Matisyahu - Career

Career

Miller performed for over a year as MC Truth in the Bend, Oregon band Soulfori.

In 2004, Matisyahu, after having signed with JDub Records, a nonprofit record label that promotes Jewish musicians, released his first album, Shake Off the Dust...Arise. At Bonnaroo 2005, Trey Anastasio of the band Phish invited him for a guest spot on his set.

His major label debut album was produced by Bill Laswell, with minor contribution by pop producers Jimmy Douglass and the Ill Factor.

His live album, Live at Stubb's, released in 2006, was recorded at a concert in Austin, Texas was followed by the studio album Youth.

In 2005 and 2006 he toured extensively in the United States, Canada and Europe; and made a number of stops in Israel, including a performance as the supporting act for Sting in June 2006. In late 2006, he released No Place to Be, a remix album featuring re-recordings and remixes of songs from all three of his earlier albums, as well as a cover of "Message in a Bottle" by The Police.

The live version of the song King Without a Crown, broke into the Modern Rock Top 10 in 2006. The accompanying video and album, Youth, produced by Bill Laswell, was released on March 7, 2006. On March 16, Youth was Billboard magazine's number-one Digital Album. In 2006, he appeared once again at Bonnaroo, this time performing a solo set.

In spring 2006, right before the release of Youth, he cut ties with his managers at JDub Records. JDub managed his act, but was not his record label.

At the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival, the film Unsettled, in which Matisyahu appears, won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature. While attending the festival, he performed in an impromptu concert at the Park City Film Music Festival in Park City, Utah. In the summer of 2007 he joined 311 on their Summer Unity Tour. He also performed in the 2008 documentary Call + Response.

His third studio album, Light, was released on August 25, 2009, along with the live EP Live at Twist & Shout.

From July 10 to July 30, 2010, Matisyahu (along with The Dirty Heads) supported Sublime with Rome (the new version of the band) on their US tour.

In November 2009, NBC used Matisyahu's song "One Day" as background music for their advertisement of the Olympic games. This stirred up speculation that "One Day" may become the theme song for the 2010 Olympics. However, it remained only NBC's top pick, and was not announced to be the theme song.

On August 2, 2010, Matisyahu revealed to OC Weekly that he has been writing new songs for his next album, which was expected to be recorded within weeks of his statement.

On November 26, 2010, Matisyahu released a special edition Record Store Day Black Friday 7" vinyl called, Two for independent record stores.

Matisyahu recorded the Sephardic music-influenced hip hop song "Two Child One Drop" for the Sephardic Music Festival, Vol. 1 compilation album released by Shemspeed, alongside artists such as Hasidic rapper Y-Love, Israeli hip-hop group Hadag Nahash, and psychedelic rock/Sephardic fusion group Pharaoh's Daughter.

On August 18, 2010, Matisyahu returned to Stubb's in Austin, Texas for another live recording for Live at Stubb's, Vol. 2. The album was released on February 1, 2011.

In 2011 he embarked on a concert tour.

In March 2011, Matisyahu took part in clip "Pure Soul". The song is of DeScribe, Hasidic Jewish singer.

On May 8, 2012, Matisyahu released a new single featuring a new version of his song "Sunshine" as one of his singles of his new album Spark Seeker, which was released on July 17, 2012 in the United States.