Y-Love

Last updated
Y-Love
Y-LoveSOLO23.jpg
Yitz 'Y-Love' Jordan
Background information
Born (1978-01-05) January 5, 1978 (age 45)
Baltimore, Maryland
Genres Jewish hip hop
Occupation(s)Rapper
Years active2005–present
Labels Shemspeed
Website thisisylove.com

Yitz Jordan (born January 5, 1978), better known by his stage name Y-Love, is an American hip hop artist. An Orthodox Jew, Jordan was formerly Hasidic. [1] He is a web developer, activist, and entrepreneur. Jordan rhymes in a mixture of English, Hebrew, Yiddish, Arabic, Latin and Aramaic, [2] often covering social, political and religious themes.

Contents

Biography

Personal life

Jordan, an only child, was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland to a Christian Ethiopian father and Puerto Rican mother, occasionally attending a Baptist church. [3] As a youth, Jordan was a fan of the conscientious rhymes of KRS-ONE and Public Enemy's Chuck D. [4]

Jordan first became interested in Judaism at the age of seven. "I saw a commercial that said, 'Happy Passover from your friends at Channel 2,'" he said, "and I went drawing six-pointed stars on everything at my mother's house." [5] He started wearing a kippah and observing Shabbat at 14, and converted to Judaism around the turn of millennium. [6] He later spent time studying at a yeshiva in Jerusalem. [6] In May 2012, Jordan came out as gay. [1] As of 2012, he still identified as an Orthodox Jew. [7] However, by 2013 he proclaimed himself off the derech. [8]

Career

After moving to Brooklyn in 2001, Jordan began performing at open mics around the city as Y-Love. He received a measure of criticism from the local Jewish population for also being a member of the hip hop community. [4] He also works as a web developer and activist.

Y-Love released his first mixtape in 2005, DJ Handler Presents Y-Love: The Mixtape, leading to an award for Best Hip Hop Artist at Heeb's 2006 Jewish Music Awards. [4] A few years later, he teamed up with beatboxer Yuri Lane to record the a capella album, Count It (Sefira). The vocals-only offering can be listened to by Orthodox Jews year-round, including the period between Passover and Shavuot, when it is not permitted to listen to musical instruments. [9]

In the Fall of 2008, Y-Love released his first solo full-length album, This Is Babylon. XXL said the album "balances Jewish spirituality with party rhymes and political commentary in an effort to spread [Y-Love's] message of global unity." [4] His 2011 EP See Me (produced by Diwon) debuted as a "New and Noteworthy Release" on the front page of the iTunes Hip Hop page. The music video for the EP's single "This Is Unity" was called "awesome" by URB . [10]

In Fall of 2014, Y-Love appeared in a documentary called Punk Jews. [11]

In June 2020 he became the chief product officer at Tribe Herald, a news site for Jews of Color. [12]

Musical style

Y-Love generally comes up with his rhymes through extensive freestyling. "You freestyle and wait until something hot comes out," he says. [9]

The Jerusalem Post called Y-Love a "spiritual, rapping guru" who is "front and center in a trending hip-hop revolution." [5] He was named to The Jewish Week's 2009 36 Under 36, an annual list of 36 notable Jews under the age of 36. "I'm using hip hop to elevate," Y-Love stated. "That's what I'm about." [13]

Y-Love uses strong Jewish themes in his lyrics, saying "We know that the Book of Psalms was written using the types of musical instruments which were contemporary to King David’s day. Today we have digital equipment." [14]

Discography

Albums

Release dateAlbumLabel
April 14, 2008Count It (Sefira)
(Y-Love & Yuri Lane)
Modular Moods/Shemspeed
October 27, 2008This Is BabylonModular Moods/Shemspeed

Extended plays

Release dateAlbumLabel
May 14, 2010Change
(DeScribe & Y-Love)
Modular Moods/Shemspeed
May 17, 2011See MeShemspeed

Singles

Mixtapes

TV appearances

Related Research Articles

Israeli hip hop refers to hip hop and rap music in Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shyne</span> Belizean rapper and politician (born 1978)

Moses Michael Levi Barrow is a Belizean rapper and politician. He is the Leader of the Opposition in the Belize House of Representatives, and the leader of the Belize United Democratic Party. Barrow was born in Belize but moved to Brooklyn in New York City as a child and began to rap as a teenager. He is perhaps best known for his 2000 singles "Bad Boyz" and "Bonnie & Shyne". He also wrote and performed on a number of multi-platinum albums, such as Usher's Confessions, Lil Wayne's Carter IV, Notorious B.I.G's Born Again, Mase's Double Up, and Puff Daddy's Forever among other top-selling albums during his tenures with his former labels, Bad Boy Records and Def Jam Recordings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CunninLynguists</span> American hip hop group

