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I will never forget my introduction to Matisyahu. The year was 2007, I was soon to be married and I was trying to figure out my life post Iraq. I remember a lot of random things from this year, including this moment. Jimmy Kimmel looked into the camera and said: “Our next guest is the most popular Jewish rapper since MC Hammer…. from Brooklyn, New York. welcome Hasidic hip hop reggae of Matisyahu.”

What my ears heard and my eyes saw forever burned a memory into my brain. Matisyahu broke new ground for the genre now known as Jewish hip hop.

Today, on the Fred Minnick Show, we celebrate Matisyahu’s latest album, named ‘Matisyahu,’ which, in my opinion, breaks away from his traditional style. And we don’t sip whiskey on this episode. We drink coffee. In fact, you may recall this coffee from a previous episode, I have become such a fan of the Wynn Coffee that I’ve brought them into the tasting room. If you’d like to join a long with us, you can get a 10% discount on on wynn coffees. Enter FREDMINNICK10 has been set up.

Here’s a shareable link: https://nguyencoffeesupply.com/discount/FREDMINNICK10

But for the most part, this episode is a back and forth of a couple coffee lovers and learning about a musician who changed the game. Enjoy this week’s interview

More on Matisyahu

Like only the most gifted storytellers, Matisyahu spins the rare kind of stories that simultaneously enlighten and enthrall and expand the audience’s sense of possibility. On his eponymous new album, the Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter/rapper shares his most autobiographical work to date, merging that personal revelation with a shapeshifting collision of reggae and hip-hop and boldly inventive pop. Produced by Salt Cathedral (a Brooklyn-based duo comprised of Colombian musicians Juliana Ronderos and Nicolas Losada), the result is an undeniably transformative album, one that invites both intense introspection and unbridled celebration.
“Throughout my life so much of my music has come from struggling with a sort of existential loneliness, even though a lot of the music is very joyful,” says Matisyahu. “I ended up in a place where I’ve found the person who’s my soulmate and made a beautiful life with her, and that’s the place where this record was born.”
The seventh studio album from the New York artist, Matisyahu arrives as the latest achievement in an extraordinary career that’s included landing a #1 hit on alternative rock radio (with his Billboard Hot 100-charting breakthrough single “King Without a Crown”), collaborating with the likes of reggae legends Sly and Robbie, and amassing a global following largely on the strength of his transcendent live show. In bringing the album to life, Ronderos and Losada joined Matisyahu at his former home on the Hudson River in Nyack, where the three musicians soon immersed themselves in an unfettered and improvisation-fueled creative process. “Working with Juli was the first time I’ve ever had a female producer, and it influenced the record in an amazing way,” says Matisyahu, who first collaborated with Salt Cathedral on his 2016 EP Release the Bound. “I felt free to bring more sensitivity or sensuality to my vocals, and really explore the subtleties of my voice.”