Up for auction "King
Without a Crown" Matisyahu Hand Signed 8X10 Color Photo. This item is
certified authentic by Todd Mueller and comes with their Certificate of
Authenticity.
ES-1395B
Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), known by his Hebrew and stage name Matisyahu (/ˌmɑːtɪsˈjɑːhuː/; מתּתיהו, "Gift of Yahu", a Hebrew name of God), is an American Jewish reggae singer, rapper, beatboxer, and alternative rock musician. Known for blending Orthodox Jewish themes with reggae, rock and hip hop beatboxing sounds, Matisyahu's 2005 single "King Without a Crown" was a Top 40 hit in the United States.[3] Since 2004, he has released five studio albums as well as two live albums, two remix CDs and two DVDs featuring live concerts. In addition, Matisyahu played the role of Tzadok in The Possession, a supernatural horror film directed by Ole Bornedal and co-produced by Sam Raimi. Through his career, Matisyahu has worked with Bill Laswell, reggae producers Sly & Robbie, and Kool Kojak. Matthew Paul Miller was born on June 30, 1979, in West Chester, Pennsylvania. His family eventually settled in White Plains, New York. He was brought up a Reconstructionist Jew,[6][7] and attended Hebrew school at Bet Am Shalom, a synagogue in White Plains.[8][9] He spent much of his childhood learning the tenets of Judaism, but by the time he was a teenager, Matisyahu began to rebel against his rigid upbringing. He started taking drugs and dropped out of White Plains Senior High School. He became a self-professed "Phish-head" (also known as Phish "Phans"), taking hallucinogens, and following the rock band Phish on tour. In autumn 1995, Matisyahu attended a two-month program at the Alexander Muss High School in Hod Hasharon, Israel. The program offers students first-hand exploration of Jewish heritage as a way of solidifying Jewish identity. After he finished Muss, he returned to New York, where he subsequently left high school after the first day of his senior year to travel throughout the US. A stint in a rehabilitation center in upstate New York followed.[ Miller then attended a wilderness expedition trip in Oregon for teenagers. "It was not necessarily for drug rehabilitation, but that was part of the reason I was out there," he explained to a journalist of The Jewish Daily Forwardin 2008. He finished high school at a wilderness program in Bend, Oregon. In Oregon, he identified himself as "Matt, the Jewish rapper kid from New York." Matisyahu has contrasted this time in Oregon to his life in New York City. "I was suddenly the token Jew. This was now my search for my own identity, and part of Judaism feeling more important and relevant to me." He returned to New York and started developing his reggae, spending hours in his room, writing and practicing his style to the accompaniment of hip-hop tapes. He recounts that at the same time, he started praying, getting himself a prayer book and prayer shawl. He learned of the Orthodox Jewish Carlebach Shul synagogue on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, and he began attending religious services every Sabbath, as well as wearing a yarmulke (head covering) and tzitzit (a fringed undergarment). It was then that he met NYU's Chabad rabbi, Dov Yonah Korn.