--- title: The Problem With Disinviting Matisyahu From a Concert in Spain description: Why I'm scared a wave of anti-Semitism is sweeping across Europe canonical: https://time.com/4000828/jewish-rapper-matisyahu-spain-concert/ author: Rabbi David Wolpe article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-18T18:53:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:31.196Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Problem With Disinviting Jewish Rapper Matisyahu From a Concert in Spain og:description: Why I'm scared a wave of anti-Semitism is sweeping across Europe og:url: https://time.com/4000828/jewish-rapper-matisyahu-spain-concert/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42a39a26e73a1516/69885fb0cf40a81cb7c3f433/matisyahu.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4500 og:image:height: 2531 og:image:alt: Singer Matisyahu performs at the official opening ceremony of the European Maccabi Games at the Waldbuehne in Berlin on July 28, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Problem With Disinviting Jewish Rapper Matisyahu From a Concert in Spain twitter:description: Why I'm scared a wave of anti-Semitism is sweeping across Europe twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42a39a26e73a1516/69885fb0cf40a81cb7c3f433/matisyahu.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 03:19 video:published: 2012-07-13 section: entertainment topics: Spark Seeker album, genre evolution, reggae and hip hop fusion, world music, recording in Israel, collaboration, Crown Heights life, Hasidic community, shaving the beard, Hebrew name, Judaism, personal transformation genre: interview, music tones: reflective, candid, measured, personal emotions: reflection (medium), pride (low), nostalgia (low), conflict (low) sentiment: neutral audience: music fans, reggae listeners, readers interested in religion and identity, pop culture audiences people: Matisyahu, Tim Morrison, Matthew Miller organizations: TIME products: Spark Seeker content_suitability: religion [02:03-02:39] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # The Problem With Disinviting Jewish Rapper Matisyahu From a Concert in Spain > Sponsored content. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=9d733a1d-a8a0-4ba7-b98c-3e3a37404ec1&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Matisyahu: New Look, New Sound [Watch (HLS stream): Matisyahu: New Look, New Sound](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mON3tbSL.m3u8) (3:19)  _Published 2012-07-13. Jewish reggae singer Matisyahu talks about his new album, 'Spark Seeker', and his transformation from being an 'Hasidic superstar'_ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Jewish reggae singer Matisyahu discusses his new album Spark Seeker, which he describes as an evolution of his mixed-genre music, leaning toward a pop urban and hip hop feel with world music influences because it was recorded in Israel. He explains how a collaboration with a producer came about and reflects on the changes in his life over the past year, including shaving his beard. He talks about his years living in Crown Heights, the pressures of his music career within that community, and his continuing connection to Judaism and his Hebrew name. ## Key points - Matisyahu says Spark Seeker leans toward a pop urban, hip hop feel mixed with a world music vibe because it was recorded in Israel. (00:31) - He describes his music as always being a mixture of multiple genres, with the direction depending on who he works with. (00:31) - A friend connected him with a collaborator, and after writing together one day they ended up with a full record and travelled to Israel. (01:09) - He says he posted pictures of himself without his beard in December last year, and attributes the change to a shift in his ideology. (01:28) - He lived in Crown Heights for the last decade, describing it as a monumental part of his life where he learned a lot from immersing himself in the culture. (01:48) - He describes the community as having darker sides and says that while selling hundreds of thousands of records he could be eaten alive, but his kids went to school there and he made good friends. (02:03) - He still feels a strong connection to his Hebrew name and to Judaism, though he may no longer agree blindly with every dimension of it. (02:39) - Asked whether he would return to being Matthew Miller, he answers that he does not know but feels strongly connected to his Hebrew name. (02:26) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:31] Introducing the new album Spark Seeker. The host introduces Matisyahu and his album, and Matisyahu describes it as a departure that he sees as an evolution. - [00:31 to 01:19] Genre mix and recording in Israel. Matisyahu explains his multi-genre approach and how the album's pop urban and world music sound was shaped by its Israel recording sessions. - [01:19 to 01:28] How the collaboration began. Matisyahu recalls how a friend introduced him to a collaborator, leading to a shared record and a trip to Israel. - [01:28 to 02:03] Shaving the beard and shifting ideology. Matisyahu discusses posting photos without his beard and explains that it reflected a shift in his ideology and an opening to a new part of himself. - [02:03 to 02:26] Life in Crown Heights. Matisyahu reflects on a decade in Crown Heights, describing