Barman decided to give the Ketubah, a traditional Jewish wedding contract that essentially outlines the rights and responsibilities of the bride and groom, a 21st Century makeover, and it’s caught the attention of some pretty important people. 

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Dan Wolf is a product of the Bay Area;  an actor, rapper, playwright and performer. Dan combines traditional theater with the themes, music and aesthetics of hip-hop. He is a founding member of the hip-hop collective Felonious and a resident artist with the Hybrid Project at San Francisco’s Intersection for the Arts.  During the day he is the Program Manager/Performance Curator of The Hub at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco which produces and presents cutting-edge events that promote the revolution of Jewish arts, culture and community. 

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Chiddy Bang are indie hip-hop darlings hailing from Philly, who have spent the last 2 years taking the world by storm. With their unique and futuristic take on hip-hop, marking influences and sampling inspiration from indie kings such as Radiohead, Sufjan Stevens, Passion Pit and MGMT, the group define the word "fresh".

Their success is a true result of the Myspace era — where they have been steady releasing new music and mixtapes for the past 2 years and were spotted by an EMI executive who offered them a proper record deal in January 2010. Chiddy Bang keep it real with their traditional hip-hop set up consisting of 1 MC and 1 DJ; wordsmith Chidera Anamege a.k.a "Chiddy" and DJ/Producer Noah Beresin, better known as Xaphoon Jones.  Expect big things from these dudes in the future and thanks to Noah’s heritage, we welcome them to the Big Jewcy.

We asked Noah a few questions. 

How do your backgrounds fit into your music?

Philly is a really diverse city, musically. Working in world music studios, playing jazz, recording my friends’ rock bands, and going to hip hop shows gave me a really eclectic background. It gives me wider influences on my music and a broader library of samples to work with.

How did you guys go about picking the samples for Air Swell?  Anything that didn’t make the cut?

Chiddy gets to pick from whatever I make. As for me, I was just trying to tip my hat to some UK artists and the fans that supported us even though we just popped out of left field. Yes, there were some that didn’t make the cut, you guys will hear them one day.

You guys are playing Glastonbury.  Who are you excited to see?

Gorrillaz, Dizzee Rascal, Femi Kuti, Stevie Wonder, The Flaming Lips, MGMT, Grizzly Bear, Doorly, Ellie Goulding, Toots & The Maytals, Marina & The Diamonds, Tinie Tempah, Stornoway, Rusko, Boys Noize,  Simian Mobile Disco, Four Tet, Jakwob, & Billy Bragg.

What are you guys listening to on tour? Darwin Deez, Clipse, Black Milk are regulars. In the UK our merch guy really like Nick Drake and The Zombies and such, and our Tour Manager was always listening to Ranking Joe and other toasters/chatters. I usually spent long drives listening to Ahmad Jamal and Django Rhinehart is great for gas stations. Any funny tour stories?

We became friends with a security guard at a club in scotland, so we brought him on tour with us. Also, I won a watch from Chiddy’s brother, "Cheeseburger" Don, by betting him he couldn’t catch a sheep. Yeah.

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The kingpin and genius behind the re-surgence of new soul music, Gabe Roth aka Bosco Mann is the bassist, songwriter, and producer of the band Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Gabe is also responsible for starting the Brooklyn based funk & soul label Daptone Records, along with partner and Dap-Kings saxophonist Neal Sugarman. The two have built their own unique recording studio and soul music empire in Brooklyn. Their distinctive sound is a product of the acoustics in the studio as well as their analog only approach to recording.

Daptone and Roth has been involved in some amazing projects including Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, The Budos Band, Amy Winheouse, Bob & Gene and more.   In a digital world, Gabe is keeping it analog and we here at Jewcy salute him and accecpt his gift of the five songs he’s in love with right now.

“Follow Your Heart” – The Manhattans

“Jesus Wash Away My Troubles” – The Soul Stirrers

“It’s All Over” – Ben E. King “Walkin’ and Thinkin” – King Floyd

“Won’t Do Right” – Art Neville

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*Footnote: the homie Cosmo Baker is part of The Big Jewcy, check back on Monday for a full list!!

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(Disclosure: Jewcy is now a part of JDub)

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Abayudaya: The Music of the Jews of Uganda is an amazing collection of African-Jewish music where the rhythms and harmonies of Africa blend with Jewish celebration and traditional Hebrew prayer. This group of songs is rooted in local Ugandan music and infused with rich choral singing, Afro-pop, and traditional drumming. The record includes lullabies, political and children’s song, religious rituals, hymns, and celebratory music, with sons in Hebrew, English, and several Ugandan languages. This singular community of African people living committed Jewish lives has survived persecution and isolation and asserts, “We have been saved by our music.” This last line is an excerpt from the album booklet, which was put out by the good people at Smithsonian Folkways Recordings aka the other non-profit record label.

The Abayudaya are a community of approximately 600 people living in villages surrounding Mbale in Eastern Uganda and are full on practicing Jews. Many members scrupulously follow Jewish ritual, observe the Sabbath, celebrate holiday, keep kosher and and pray in Hebrew.

They have developed their own style of music, borrowing from many influences over the years: Malakite music adopted by the community’s founder, Semei Kakungulu; liturgical selections learned from their early contacts with occasional Jewish visitors and the expatriate congregations in Nairobi; music of worship and celebration composed by local Youth in the 1980’s; and traditional and contemporary music learned by recent contact with Jews from North America and Israel.

Little did my parents know what kind of a cross cultural masterpiece they had purchased here. But the minute I threw this disc on i knew i found something special, the blending of cultures, religions and spirituality is effervescent on this disc.

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[Via Jewdysee]

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