan with Izzy Gilden, DJ Kamilly, and Simple Man, and Fulcher announced a planned music video for the track "Souljas" which would be based on the story of Cain and Abel. [3] In 2020 he performed at a Purim concert at SOB's alongside Pinny Schachter, Zayah, and Yaakov Chesed. [8]

Fulcher has performed with Matisyahu, Nissim Black, Moshav, Lipa Schmeltzer, and Zusha. [3]

Musical style

Fulcher's music combines hip hop with elements of pop, reggae, R&B, Motown, and EDM. [1] [2] [3] Speaking to Shais Rishon for Tablet in 2016, Fulcher described his goal with music as "reclaiming Hip Hop/Pop/R&B as a powerfully conscious tool to promote awareness, peace, love, and unity across all borders. I’m on a mission to redefine conventional 'Jewish Music' by singing songs with themes based in scripture but with a new sound. To redefine the conventional image/definition of 'Orthodox Judaism.' It’s not just European and more than the black and white uniform, you know?" [1]

Personal life

Fulcher lives in the Wesley Hills area of Monsey, New York. [3] He considers himself a Sephardi Jew but has a "deep love and appreciation for Chabad philosophy." [1]

Discography

EPs

Singles

Guest appearances

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yitzchak Hutner</span> American rabbi (1906–1980)

Yitzchak Hutner, also known as Isaac Hutner, was an American Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva (dean).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purim</span> Jewish holiday

Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from annihilation at the hands of an official of the Achaemenid Empire named Haman, as it is recounted in the Book of Esther.

Neo-Hasidism, Neochassidut, or Neo-Chassidus, is an approach to Judaism in which people learn beliefs and practices of Hasidic Judaism, and incorporate it into their own lives or prayer communities, yet without formally joining a Hasidic group. Over the 20th century neo-Hasidism was popularized by the works of writers such as Hillel Zeitlin, Martin Buber, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Lawrence Kushner, Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, and Arthur Green.

Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler was an Orthodox rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and Jewish philosopher of the 20th century. He is best known for being the mashgiach ruchani of the Ponevezh yeshiva in Israel and through collections of his writings published posthumously by his pupils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avraham Fried</span> Musical artist

Avraham Shabsi Hakohen Friedman better known by his stage name, Avraham Fried, is a popular musical entertainer in the Orthodox Jewish community.

Moshav, formerly known as Moshav Band, is an Israeli-American Jewish rock band originating from Moshav Mevo Modi'im. Founded in 1996 by Yehuda Solomon and Duvid Swirsky, the group moved to Los Angeles in 2008 and have released ten studio albums. With a sound incorporating elements of alternative rock, folk, funk, and reggae, they were credited, alongside Soulfarm and Blue Fringe, with advancing Jewish rock in the early 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yaakov Shwekey</span> American Jewish singer

Yaakov Choueka, better known by his stage name Yaakov Shwekey, is an Orthodox Jewish recording artist and musical entertainer. He is of Egyptian and Syrian Sephardic heritage from his father's side; and Ashkenazi from his mother‘s side.

Partnership minyan is a religious Jewish prayer group that seeks to maximize women's participation in services within the confines of Jewish law as understood by Orthodox Judaism. This includes enabling women to lead parts of service, read from the Torah, serve in lay leadership positions, sit in a more gender-balanced format, and in some cases count as part of a minyan ("quorum") of ten men and ten women. Partnership minyanim began in 2002 simultaneously in New York and Jerusalem, and have now spread to over 30 communities in at least five different countries around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurt Becher</span> SS officer (1909–1995)

Kurt Andreas Ernst Becher was a mid-ranking SS commander who was Commissar of all German concentration camps, and Chief of the Economic Department of the SS Command in Hungary during the German occupation in 1944. He is best known for having traded Jewish lives for money during the Holocaust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yossi Green</span> Composer of contemporary Jewish religious music

Yossi Green is a Hasidic Jewish composer of contemporary Jewish religious music. As of 2013 he had written more than 700 melodies in the genres of pop music, classical music, liturgical music, Hasidic music, and show tunes. His songs have appeared on more than 120 albums and CDs. His clients include most of the superstars of the Orthodox Jewish music world. He has released four greatest hits albums titled Shades of Green, and a solo album, The 8th Note. He regularly performs at charity benefits accompanied by popular Jewish singers under the rubric "Yossi Green & Friends".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gad Elbaz</span> Musical artist

Gad Elbaz is an Israeli Jewish singer who has gained international success and recorded several albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nissim Black</span> American Orthodox Jewish rapper

Nissim Baruch Black is an American-Israeli rapper, songwriter, and record producer.

