While you are consumed with the Matisyahu Remix and voting for Electro Morocco to win 1st place (they are 9th out of over 600 submissions -VOTE HERE), We are pleased to announce the “Cellular Phone” Remix Contest. “Cellular Phone” is Kosha Dillz debut single from his LP, Beverly Dillz which was released this past November through Kosha Dillz World/Diamond Music Group/Shemspeed. The video for “Cellular Phone” is currently being featured on ‘MTV On Demand’, which you can view here. The prize package for the winning remix includes a digital distribution imprint courtesy of Diamond Music Group in addition to some dope gear, courtesy of Dave’s Quality Meat. The deadline for this contest is Friday, March 26th, so dust off those MP3s and tap out some heat! Click the links below to download the files & instructions…GOOD LUCK!!

Download | Zshare: www.zshare.net/download/73760368dbdc1dd4
Download | MediaFire: www.mediafire.com/?hiyglyzoj1x

For All Info, Contest Rules, Itinerary & Prizes, CLICK HERE
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Pick up your copy of Kosha Dillz’s "Beverly Dillz" album!
"an uptempo, synthesized introduction to a spiritual fast life of the Hollywood underground via Garden State perspective, sprinkled with a touch of unorthodox "kosher" heritage and culture." CLICK TO BUY NOW

March 18: Kosha Dillz, DJ Balagan & Y-Love @ SXSW, TX
March 19: Kosha, Balagan & Flex as part of Hip Hop Howl @ Red Fez, TX
March 25: Electro Morocco perform at the annual Downtown Seder @ City Winery, NY
March 27: Onili, DJ Set by Ori Shochat, Y-Love & Diwon @ Littlefield, NY
March 27: The Kosher 4 Passover Party with Kosha Dillz & Diwon @ Hudson Terrace, NY
April 15: Shemspeed Open Mic hosted by Yuri Lane @ Uncommon Ground, IL
April 17: Diwon, The Books, Jay Electronica perform at Culture Shock @ SUNY Purchase, NY
April 20: Shemspeed Yom HaAtzmaut @ Location TBA, NY
* for a full listing of shows & more detailed info,
please click the “events” icon in the top menu

DeScribe Harmony (3/16), Brody Ad Matai (5/2), Electro Morocco Low Ride EP, Y-Love Unity EP, & Levi Mordechai
* to pick up all other CDs on Shemspeed Direct,
please click the “store” icon in the top menu

Shemspeed is all over SXSW this year, there will be lots of special guest performances as well as our official showcases below:
SHEMSPEED @ SXSW (South By South West)
feat. Kosha Dillz, Flex Mathews, DJ Balagan and tons of special guests!

A Few Such Showcases:
March.17 - Lyricist Lounge Showcase @ Independent (9:15-9:35pm)
March.18 - Nail Distro Showcase @ Side Bar (3- 3:40pm)
March.19 - Hip Hop Howl @ Red Fez with Bridget Lyons, Pig Pen and Pat Maine and Flex Mathews
(3-3:30pm)

FOR ALL INFO, CHECK http://shemspeed.com
or RVSP on Facebook

DeScribe’s Harmony EP just hit stores today! Pick up the CD/Download or the signed limited edition, visit Shemspeed Direct, here! If you want to grab it from iTunes, click here. Either way, check out the Award Winning Harmony Music Video, below.

Full of positive messages, pulsating rhythms and addictive melodies, the release includes “Modern Day Moses” featuring French MC, Shmoolik and remixes by Electro Morocco, Diwon and VIBE & LowKEY.

p.s. We are at #9, help us get to #1 and Vote Vote Vote for Electro Morocco’s remix of Matisyahu. IT’S THE BEST ONE!!!
VOTE HERE - http://bit.ly/matiselect

