On Sunday at 2pm at Washington Park’s International Festival of Life, legendary NY Reggae MC Benny “Jewmaican” Bwoy takes the stage. Ten years before Matthew Miller (Matisyahu) had even heard of reggae, Benny Bwoy (aka Behn Goldis) was a young Lubavitcher Chasid who would occassionally walk to the other side of Crown Hieghts, rock his Black Hat sideways and deliver dancehall rap performances that made the most astute followers of the form sit up and take notice.
Check out God Mi Luv and Jah Jah and note the use of Ashkenized Hebrew.He never pursued a career because his observance prevented it, and today he’s in banking, but he still pops onstage once in a while. And it was so poorly publicized I almost missed it. His lyrics bring sprituality and Judaism into the mix, and yes, he’s still observantly religious… Pretty interesting nobody’s really heard of him, but was soon as you listen to his stylie, you’ll agree that Matisyahu has NOTHING on him, nada gornisht. He’s the REAL Hasidic Reggae Supahstah. And he’s in Chicago on Sunday. Go seem him.
