BLACK JEWISH MC HAS RHYMES FOR YOU LITTLE YENTAS
by Jesse Serwer
"While Jay-Z has every hip-hop head and their non-Jewish mama screaming "L'Chaim!" there's one rapper who's actually promoting Judaism in his rhymes. Yitz "Y-Love" Jordan, 29, is a Black Orthodox Jewish MC who spits in English and Yiddish and hopes to make hip-hop more of a kosher affair.
Born in Baltimore to Christian parents, Y-Love became interested in Judaism at age seven after seeing a commercial for the religion's holiday of Passover. "I didn't know anything about Judaism. I just knew there was a group of people called Jews, and I wanted to be one of them," says Y-Love, who studied Jewish teachings throughout his teens. Though he grew up loving rappers like KRS-One and Public Enemy, it wasnt until age 21 that Y started rhyming, while studying in Israel to become an Orthodox Jew. "There was a lot of memorization and complex [scriptures] that you have to recall," he says. "So [a classmate and I] used hip-hop as a way to learn."
During his studies, Y-Love also taught himself to rhyme in Yiddish, Arabic, French, Chinese, and ancient Aramiac. Returning from Israel in 2001, after formally converting to the religion, the aspiring MC settled in Brooklyn and got his hip-hop aspirations under way, performing at open mics with musicians like Jewish hip-hop reggae artist Matisyahu. Initially, Y-Love critisism from the local Jewish community, both as a Black man and as a rapper. "People tried to talk me out of doing music [because] hip-hop wasn't taen seriously." says Y, whose marriage to a traditional Hasidic Jewish woman dissolved as a result of his career choice. "It was suggested I wasn't assimilating."
In 2005, Y-Love issued his first mixtape, DJ Handler Presents Y-Love, which led to his winning Best Hip Hop Artist at the 2006 Jewish Music Awards. The following year, he released Count It, an a cappella CD made for sefira, a period during which listening to music is forbidden amongst observant Jews. Next uo is his independent debut, This Is Babylon. Due in April, the project balances Jewish spirituality with party rhymes and political commentary in an effort to spread Y's message of global unity. "There are all these divisions based on ethnicity and religion," he says. "I'm trying to stand against all of it, however I can."
