Way back in 2005, an unusual rapper shot to fame in spite of his distinctive look.  Born Matthew Paul Miller, the rapper known as Matisyahu is an unusual combination of cultures:  he’s a white, Hasidic Orthodox Jew who also happens to be a reggae-inspired rapper.  Long story short, the guy is awesome and his album Live At Stubb’s spawned a cross-over hit in the song “King Without A Crown.”  Well, now I guess you can call him a king without a beard.  Matisyahu has shaved his trademark beard and is moving away from Orthodox Judaism in his search for spiritual truth.

Here’s what the man himself said on his website:  “No more Chassidic reggae superstar.  Sorry folks, all you get is me … no alias.  At a certain point I felt the need to submit to a higher level of religiosity … to move away from my intuition and to accept an ultimate truth.”

So does this mean Matisyahu is dead and Matthew Paul Miller is who we’re getting?  I don’t know; that seems like a good question to ask.  I’d imagine he’ll still record under the Matisyahu name, even if he doesn’t stay locked down to the beards and black clothing of the Hasidic Jew anymore.  After all, as far as I know, he’s still a Hanukkah-celebrating Jew.

Tags: Matisyahu, rappers, orthodox judaism, hasidic jew, Matisyahu shaves his beard, matisyahu no longer hasidic jew, orthodox jew, Matisyahu beard, beardless Matisyahu, matthew paul miller, hasidic orthodox jew, matisyahu no longer orthodox jew, matisyahu no longer hasidic, jewish

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