Rami Matan Even-Esh was released from a New Jersey prison 15 years ago. While many rappers go in and out of incarceration in their pursuit of a hardened image, Even-Esh used the art form to stay out of jail, which is how he found himself performing at B.B. King’s Blues Club in New York City on Christmas Day and how he found Matthew Paul Miller.
Even-Esh and Miller are better known by their stage names, Kosha Dillz and Matisyahu. They are two of the most prominent Jewish rappers today, maintaining an explicit Jewish essence in their work. They released their third duet, “For the Ones,” this week.
“Matisyahu is a real improv genius in the studio,” Kosha Dillz told the Journal. “There are lots of layers to lyrics that create an atmosphere and vibe. The way he writes is similar to mine, and it takes an amazing engineer to know how we piece things together into a song.”
“For the Ones” is produced by Grammy-nominated Sam Barsh (who has collaborated with Kendrick Lamar, Anderson Paak and even Stevie Wonder) and 16-year-old rising producer Snowball Beats. It’s the final single off Kosha Dillz’s fourth solo LP, “Nobody Cares Except You,” which will be released on April 3. The album’s title, he explained, expresses that past failures are small in the greater scheme of the universe. It’s also his personal mantra when it comes to perseverance.
Like many songs in Kosha Dillz and Matisyahu’s discography, the track is ripe with vivid Jewish symbolism: “Blessings overabundant/my cup be running over for the glory to his kingdom,” Matisyahu proclaims on the track, referencing how during kiddush it’s a mitzvah to fill up a goblet until it spills over.
Kosha Dillz continues the blessings, rapping, “When I’m awake I get out of my head/ Don’t think about what everyone said/ Comment section denial river run red/ Hamotzi lechem min haaretz slice the bread/ And then, maybe I can find one friend,” placing the Jewish blessing over a meal directly into the verse.
At its core, “For the Ones” is a yearning for a simpler time, not unlike when Kosha Dillz and Matisyahu first crossed paths.
“I just wanna sit like I used to: no lies/ no fakes, no gurus,” reads the chorus.
“We used to play games, now we go on tours, used to be fun, now it feels like chores,” Kosha Dillz admits in the song’s bridge.
“I don’t know if I can do this anymore/ to the land Israel I will explore,” he concludes, referencing his recent decision to make aliyah.
The overarching theme of the track is how nostalgia is ripe with gratitude
but also loneliness, and can often encourage you to doubt yourself and compare yourself to others. For Kosha Dillz, collaborating with Matisyahu empowered him to be vulnerable in his song, he said.
When Kosha Dillz began rapping in the early 2000s in New York City, his original stage name was Kosher Dill. However, he changed his act’s name to KD Flow after being shamed for his Jewishness. Then, following a battle with substance abuse and incarceration, he reworked and reclaimed his Jewish identity and started to perform as Kosha Dillz.
Matisyahu also struggled with substances in his youth, which led him to finish high school at a wilderness program in Oregon. He was known to others as “Matt, the Jewish rapper kid from New York.” Back then, he performed as MC Truth.
Like Kosha Dillz, Matisyahu felt isolated because of his Jewish heritage. “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 has previously stated.
It was in response to that ostracization that Matisyahu became more active in prayer and eventually adopted for his act the name he was called in Hebrew school.
Today, Matisyahu’s Jewish-themed reggae is a staple at Jewish summer camps but also has resonated with the community on a deeper level. In January, he performed at the “No Hate. No Fear” march against anti-Semitism in New York City, which drew 25,000 Jews and allies.
And Dillz often performs in Jewish spaces or creates them himself. For the past nine years, he’s run the “OY VEY” showcase at South by Southwest (SXSW) every March in Austin, Texas, which was conceived as a Jewish-themed event to fight anti-Semitism. And when this year’s SXSW was canceled following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, he hosted the event, anyway.
For Kosha Dillz, the ongoing collaboration with Matisyahu fulfills both his musical and Jewish soul. “When you work with people who are that talented,” he said, “you will also write something very deep and amazing that couldn’t be done without them in the room.”
“For the Ones” is available on Apple Music.
Ariel Sobel is the Journal’s social media editor.