I just went to see “Circumsize Me” last night at the Bleecker Street Theater, and it had me thinking about the ridiculous number of hilarious Jews there are in comedy - it’s practically run by Jews! Yet when someone invites you to a one-man show by a religious Jew, your first instinct is, probably, “no thanks.” But if you think about it, Jews have been at the forefront of comedy since the beginning, and a religious Jew is a “Super Jew,” which makes their experiences even better material for comedy. In the case of “Circumsize Me,” the material is being pulled from a religious Jews experience as a non-Jew, and the show was definitely great. Yisrael Campbell steps on the stage and asks if everyone is hot or if it’s just him because he is dressed like Poland in the 1800’s. He brings in Jewish members of the audience with Jewish self-deprecating humor, but then explains his original non-Jewish background and his journey to becoming an observant Jew. The show was hilarious, joyful, sad and powerful throughout - it’s an amazing combination of emotions and insight. To say, “I laughed, I cried” would be both an understatement and a cliche - the man really pulls you into his life, and you get so into listening to his experiences and comedic mishaps, you wish your friends were there with you. By the end, you want to invite him over for a Shabbat dinner. It’s rare that a person can turn a spiritual journey into a joke, while still relating the journey’s depth and power, but Yisrael Campbell somehow finds the balance. Campbell may even inspire people to sincerely look at the show’s title as a spiritual request on their terms, wherever they may be in life.

Kosha Dillz, who right now on th MTV Top 100 is above Miley Cirus and Lady Gaga, claims that he invented this “Fill int eh Blank” crowd participation Freestyle game. Check it out for yourself. This was fimed by Shemspeed’s number one intern, Yishai Mizrahi and featured Kosha’s rap partner, Flex Mathews, Diwon & Dugans of Dreams in Static and on the drums, Mr. Mike Sheffer

Shemspeed Fam have just done a few remixes for Matisyahu’s “One Day”! Electro Morocco has a Caribbean feel and is unlike any of the other remixes we have heard, plus Matis himself tweated for his over 1 million followers on Twitter, suggesting they should grab it off Shemspeed just yesterday. Dreams in Static woke up and put together a sort of cinematic Demix as a last minute submission.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN / VOTE / DOWNLOAD THEM!

p.s. If you are around NY next week and want cheap tickets for the March 16th - An Evening with MATISYAHU: In Performance and In Conversation with Thane Rosenbaum @ The 92Y, see below.

SPECIAL OFFER! $19 TICKETS (regularly $35)
Tue, Mar 16, 8 pm
USE CODE MATY WHEN ORDERING
CLICK HERE

Do you like women and happen to be one? If you answered yes to this question, we got the spot for you and other people who are and like women. Opening for the spring semester, Taliah PAC is celebrating with a bombin’ launch party this Saturday, March 13th at 8:30pm at their space at 303 Bond Street in Carroll Gardens and YOU’RE INVITED – well, women only. The launch party is going to be a celebration of women, by women, for women, with live performances by some incredible ladies. - To get the skinny on which performers will rock your socks off, check out the Facebook event here or http://taliahpac.org.

Electro Morocco just remixed Matisyahu’s “One Day” and you could bet it’s the most original remix yet. Opting not to go for the obvious techno’d out remix, they remade it in an almost Caribbean style.

Click here to Listen. / Click here to Download.

Think you got what it takes?
Enter to make your own and win the contest by, clicking here.

p.s. If you are around NY next week and want cheap tickets for the March 16th - An Evening with MATISYAHU: In Performance and In Conversation with Thane Rosenbaum @ The 92Y, see below.

SPECIAL OFFER! $19 TICKETS (regularly $35)
Tue, Mar 16, 8 pm
USE CODE MATY WHEN ORDERING
CLICK HERE

Check out Balkan Beat Box’s new album, “Blue Eyed Black Boy” on NatGeo Music/Crammed Discs records. It’s interesting that their album has the words Black and Eyed, as this song has a Black Eyed Peas feel to it. Regardless of that fact/opinion, Balkan Beat Box are one of the hottest live bands around, besides maybe Electro Morocco and TV On The Radio. Don’t believe us? Come see for yourselves! We are giving away free tickets for their big show at the Webster Hall on March 13th! Just email tickets@shemspeed.com with “I Loves the Beat Box” int he subject and we will randomly choose the winners!

J Brazil was raised in a strict Orthodox Jewish home where his father, a world-renowned Jewish composer, exposed the tenacious child to music at a young age. He learned to sing with his family and soon picked up the drums and piano on his own, penning his first song when he was 6. Eight years later, the death of J Brazil’s mother caused him to run away from home and live on the streets. Life proved to be difficult, but the experience exposed him to genres of music, such as hip-hop, reggae and rock, which would eventually find their way into his signature sound.