its positive and darker aspects alongside his music success. - [02:26 to 03:19] Hebrew name and connection to Judaism. Matisyahu considers returning to his birth name and affirms his strong ongoing connection to his Hebrew name and to Judaism. ## Key quotes - [00:31] Matisyahu: "I intend to look at it as an evolution." - [01:48] Matisyahu: "That was a very monumental part of my life and I learned a lot from immersing myself into a" - [02:03] Matisyahu: "you could be eaten alive." ## Questions this video answers - What is Matisyahu's new album called and what sound does it have? [00:19] - How did Matisyahu's collaboration on the new record come about? [01:09] - Why did Matisyahu post pictures of himself without his beard? [01:28] - What was Matisyahu's experience living in Crown Heights? [01:48] - Would Matisyahu consider going back to his birth name, Matthew Miller? [02:26] - How does Matisyahu describe his connection to Judaism today? [02:39] ## Content suitability - religion [02:03-02:39]: Discussion of the Crown Heights community, Judaism and shifting religious beliefs, including darker aspects of the community. by [Rabbi David Wolpe](https://time.com/author/rabbi-david-wolpe/) ## Rabbi David Wolpe Aug 18, 2015 6:53 PM UTC  Singer Matisyahu performs at the official opening ceremony of the European Maccabi Games at the Waldbuehne in Berlin on July 28, 2015. Singer Matisyahu performs at the official opening ceremony of the European Maccabi Games at the Waldbuehne in Berlin on July 28, 2015. Sean Gallup—Getty Images by [Rabbi David Wolpe](https://time.com/author/rabbi-david-wolpe/) ## Rabbi David Wolpe Aug 18, 2015 6:53 PM UTC In his monumental work [_The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth Century Spain_](http://www.amazon.com/The-Origins-Inquisition-Fifteenth-Century-Spain/dp/0940322390)_,_ Benzion Netanyahu, the father of the current Israeli prime minister, argued that anti-Semitism changed during the Spanish Inquisition. Jews were not targeted because they had different beliefs — those who adopted Christianity were targeted, too. The hatred against them was racial. Just being Jewish made you different. In that malevolent way, Spain anticipated Nazi Germany. How far we have _not_ come. The Jewish-American rapper Matisyahu was recently [disinvited](http://mashable.com/2015/08/17/matisyahu-dropped-festival/) from a concert in Spain because he would not sign a statement endorsing a Palestinian state. Matisyahu is not a citizen of Israel. He does not vote in its elections or create its policy. This was not a statement of belief but an unfairness based on the fact that Matisyahu is a Jew. Matisyahu [responded](https://www.facebook.com/matisyahu?fref=ts) on Facebook: “Honestly it was appalling and offensive, that as the one publicly Jewish-American artist scheduled for the festival they were trying to coerce me into political statements.” As I’ve [written before](http://Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions), the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement increasingly shows that it has deep roots not in political opinion, but in hatred of and unfairness toward Jews. People who insist that artists sign political statements or who boycott them are people who have learned nothing from the 20th century. They are petty tyrants clothing themselves in a faux compassion that gives their lust for power the garb of respectability. The wave of anti-Semitism sweeping across Europe and Latin America has become undeniable and increasingly frightening. A recent Anti-Defamation League [survey](http://www.adl.org/press-center/press-releases/anti-semitism-international/adl-survey-in-ten-european-countries-find-anti-semitism.html) found anti-Semitic levels across Europe — including in Spain — at “disturbingly high levels.” On a recent trip to Argentina, I listened to young people who were looking for a way out. The bombing of a Jewish center and the subsequent evasions and untruths that culminated in the murder of the Jewish [prosecutor](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/20/world/americas/alberto-nisman-found-dead-argentina-amia.html) had convinced them that shadows would never lift from the community. Netanyahu penned his history for the same reason that he raised his children — Jonathan, the slain leader of the Entebbe hostage rescue raid, and Benjamin, the prime minister of Israel — to love the land of Israel. Netanyahu saw from his studies that hatred is recalcitrant and does not seem to disappear. We have seen people singling out Jews for different treatment before, and it does not end with oaths. “Loyalty” oaths are despicable, but they are only the beginning. They are the first exercise of something far more pernicious. It is not a great loss to Matisyahu that he will not appear at the week-long festival in Valencia. The loss to Spain is far greater. Perhaps Spanish students do study history, but some of them still seem doomed to repeat its mistakes. ### See Art Kane’s Most Memorable Music Portraits  The Who, 1968. courtesy Art Kane Archive  Jefferson Airplane, 1968. courtesy Art Kane Archive  Bob Dylan, 1966. courtesy Art Kane Archive  Country Joe and The Fish, 1968. courtesy Art Kane Archive  Janis Joplin, 1968. courtesy Art Kane Archive  The Rolling Stones, 1966. courtesy Art Kane Archive  Jim Morrison, 