Y-Love is a Black Jew who raps and is successfully building a name for himself in Brooklyn. Originally from Baltimore, Y-Love ventured to Brooklyn to deepen his understanding of Judaism and to escape his life of crime in Baltimore City.
Y-Love recalls a time when he and a pair of friends were planning to rob a building. As his friends crawled inside, Y-Love waiting outside had a religious epiphany. “It was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and instead of celebrating in the synagogue I was helping to break a commandment,” he shamefully admits.” Today, Y-Love hopes to use his music to promote the Jewish faith and to improve the lives of Americans.
Although extremely soft spoken, Y-Love brings an incredible presence to the stage while rapping in English, Hebrew, Aramaic and Yiddish, the languages of the Talmud. He is also studying Greek, Latin and Arabic, which he has already began to incorporate into his faith-based lyrics.
There have been other Jewish Hip-Hop rappers but Y-Love brings a certain flavor to the stage, that others before him did not possess. For example, Hip Hop lovers were introduced to Matisyahu in 2006. Since his album first debuted, Matisyahu has become the most prominent Jewish rapper in the United States.
Now, it is time for Y-Love, the black Jew, to take center stage. If Y-Love is granted an equal amount of publicity as his predecessor, than he will surely rise to the top and overshadow any slight remembrance of Matisyahu.
The Jay-Z of Jewish Hip Hop has arrived.