King without a Crown

There has never been a musician like Matisyahu. Known for breaking onto the hip-hop/reggae scene as “that Hassidic rapper,” he went on to top the charts with his number one singles “King without a Crown” and “One Day.” He’s released six albums (all reaching the Billboard charts) and his breakout smash Youth was a Top Five album for 38 weeks upon its release. Through all of this success, Matisyahu never lost his faith. He’s seen by the young community as a spiritual advisor and guide and, more than anything, he is applauded for his confidence and bravery to wear his religion on his sleeve. Many journalists, fans, and members of the media have called him a “modern, Jewish John Lennon.”

In King without a Crown, readers will learn about Matisyahu’s hippie at-risk early days traveling to Phish shows and getting involved in drugs, they’ll see his spiritual awakening when he was sent away to a camp in the backwoods of Oregon, they’ll watch his evolution from Matt Miller to Matisyahu (complete with Hassidic garb and beliefs), as well as his recent decision to leave Orthodox Judaism behind–and they’ll chart his ascension through the music industry as the creator of some of the biggest and most positive songs in the last thirty years.