“Eventually, all my praying and soul searching led me to Judaism,” which felt very natural to him. Then, Black explains, as success started happening with his music, in 2008, “I got in an altercation with another artist, and this altercation led to a kill or be killed situation.” This situation led him to start praying over how he ended up where he was. (Here’s one of his few music videos from that era, released in 2006.) Plus, the “God’s plan” lyric is a nod to the song of another Black Jewish rapper, Drake.Īt 17, he had a potential offer from a record label and wanted to pursue it - the state of hip-hop at the time was focused on a “gangsta rap type of thing,” so the record label pushed him to adopt a “harder persona than what I was giving them.” He ended up releasing his first singles on an independent label, under the name D. Acknowledging his past, talking openly about his spirituality, and addressing the reality of being a Black Jewish person. This verse is Black at his best: laying it all on the line. In the synagogue, camouflaged, but I can’t wipe the skin off / I’m proud of it / It’s a loud a bit, but I’m not trying to criss-cross. He said it’s God’s plan, but, I’m God’s man / I used to run with BGD / I dropped the B and put an O after the G / Six points still big up King D On “Mothaland Bounce,” Black plays on this mix between his history and present, rapping: The conversion was “good for me,” Black says, “because I was already part of a street gang, Disciple Nation folks, and this helped me get away from the street mentality for a long time.” (Disciple Nation refers to the Black Gangster Disciples, or BGD, that Black also refers to in “Mothaland Bounce.” Funny enough, the main logo of the group is a six-pointed Star of David.) But at 13, he converted to Christianity after attending a summer camp, the Gospel Mission Youth Center. His grandfather was a devout Muslim, so “my first introduction to religion,” Black says, “was Islam.” If anybody had asked Black as a kid, he explains, he would say he was Muslim, because of his grandfather’s influence on his life. (They were part of the Emerald Street Boys, Seattle’s first rap group, and Emerald Street Girls.) His parents split when he was 2, and his mom remarried. His journey begins in Seattle, where he was born Damian Jamohl Black to James “Captain Crunch” Croone and Mia Black, both rappers. The rapper, 33, is a dad of six who had a long, winding path towards Judaism. “What brought peace for me was Judaism,” Black explains, “So the Hasidic guy, he comes to break up the two things, and he brings shalom. It was all very telling of who I was.” The video depicts these two groups as facing off against each other, representing Black “trying to figure out what I was.” But then, last, the Hasidic dancers show up near the end. And then, you have the street dancers, the urban aspect.” “The three different groups are three different aspects of me: The African dancers represent the slaves that came here to America, which is our past. They all come together at the end of the video, showing how he’s made peace with all of his different identities. The video shows Black rapping and dancing with three different groups of male dancers. Left: Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall in Coming to America (1988) Right: Nissim Black in “Mothaland Bounce” (2020). The barber goes, “Another one?!” It’s funny, Jewish, and pays homage to the barbershop scenes in Coming to America. (In the iconic Eddie Murphy film, Murphy arrives in America from a wealthy, fictional African nation of Zamunda.) The video ends with Black in a barbershop, where the barber asks him to take off his hat - when he does, he reveals a kippah underneath. The video for “Mothaland Bounce” pays homage to his past and his present the visuals are inspired by one of Black’s favorite films, Coming to America. People feel like I may have left that struggle, it’s not really true, you know what I’m saying? It’s just a different type of struggle, but I’m still there in the struggle. Even though I keep up with some family, I’m not as involved right now. I’m living in Jerusalem, I’m across the world. “I’ve been spending time with a friend of mine in LA, and he, ‘Back in hood, everybody feels like you just forgot about them.’ I’m living in a different world. Making “Mothaland Bounce” was a “relief,” Black says. Even though he’s been active as a rapper since 2006, “Mothaland Bounce” is a re-introduction of sorts: He’s Black, Jewish, from Seattle, living in Jerusalem, and “Hitler’s worst nightmare” (arguably my favorite lyric in the entire song). “I wanted to be able to just sort of lay it all out there, and make a statement, so I could at least limit the questions.” In many ways, the song serves as a declaration of who he is. His new single, “Mothaland Bounce,” sets the record straight.
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