Tuesday, March 26, 2024
The rapping rabbi who swapped hardcore partying for Hasidic hip-hop
Unique and weird could certainly sum up the path Moshe Reuven has taken.
The 31-year-old rabbi has swapped a party-hard lifestyle for a music career, seeing him become one of the most popular rap megastars in Israel and worldwide, with nearly 2 million Instagram followers and counting.
The Florida-born Jewish hip-hop star, who spoke to Metro.co.uk via Zoom in a rare gap in his increasingly busy schedule, reflected on his unlikely life trajectory, telling us: 'Ultimately, to be authentic, to be my true self – that's the only option I have, and that's what I'm here to do.'
That's not to say it's been an easy road.
Moshe, who goes by the Hebrew name he was given at birth, was known as Marc growing up, and he got his passion for music from his family, with seemingly everyone from aunties to parents and his brother having some kind of musical skill.
Inspired by the likes of Kid Cudi and Kanye West (more on that later), he wrote songs from a young age, finding his way in the world of music as he grew and found new experiences.
In high school, he was one of the popular kids, going out for nights at a time, getting engrossed in the party lifestyle before a bad experience after getting spiked at a party gave him an awakening.
'If you saw those scenes in high school movies, we were really crazy in that regard,' he admitted.
'From that to then start praying to God every day and trying to stop drinking, changing my values to be focused on living a good life and having a good impact on the world around me.'
The rabbi, ordained in 2021, added: 'I was sacrificing the whole fun life to try to do what God wants me to do. And that was really difficult for me.'
While friends – some he's still in touch with, others drifted away – were going in one direction in college, Moshe was going the other, which was a 'real conflict' and a blessing at the same time.
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