1968. courtesy Art Kane Archive  Louis Armstrong, 1958. courtesy Art Kane Archive  Harlem, 1958. courtesy Art Kane Archive  Photographer Art Kane at Keith Moon's drum set, 1968. courtesy Art Kane Archive ## Transcript [00:14] >>I'm Tim Morrison for time. com. We're on [ unk ] [00:16] and waiting for Brooklyn. I'm talking to a recording [00:19] artist, Matisyahu. His new album is called Spark [00:21] Seeker. It's out July 17th. [00:23] >>This is [00:28] a bit of a departure for me in terms of what I usually [00:30] do. [00:31] >>I intend to look at it as an evolution. I think my [00:33] music has always been mixture, multi- genre music [00:37] and depending on who I'm working with, what band, [00:40] what musicians or producer as the direction that I lean [00:42] in. This record is definitely leaning in more of a sort of [00:46] pop urban, hip hop kind of feel to it and mixed [00:50] with a world music type of vibe because we recorded [00:53] in Israel. [00:54] >>You worked with [ unk ] on this record. [01:03] You worked with Nikki Minaj before. [01:08] How did that come about? [01:09] >>So, a friend of ours hooked us up to just try writing [01:12] together and we work Sunshine one day. Before we [01:15] knew it, we all have a record and he wanted to go to [01:17] Israel. So- [01:19] >>The past year or so or 6 months has been quite [01:22] busy for you and there've been a lot of changes and [01:24] the big one came in December last year was when you [01:27] posted pictures of yourself without your beard. [01:28] >>Uh- huh. [01:28] >>You said something along the lines of- no more [01:32] [ unk ]. He's a great reggae superstar. What was [01:33] behind that decision? [01:34] >>Well, I guess it is about that I had shifted sort of my [01:38] ideology a little bit and I was opening up to a new- [01:42] sort of a new place within myself. [01:44] >>Do you now consider yourself part of that [01:47] community? [01:48] >>Well, I lived in Crown Heights for the last decade. [01:52] That was a very monumental part of my life and I [01:55] learned a lot from immersing myself into a [01:59] culture in such a extreme way. And then, [02:03] there was also, you know, darker sides and then I have [02:07] this music career and, you know, and had- all of a [02:09] sudden, I was selling hundreds of thousands of [02:11] records and living, you know, in this little community [02:14] and, you know, it was, you know, you could be eaten [02:17] alive. But at the same time, my kids were in school [02:19] there and we had friends there and I met good people [02:23] there, too. So, you know- [02:24] >>You took your name, Matisyahu, when you [02:26] converted originally to [ unk ]. Right now, would you [02:29] ever go back to being Matthew Miller? [02:31] >>Who knows? But I still feel like a strong connection [02:34] with my Hebrew name and with- I still feel [02:39] very strong connection with Judaism. You know, I might [02:41] not sort of blindly agree with every dimension [02:45] of it as I once try to do, you [02:49] know. There's- to me, there's so much there. There's [02:54] so much- it's so much a part of me. So- [02:56] >>Matisyahu, thanks very much again. [02:58] >>Thank you. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4000828/jewish-rapper-matisyahu-spain-concert/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4000828/jewish-rapper-matisyahu-spain-concert/"},"headline":"The Problem With Disinviting Jewish Rapper Matisyahu From a Concert in Spain","datePublished":"2015-08-18T18:53:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:41:31.196Z","description":"Why I'm scared a wave of anti-Semitism is sweeping across Europe","url":"https://time.com/4000828/jewish-rapper-matisyahu-spain-concert/","keywords":["Religion"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42a39a26e73a1516/69885fb0cf40a81cb7c3f433/matisyahu.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rabbi David Wolpe","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rabbi-david-wolpe/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42a39a26e73a1516/69885fb0cf40a81cb7c3f433/matisyahu.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Singer Matisyahu performs at the official opening ceremony of the European Maccabi Games at the Waldbuehne in Berlin on July 28, 2015.","caption":"Singer Matisyahu performs at the official opening ceremony of the European Maccabi Games at the Waldbuehne in Berlin on July 28, 2015.","creditText":"Sean Gallup—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4000828/jewish-rapper-matisyahu-spain-concert/","name":"The Problem With Disinviting Jewish Rapper Matisyahu From a Concert in Spain"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Matisyahu: New Look, New Sound","description":"Jewish reggae singer Matisyahu talks about his new album, 'Spark Seeker', and his transformation from being an 'Hasidic superstar'","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/mON3tbSL/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2012-07-13T19:40:58.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mON3tbSL.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4000828/jewish-rapper-matisyahu-spain-concert/","duration":"PT3M19S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4000828/jewish-rapper-matisyahu-spain-concert/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```