Matisyahu! (Bless you)

Rapper, rasta, beatboxer and singer Matisyahu can strike a strange impression rocking a crowd dressed head to toe in orthodox Jewish garb. But far from being some shallow gimmick, his love of music and his spiritual calling have merged in a deeply honest way.

"Yes, reggae is a very accessible music," he tells us, "There's no other music that can reach so many in such a meaningful way. It's also a very spiritual music, it has a distinct Old Testament feel and represents the whole human struggle: we're all trying to break out of our own personal Egypt, to find that milk and honey within ourselves."

After creating a hectic buzz fronting his band's cauldron of reggae, hip-hop, punk rock and an explosive live recording, Matisyahu caught the attention of bassist/producer Bill Laswell, who brought the band into his studio to record their new album, 'Youth', which is currently soaring everywhere it goes. Matisyahu credits him with a "great recording philosophy" that effectively brought out the dub feel in his tracks.

His Judaic take on lyrics and approach compliments the music well: "Judaism has a very strong tradition of storytelling and supports music very strongly, and likewise reggae lends itself very well to attaining a meditative state", he laughs. "But you don't need to smoke the 'erb to get high on music." He agrees that drugs, violence and sex have become almost synonymous with reggae and hip-hop, but argues that there is a lot more to it than that: "A lot of people try to call me one kind of genre or another, always trying to label me," he says, "let it be, without definition."

Going under the banner of "youth is the engine of the world", the album makes you wonder how much longer Matisyahu is planning on travelling this youthful road. "I've met young men who are old, and old men who are young," he muses. "It's not about how many records you've sold, it's about how many people you can get jumping up and down in a club, it's about using energy in the most efficient way possible."