The State of Jewish Hip-Hop

3rd bassReuters just published a heads-up to the genre featuring Latin-flava’d Hip Hop Hoodios and Matisyahu (which is an arguable inclusion, ’cause Matis falls more into his own personal category of “Chassidic dub reggae.”) The article attempts to distill the true integrity between “Jewish hip-hop” and “Jewish parody rap” with a group that falls somewhere in the middle, Chutzpah, who I haven’t heard yet.

But now that 50 Shekel is now a Jew shilling for Jesus (check out the recent major drama at Jewschool), true Jewish hip hop just might get some respect.

Let’s break it down:

50 Shekel, 2 Live Jews — rip-off loops, bad puns, crap.

DJ Socalled, Remedy, Original Jewish Gangsters — unique beats, lyrics with depth and wit, artistry at work.

And I don’t know about y’all, but I miss 3rdBass.

Did I miss anyone? Challah back!

5 thoughts on “The State of Jewish Hip-Hop

  1. I use to be a big fan of 50 shekel. I even talked to him online. I was amazed that he was this great orthadox jew rapping. But when I found out that he became a jew for Jesus, I couldn’t belive it. I am no longer a fan of his and very dissapointed.

  2. Hip Hop Hoodios are one of the best new acts I’ve discovered in some time. I realize that Latino-Jewish hip-hop may sound like a novelty, but these guys are the real deal and reflect their bicultural identity quite well. I was blown away to learn that their videos get heavy rotation on MTV-Espanol. Here’s an openly Jewish group that has complete acceptance in the mostly non-Jewish Latino community. “Agua Pa’ La Gente” is my pick for album of the year!

    Check out their tracks and video here:

    http://www.myspace.com/hiphophoodios

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