J Brazil lived a nomadic, homeless life, using any cash he had to record music and fuel his career. At age 21, the New York native released his first album, but record labels weren’t biting. Then, in 2009, J Brazil teamed up with producer Eric Sanicola and wrote ‘Girl I’m Tryin,’ the hit song that ultimately landed him a recording contract with Ultra Records.

Marrying his Middle Eastern and Hasidic musical influences with the sounds he soaked up on the streets, J Brazil has put a new twist on Cindy Lauper’s classic pop song, ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.’ The melody is kept in tact, but J Brazil alters the lyrics to come from the perspective of a non-committal guy, looking to have a good time. As ‘Girl I’m Tryin’ rises up the Billboard Dance chart and continues to get Top 40 radio play, J Brazil keeps his past close and his success in check. “Even at my darkest hours, I dreamt that this day would come,” he says. “Music is what kept me alive. I owe it to [my mother] and myself to follow my dreams. So, I created my dream come true.”

Five Questions With J Brazil: Read the rest of this entry »

Shemspeed’s new obsession is now Broken Bells. When two of your favorite peoples team up without you having to throw big money at them, it’s a great little gift and James Mercer’s “The Shins” was just so great, We still see Natalie Portman with her walkmen on every time we listen to their music. What could be better than James teaming up with Brian (Danger Mouse)? after his Sparklehorse record which reminded us of our very own Dreams in Static, we were curious what would be next, the producer has already blown the music world away many times over. Remember, the Gray Album? The Beatles and Jay-Z mash up record which chnaged laws and styles in the industry, then he produced a Gorillaz record, a Beck record a MF Doom cartoon release. He is bringing class, themes, analogue sounds and the importance of an ‘album’ back to the world. Check him and James testing their debut record with some kids in the UK. (above)

Catch Kosha Dillz “Cellular Phone” video as #24 on MTV’s Top 100 as well as VH1 by clicking here (MTV) / (VH1). Pick up Kosha’s CDs from Shemspeed Direct, here. Ok, checked all that out? now, click to the video to the right to watch Guru, the genius and rap god behind Gang Starr, shout out our “Freestyle vs. Written” album which pairs Dillz with, indie rap phenom, C-Rayz Walz. If you haven’t been Kosha’d out yet, scroll down for an interview about his appearance on that just appeared on Spinner.com.

SPINNER: In 2009, Kosha Dillz won an MC battle at Giants Stadium and released his first solo album, ‘Beverly Dillz.’ Kosha Dillz is currently touring with Flex Mathews and Matisyahu. Spinner interviewed Kosha to learn a little more about this up-and-coming artist in advance of his SXSW appearance.

When did you start rapping and performing?

I started rapping probably around Read the rest of this entry »

This year will see a slew of Israeli’s at SXSW (South By South West) , scroll below to catch some of Tel Aviv’s Barzilay regulars as well as Shemspeed’s Kosha Dillz, DJ Balagan & Y-Love. If you recall last year Shemspeed shot a movie every day and posted all of the craziness that went down. Get ready for this year!

Here’s the list of some of the approved Israeli & Shemspeed fam acts that will perform:

Wed March 17th
Carusella: Barbarella (615 Red River St) (21+) 8 pm
Kosha Dillz: The Independent (501 N IH 35) (21+) at 9:15pm
Onili: Club 115 (115 San Jacinto St) (21+) 11 pm
Orphaned Land: Red 7 (611 E 7th St) (All Ages) 1 am

Thursday March 18th
Kosha Dillz, Y-Love & DJ Balgan: Side Bar (602 East 7th St)

Saturday March 20th
Soulico: Beauty Bar/Palm Door (401 Sabine St) (21+) 10 pm
Boom Pam: Beauty Bar/Palm Door (401 Sabine St) (21+) 11 pm
Balkan Beat Box: Beauty Bar/Palm Door (401 Sabine St) (21+) 1 am

The Shemspeed Audio Player is where you will hear some of our favorite Shemspeed songs as well as exclusives you can;t hear anywhere else! Today we added some really great tracks including;

1. “Yaase Masheba Li” by Brody off his upcoming “Ad Matai” album which will be out May 2nd

2. “Boom Selecta” feat. DeScribe, Kosha Dillz, Y-Love & Eprhyme with the music of Electro Morocco. (tip: if you scroll down, you could find a free download of the track on this page!)

