Next time you’re strolling through Crown Heights, Brooklyn and happen to see a tall, bespectacled young man wearing the garb of the Hasidic Jewish community coming towards you, try humming a few bars of Bob Marley’s “Exodus” and see if he smiles at you and joins in.

Matthew Paul Miller (Matisyahu) spreads his messages of faith and “consciousness” through the reggae medium, and although this sounds strange to say the least, he’s getting his message across, particularly to the young people. As he sings on title track and second single “Youth”:

“Take a stand

Fan a fire for the flame of the youth

Got the freedom to choose

You better make the right move

Young man, the power's in your hand”

His style borrows heavily from the vintage reggae of Marley and the spiritual messages of singers like Luciano rather than the popular dance hall music of Sean Paul, but you can also hear other influences such as The Police in “Despatch the Troops”, and Matthew Wilder in “Jerusalem”, as well as rap and hip hop.

Matisyahu gives his all in his live performances, as can be seen in the video for “King Without a Crown”, his first single that made the world sit up and pay attention. If it takes a gimmick to get the message of peace and harmony to young people than I’m all for it.

Maybe not the best reggae album in the world, or the most spiritually uplifting, but certainly fun, catchy and with no need for Parental Advisory warnings.

Amanda Richards, April 22, 2006

Recently saw the video for "King Without a Crown" on VH1 and I knew I had to buy this CD, I'm glad I did, this guy is an amazing talent...Best Tracks..1,3,5,7 and 13

Many people already familiar with this artist seem to think former pot-smoking/Phish-head turned devout hasidic jew Matisyahu Miller has changed his sound for more popularity and airplay, I can't agree with this statement at all. Comparison to Live @ Stubbs is moot - it's a live album, and for someone with a lot of hip hop influence in his music, live and studio albums are going to sound pretty different.

Matisyahu has not changed his sound, he's merely expanded it. On this album, you hear songs with some more rock (title track "Youth"), some redemption song-esque folk("what im fighting for"), some calypso and afro-cuban ("ancient lullaby"), and some songs more focused on hip hop ("WP", "Indestructable"), but all these songs and the rest of the album still stand firm in the genre of reggae, which is what has gotten Matis to where is he today.

After seeing him perform "Jerusalem" last night on Jimmy Kimmel, a song with pretty strong hip hop beats on the actual album, it's even more apparent live that Matisyahu has stayed true to his sound - songs that have strong hip hop influence/beats on the album or sound "overproduced" still sound like vintage Matisyahu live.

I have long been someone who reads reviews on amazon for music and movies, but never actually written one. I feel this album and Matisyahu truly deserve the recognition that seems to be exponentially coming their way, and I felt compelled to give this album my first review - I think this album/musician is that good, original, and worth getting. I would actually give this album 4.5 stars, but in Matisyahu's case, I think his refreshing music and sound deserve a 5 instead of a 4. His lyrics are as strong and powerful as ever, and his music (not to overlook his band members either) has expanded to new levels while still being recognizable to previous efforts. The whole album, in my opinion, has no weak points, but standout tracks include: "fire of heaven/altar of earth", "time of your song", "dispatch the troops", "late night in zion", "jerusalem", "ancient lullaby", and the previously recorded but changed "king without a crown" (which is over half the album, and I could list more good songs).

All in all, if you're already a Matisyahu fan, pick this album up - you won't be disappointed unless your expecting the same exact thing as Live at Stubb's. If you've just heard of him or are interested in hearing more, I highly recommend picking this album (or Live at Stubbs) up. After all, you could do a lot worse with the music being released these days, as like Matisyahu or not, its still music more enlightening and original than 90% of other music coming out.

The new lion from zion does not dissappoint.

I noticed that MTV started playing his videos. Too bad. It means you get teenyboppers looking for Ryan Seacrest's newest fave. The most imporant thing to know about this album and his albums in general are that this is not the "Jewish" Bob Marley, traditional reggae (is there such a thing), or Sean Paul feat. Beyonce. It's enjoyable and spiritual: the man creates great music, has great charisma and a great message. Back to my original point, it is a different reggae-- Bob Marley, Shaggy, Sean Paul and (say what?) Sublime (some posts mentioned these) are just a few popular manifestations of a diaspora of beats that have notably conquered the world--South Africa and Brazil are great examples of reggae hubs. So why not Crown Heights already? In the tradition of the greatest reggae master Jimmy Cliff, he gives props and plenty of freedom of expression to his band. And yeah.. he's Chassidic. BFD. He could be an Eskimo and his music would still feel good!

Gabriel Elias

The first time I heard "Youth" I walked away humming a few of the songs and couldn't wait to hear it again. Although I could never sing along with all the lyrics (how DOES he sing/talk so fast?), I wish I could because the songs are truly addicting and catchy and the lyrics are awesome and profound.

Matisyahu is a BRILLIANT artist; he has the right blend of talent and originality that will take him far. He is such a breath of fresh air in a music industry where pretty much anyone can put out an album (ie- Paris Hilton, Ashley Simpson, etc) and talented musicians rarely become famous.

I HIGHLY recommend listening to this album at least once- you won't stop thinking about the songs and humming the tunes. I also recommend seeing him in concert if he's ever in your area; I just saw him live and he puts on a DYNAMITE show!