Yaakov Chesed is an American Jewish rock band from Long Island, New York. Formed in 2006, the group won Battle of the Bands competitions at Yeshiva University and Lander College before recording two studio albums, Rise Above (2007) and The Passage (2009). Their name is a quote from the Uva letzion prayer in Shacharis.

Aryeh Kunstler is an American Orthodox Jewish singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L.E. Doug Staiman</span> Musical artist

Eliyahu Noah "Eli" Staiman, professionally known as L.E. Doug Staiman or simply L.E. Staiman, is an American musician, actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He was the frontman and founder of the Jewish pop punk band The Groggers, which he formed with guitarist Ari Friedman in 2010. Outside of The Groggers, he has performed with artists including Aryeh Kunstler, Benny Friedman, and Dave Days, and released several solo singles, including with the short-lived duo 3 Day Yuntif. In addition to music he has pursued filmmaking, directing music videos and comedy sketches for various YouTubers and making his feature film directorial debut in 2022 with Love Virtually, starring Cheri Oteri, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Paul F. Tompkins.

Orthodox pop, sometimes called Hasidic pop, Hasidic rock, K-pop, Haredi pop, and Ortho-pop, is a form of contemporary Jewish religious music popular among Orthodox Jews. It typically draws stylistically from contemporary genres like pop, rock, jazz, and dance music, while incorporating text from Jewish prayer, Torah, and Talmud as well as traditional Jewish songs and occasional original English lyrics with themes of faith and positivity. The genre was pioneered in the 1970s by artists like Mordechai Ben David and the Miami Boys Choir, who incorporated secular pop and dance influences into their music in contrast to the more traditional Jewish music of the time, and has had continued success in the modern era with singers like Yaakov Shwekey, Lipa Schmeltzer, Baruch Levine, and Benny Friedman.

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.

Shais Rishon, also known by the pen name MaNishtana, is an African-American Orthodox rabbi, activist, and writer. He has written for Tablet, Kveller, The Forward, Jewcy, and Hevria, as well as writing a semi-autobiographical novel under his pen name. In 2014, he was included in The Jewish Week's "36 Under 36", an annual list of influential Jews under age 36.

Black Jews in New York City comprise one of the largest communities of Black Jews in the United States. Black Jews have lived in New York City since colonial times, with organized Black-Jewish and Black Hebrew Israelite communities emerging during the early 20th century. Black Jewish and Black Hebrew Israelite communities have historically been centered in Harlem, Brooklyn, The Bronx, and Queens. The Commandment Keepers movement originated in Harlem, while the Black Orthodox Jewish community is centered in Brooklyn. New York City is home to four historically Black synagogues with roots in the Black Hebrew Israelite community. A small Beta Israel (Ethiopian-Jewish) community also exists in New York City, many of whom emigrated from Israel. Black Hebrew Israelites are not considered Jewish by the New York Board of Rabbis, an organization representing mainstream Rabbinic Judaism. However, some Black Hebrew Israelite individuals in New York City are recognized as Jewish due to converting through the Orthodox, Conservative, or other Jewish movements.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rishon, Shais (2016-10-13). "Bump Your Faith: Getting to Know Jewish Rappers Prodezra and Hebro". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Littman, Zeesha (July 16, 2019). "Episode 46 : Behind The Scenes With Hebro". Go Simcha!. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Eller, Sandy (March 15, 2018). "Rapping His Way to the Ultimate Redemption". The Jewish Link. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  4. Zweig, Yossi (Feb 14, 2011). "[Exclusive] Aryeh Kunstler presents: Gam The Remix featuring Hebro". The Jewish Insights. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  5. Zweig, Yossi (Feb 22, 2012). "PURIM SOIREE FEATURING: MOSHE HECHT BAND, THE GROGGERS, THE SHOP & HEBRO". The Jewish Insights. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  6. Hebro Music (September 26, 2016). "Gam Ki Elech - Hebro". YouTube.
  7. Far From Perfect: Hebro feat. Pinny Schachter, 27 September 2017, retrieved 2022-01-14
  8. "Purim with Zayah Hebro Pinny Shachter Yaakov Chesed DJ Brosky". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2022-01-14. [self-published]