3. “Let Me In” feat. Nachman off of Prodezra’s latest release

4. “Tefilah” by Levi Mordechai which is Diwon’s latest group. There is no release date for this album, though it is fully finished as of today. keep checking in for news!

TO LISTEN, CLICK HERE

Eprhyme has just returned from an intense tour of the UK. We found this video on thejc.com They wrote: The Orthodox rapper mashing up culture

It was a fusion of ancient architecture, traditional klezmer, Middle East politics and dirty hip-hop when New York rapper Eprhyme stormed Sandy’s Row synagogue on Wednesday night.

Both old and young, filled the gallery and danced around the ornate bimah and ark at 250-year-old synagogue in east London, the oldest Ashkenazi shul in the capital.
Read the rest of this entry »

Jerusalem hip-hop kingpin, Sagol59 is here to offer a brand new remix album straight outta Israel for FREE. The record is filled with remixes of tracks from the last 10 years of his career and features remixes by Israeli heavy hitters and a few American dj’s including Shimmy Sonic of Soulico, DJ Spooky, Ori Shochat and more. Sagol hit us directly and wanted to give this record away for free, so here it is; download it, sit back and enjoy the beats and rhymes.

Download the album HERE

Tracklisting: Read the rest of this entry »

For those of you who were at Shemspeed Winter Fest, you caught Eytan singing with Dreams in Static….the dude is a rockstar! For those who didn’t catch it, “Turn The Beat Around” premieres tonight on MTV at 10pm ET featuring a cover of “That’s The Way” by Eytan. It’s also running at the following times in case you miss it:

Saturday 2/27 at 12:00 am
Saturday 2/27 at 7:00 pm
Sunday 2/28 at 10:00 am
Sunday 2/28 at 5:00 pm
Sunday 2/28 at 11:00 pm

check him:
ITUNES - http://tinyurl.com/ybhkqq8 (MTV Soundtrack)
MYSPACE - www.myspace.com/eytanmusic
FACEBOOK - http://tinyurl.com/yjsaa9d
TWITTER - http://twitter.com/EytanSounds

With all the Purim mishugas, it can be pretty difficult to find just the right party for Saturday night. So let me fill you in on an opportunity to celebrate with the best, dance your pants off to some music that will make your feet happy, and give tzedaka to a worthy cause.

Come on out to The Sway Machinery’s Third Annual Purim Bash featuring special guests DJARARA — New York’s Premiere Haitian Rara Ensemble at Littlefield in Brooklyn. All proceeds to benefit the American Jewish World Service Haiti Relief Fund.

Saturday, February 27th 8PM
Littlefield– 622 Degraw Street between 3rd and 4th Avenue in Gowanus, Brooklyn
http://www.littlefieldnyc.com
$10 advance or with costume, $15 at the door
To order tickets, go to: www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/5389

Sponsored by: FORWARD, AJWS Global Circle, Brooklyn Jews, The Samuel Bronfman Foundation

On the heels of The Sway Machinery’s performance and recording tour of Mali, Africa, the band brings its infectious and joyful vision of worlds of music colliding back to New York for the city’s Premiere Purim Carnivale.

“The energy of six millennia will be focused into a hot party for a vital cause,” says Dan Friedman, Arts & Culture Editor of the Forward.

And if you don’t want to believe Dan, DOWNLOAD a FREE mp3 courtesy of The Sway Machinery and listen for yourself! Purim Sameach y’all!

— Farrah Fidler

Check out our boy Matisyahu wearing our Israeli Keffiyeh at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and get yours at www.thekef.com

It was an illsane weekend at Jewlicious Festival in Long Beach. Check jewliciousfestival.com for videos of all the performers and photos of the entire weekend. Click play below, to check out this improv freestyle that happened as Kosha Dillz, Flex Mathews,Kosha’s drummer Mike Sheffer and Diwon closed out their set with Matisyahu.

p.s. Shemspeed Winter Fest is tonight in NYC! Check the facebook event or click here to buy tickets!

