09 Sep
Culture, Religion

Kosher Hip-Hop

By Adina Rosenthal There’s a new, up-and-coming Hasidic hip-hop artist on the block. Nosson Zand is a Boston-born musician who takes pride in the positive and hopeful lyrics that are inspired by his Hasidic beliefs. “I’m throwing a life preserver out into the cold, dark waters of hip-hop and pop music…I’m here to provide a window into a holier place,” he tells me. Zand, who has toured with Matisyahu throughout the United States and Canada, is currently in the final stages of completing his new full-length album, which includes the single Believers, featuring Matisyahu. In a recent Shalom TV interview, Matisyahu singled out Zand and his musical promise: “Nosson would be the one artist I really believe in…he’s coming from a religious place. Nosson infusing the music with depth and meaning from the Torah perspective, and...

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01 Sep
Arts & Culture

Singing a New Song

By Steven Philp It goes without saying that these are trying times. Yet it is in the face of crisis that humankind produces its best music, art, and literature; while grappling with adversity, men and women exercise their creative abilities to express anger, sadness, and—above all—hope that is both genuine and deeply felt. Perhaps it is the celebration of this latter sentiment that prompted MTV to add a new category to its annual Video Music Awards: “Best Video With A Message.” According to Reuters this award was created to “honor artists and music videos that featured a positive message or raised awareness of key social issues facing today’s youth.” Despite chart-topping performances by Pink, Katy Perry, Eminem, Rise Against, and Taylor Swift—whose songs addressed issues ranging from social isolation to domestic violence—it was Lady Gaga’s pro-diversity...

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21 Aug
Latest, Misc

This Week's Links

Lindsay Lohan is looking to convert to Judaism in order to get closer to her girlfriend. Says her father, "She's explored the Church of Scientology, she tried Kabbalah, and now this. I think it's just another phase. But either way, she's involving God in her life, and I'm happy about that." Dr. Efraim Zuroff writes about Australia extraditing World War II war criminal Karoly (Charles) Zentai to Hungary as an "unprecedented, historic victory for Holocaust justice in Australia." Israel finally medaled at the Olympics—a bronze in sailing. Photos of some of the "campus style" housing for Agriprocessors workers are unsettling. Have you swam in the Mediterranean recently? How 'bout those jellyfish?! The "cockroaches of the open water" are getting more intrusive. Was Kafka a pervert? "Choosing a religious school program for your child is a...

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