I hate when my head explodes twice in one day.
If you needed further proof that the Apocalypse is nigh, here it is.
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce Matisyahu....purveyor of
Hasidic reggae.
Yes, Virginia, there is actually a Hasidic reggae singer. I'm not sure whether to be appalled or to laugh hysterically at the idea of
an ex-Deadhead and Phishhead who is now a Lubavitch Hasid and sings reggae.
Is this how dead Rastafarians are reincarnated? As Hasidic Jews who sing reggae?
Reggie is historically associated with Rastafarianism, after all, which grew out of Marcus Garvey's 1920 prediction: Look to Africa "when a black king shall be crowned, for the day of deliverance is at hand" and came to fruition with the crowning of Ras Tafari as emperor Haile Selassie 1 of Ethiopia in 1930 and became known as "King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and the conquering lion of the Tribe of Judah". Haile Selassie claimed to be a direct descendant of King David, the 225th ruler in an unbroken line of Ethiopian Kings from the time of Solomon and Sheba, and somehow I doubt that most Rastas feel a great kinship with Jews, nor do Jews feel a great kinship with Rastafarianism.
But hey, if
Don Byron can do klezmer and keep the Yiddish music of Mickey Katz alive, why not a Hasid who does reggae? If your curiosity gets the best of you, Matisyahu is appearing at B.B. King's in New York City on Christmas Day. Doors open at 6, tickets are a big 15 bucks.
Now THAT's a
shandeh far di goyim.
(via
Alterman)