Jewlicious Fest is just about finished up. Was really crazy this year, Kosha Dillz, Flex Mathews, Mike S. and Diwon killed it right from the start with tracks off the latest Beverly Dillz record and closing the set with Matisyahu jumping on (videos to come). Next was Electro Morocco who got the place jumping like a Middle Eastern Favela with Moshav closing the show. Matisyahu is about to go on with an acoustic performance which will most likely be Ustreamed so check out the Jewlicious Fest website. TONIGHT will be the last Shemspeed show in the L.A. area with our new favorite artists, Brody, followed by Electro Morocco at A Cow Jumped Over the Moon

In honor of that, DOWNLOAD “SHMA KOLEINU” FREE

Read the rest of this entry »

Rabbi Nachman is like Rabbi Carlebach, not in the way that he himself played music, but in that he left a musical legacy behind him. Nachman Meuman is the chorus to countless reggae, dubbed out trance, hip hop and folk songs that come out everyday from Breslovers around the world. Unfortunately, a lot of the songs are unoriginal and simply put Nachman Meuman chanted over the riddims to draw in more Breslovers, but once in a while there are artists who take the messages of Rabbi Nachman and his Likutey Moharan and set them to beautiful and original music. Yosef Karduner is one such artist and Erez Yechiel with his Yemenite/Arabic Chazzanut downtempo record of the Tikkun Klali is another such record. If you go to the search box on the top of the Shemspeed Daily you will find free downloads of some of the music I am talking about. Another one of my personal favorites are these Breslovers who redid Idan Raichel’s Boee in a true Breslov style (download it here for free) and another is Fishi Hagadol’s “HaTzadik” from his Uno Dos record, which just came in the mail. Fishi joined Y-Love and Diwon on Channel 10 in Israel when they were invited to perform at the London ve’ Kirshenbaum show. It was then they realized Fishi was becoming a NaNaach man and it is becoming more and more obvious in his music. Pick up the latest Na Naach Punk Band, Moshiach Oi in the Shemspeed store, but before grabbing all that, check out the video up top its Breslov kids dancing to Gad Elbaz singing Na Nach to Kylie Minogue “can’t get you out of my head”. Crazy world. Na Naach Now

Born Alex Bernstein and hailing from suburban Maryland, DJ Kool Jew has come a long way since his days back at Beth Shalom Hebrew School. “Even when I was in services, I was always humming, always dreaming of big things.”

As a teen, Bernstein played in a bunch of bands, performing at spots as varied as DC’s dingy Black Cat and the famed Fletcher’s in Baltimore. He enrolled at Bard College last year, intending to study music and literature, but it didn’t last. “I had to figure some ish out,” he says cryptically. Bernstein did what the Jewish refugees of the past have always done in times of turmoil—he moved to NY. While his persona is still shrouded in mystery, the DJ’s musical skills couldn’t be more obvious. We spoke to DJ Kool Jew in his recording studio slash apartment in Brooklyn.

Why call yourself DJ Kool Jew?

It just sort of happened. It reflects how I connect my Judaism with a hip DJ perspective.

For those who haven’t heard your music, how would you describe it?

It’s an eclectic-yet-danceable blend of contemporary Internet culture — using YouTube videos and club-minded back beats.

Who are your musical influences?

I take inspiration from all over the place. I definitely, from a production stand point, look at people like Danger Mouse, Soulico, Timbaland, and all the Shemspeed stuff for guidance. At the same time, I can’t rule out Brian Wilson, Phil Spector, Lee Scratch Perry, or my main man, Matisyahu.
Read the rest of this entry »

Rinat Gutman will be flying in from Israel and joining a slew of the Shemspeed Artists (Electro Morocco, Kosha Dillz, & Diwon)at Jewlicious Festival. Rinat is the first Orthodox Female rapper on the scene and was just written up in LaIsha magazine, Israel’s equivalent to Cosmopolitan. In order to prepare yourself check out her “Agas” video and download the song free, only here on Shemspeed.com (Click to Download a Free mp3 of Agas).