Today’s big post in Jewniverse is none other than Shemspeed CEO, Diwon….
“Remember the Israeli keffiyeh controversy? Semitic Swag, the LA “lifestyle brand” behind it, is headed by Erez Safar, a DJ/producer who is perhaps better known for his non-sartorial endeavors. And he’s just made another musical splash.
Safar, who performs under the moniker Diwon, has just dropped his first solo album. Called “New Game,” the album fuses samples of Middle Eastern folk music with urban American hip-hop beats, creating a sound that would feel at home both in the Arab shuk and in a bouncin’ Baltimore club.
These days Safar is probably best known as the founder of Bancs, a music and video production company, the founder of the Sephardic Music Festival, and the CEO of Shemspeed, which doesn’t just sell kosher keffiyehs—it’s also one of the only independent record labels specializing in Jewish music.
“New Game,” which features a bevy of underground rappers sharing the mic over Safar’s beats, is a notable addition to Safar’s already bursting-at-the-seams musical resume. We’re pretty psyched.”
Shemspeed is an independent recording label and promotional agency highlighting cross-over music artists with positive and unifying messages. Founded by Erez Safar, an American-Israeli DJ/Producer, Shemspeed promotes over 15 dynamic artists representing a wide range of genres including hip-hop, reggae, and rock. These artists include Y-Love (revolutionary Jewish hip-hop), Diwon (Yemenite / Sephardic hip-hop, Israeli music and more), DeScribe (soul-awakening dancehall, hip-hop, & soul), and Electro Morocco (Israeli rock, dance music.) Shemspeed artists, collectively showcasing the diversity in world Jewish music, have performed with musicians as varied as Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, Idan Raichel and Eminem; they’ve been profiled in Rolling Stone, SPIN, The New York Times and XXL; and they’ve been seen and heard around the world on various TV appearances (Conan O’Brien, CBS and BBC World) and global radio. Shemspeed’s mission is unifying people through culture and education, celebrating diversity and common ground. By way of this work, we add a public Jewish voice to multi-cultural, inter-faith, creative and collaborative bridge-building.