CunninLynguists is an American hip hop group from Lexington, Kentucky. The group currently consists of Deacon the Villain, Kno, and Natti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matisyahu</span> American musician

Matthew Paul Miller, known by his stage name Matisyahu, is an American reggae singer, rapper, beatboxer, and alternative rock musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sagol 59</span> Israeli 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Termanology</span> American rapper

Daniel Domingo Carrillo, better known by his stage name Termanology, is an American rapper and record producer. He first gained major attention with the 2006 single "Watch How It Go Down". A solo album, Politics as Usual, was released in 2008. He has made a number of collaborative albums, such as 1982 and is known also for his prolific mixtape output. He is of Puerto Rican and French descent.

<i>Follow Me Home</i> (album) 2011 studio album by Jay Rock

Follow Me Home is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist Jay Rock; it was released on July 26, 2011, under Top Dawg Entertainment and Strange Music. The album was preceded by two singles; "All My Life " and "Hood Gone Love It".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erez Safar</span> American DJ, producer and songwriter

Erez Safar is an Author, American DJ, producer and songwriter who records under the names Diwon and h2the. He is CEO of Bancs Media, an American production company specializing in music and video production; Studio Bancs, a creative art space; and Shemspeed, a record label and promotional agency. He is the founder and director of the Sephardic Music Festival, and Gallery 38 in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kosha Dillz</span> Israeli-American rapper

Rami Matan Even-Esh, known professionally as Kosha Dillz, is an Israeli-American rapper.

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.

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.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thank You (Busta Rhymes song)</span> 2013 single by Busta Rhymes featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Q-Tip

"Thank You" is a song by American rapper Busta Rhymes. It was released on November 7, 2013 by Cash Money Records and Republic Records as the intended second single from his tenth studio album, Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God. The album, released October 30, 2020 by Conglomerate and Empire, excluded both "Thank You" and "#Twerkit", the album's intended lead singles.

<i>Punk Jews</i> 2012 American film

Punk Jews is a 2012 American documentary film directed by Jesse Zook Mann and produced by Saul Sudin, Evan Kleinman, and Alexander Emanuele. The film profiles several non-traditional Orthodox Jewish artists, activists, and groups based in New York City.

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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shneur Hasofer</span> Musical artist

Shneur Hasofer is a Hasidic musician known as DeScribe. Hasofer's musical style has been characterized as "Hasidic hip-hop," "Hasidic rap" and "Hasidic R&B".

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.

References

  1. 1 2 Jerry Portwood, "Y-Love is Ready for Love," Out , May 15, 2012.
  2. Erin MacLeod, "Cool shul: Matisyahu and Y-Love on why rap, reggae and rabbinical teachings fit together naturally," Archived October 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Montreal Mirror , October 19, 2006.
  3. "Tale of Tragedy and Triumph For a Struggling Hasidic Black Convert Rap Star," VozIzNeias.com, September 14, 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Jesse Serwer, "Walk Wit' Me: Black Jewish MC Has Rhymes For You Little Yentas," XXL, Issue #101, April 2008.
  5. 1 2 "Jewish hip hop artist Y-Love," Jerusalem Post, November 7, 2010.
  6. 1 2 Trymaine Lee, "Black and Jewish, and Seeing no Contradiction," New York Times , August 27, 2010.
  7. Danielle Berrin, "Self-Love for Y-Love," The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles , May 23, 2012.
  8. "Yitz Jordan - Yep. Ten years ago this week. In the middle..." Facebook.com. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  9. 1 2 Ben Bresky, "Jewish Rapper Releases A Capella CD," Shiur Times, August 2008.
  10. "Videos against hate: Bekay and Y-Love release new videos," Archived January 28, 2012, at the Wayback Machine URB.com, May 20, 2011. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  11. "Punk Jews - Full Movie". YouTube .
  12. Engel, Aviva. "Rapper and entrepreneur Y-Love launches news site for Jews of Color". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  13. Eric Herschthal, "36 Under 36 2009: Y-LOVE (Yitz Jordan), 31," The Jewish Week, April 24, 2009.
  14. "MM Magazine". Archived from the original on 2011-10-23.