DeScribe

DeScribe
Background information
Birth name Shneur Hasofer
Born (1982-07-01) July 1, 1982
Sydney, Australia
Genres Jewish hip hop, pop, dancehall, reggae fusion
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Years active 2008–present
Labels Shemspeed
Associated acts Matisyahu
Website www.describenation.com

Shneur Hasofer (Hebrew: שניאור הסופר‎‎), better known by his stage name DeScribe (Hasofer is Hebrew for "the scribe"), is an Australian singer-songwriter. His music combines elements of Pop, Dance and Reggae.

Biography

Personal life

DeScribe was born in Sydney, Australia, to a Hasidic Jewish family. His mother, Devorah Hasofer, is a singer/songwriter who has released four albums and performs primarily in the Hasidic communities in Australia and Israel.[1] A drummer since the age of five, in his preteen years he participated in the recordings of his mother's albums and performed with her as a special guest.[2]

At the age of 14, Hasofer’s parents sent him to Jerusalem to study in a yeshiva. He spent a year in the yeshiva and then, remaining in Israel, he “left the Jewish way of life and did a lot of stupid things,” many of which were illegal.[3] His family’s move to Beitar Illit in 1998 did little to curb his wildness.[2]

In 2000, at age 17, DeScribe joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as a combat sharpshooter, serving for three years at the height of the Second Intifada, experiencing intense action on a near-daily basis.[3] After being discharged, he remained in Israel, organizing a concert tour featuring affiliates of the Wu-Tang Clan Remedy and Killah Priest, gaining an inside view of the hip hop scene.[4]

Around 2004, he began to feel an overwhelming desire to leave his shady lifestyle and return to a religious one.[5] “I started to change the way I thought and behaved and in Judaism I found something that was real that brought happiness to a dark place in my life,” he has said.[2] In 2006, he moved to Brooklyn to attend Tifferet Menachem, where he was given permission to set up a music studio inside the yeshiva.[2]

Career

In 2008, after an early music video was picked up by the Israeli media, he was invited to play the Highline Ballroom in New York with Perry Farrell.[3] Shortly thereafter, he had a chance encounter with Rohan Marley (Bob Marley’s son) on the streets of New York City. Marley later asked DeScribe to create the theme song for his company, Marley Coffee, which supports environmental and social justice causes in Jamaica and around the world. DeScribe came up with "Livin’ for the Grind," inspired by Bob Marley’s 1962 single "One Cup of Coffee."[6]

DeScribe’s 2010 single “Harmony” was celebrated as "a groundbreaking tool for unity and racial harmony” by Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Crown Heights riot.[3]

In early 2011, DeScribe collaborated with Matisyahu on the dancehall track “Pure Soul." The proceeds from the song benefit The Friendship Circle, a nonprofit organization that assists children with disabilities.[6]

Artistic style

"My music is about unity," DeScribe has said, "and we all have one God whether we are Jewish, Christian or Muslim. We are brothers and we share this world together."[6]

Discography

EPs & Albums

Release date Album Label
March 16, 2010 Harmony (EP) Modular Moods/Shemspeed
May 14, 2010 The Change EP
(DeScribe & Y-Love)
Nov 13, 2012 We R 1 (EP)
Produced by Tronmusiq		 DeScribe Music Group, Inc.
Nov 30, 2012 OWO (One World Order)
May 20, 2016 The Summer Throwback Mix

Singles/appearances

References

  1. ↑ “Contributions of Jewish Women to Music and Women to Jewish Music,” JMWC.org. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 David Brinn, “DeScribing a plan to save the world,” Jerusalem Post, May 15, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Jacob E. Osterhout, “Crown Heights rapper DeScribe utilizes Hasidic faith to produce beats, rhymes with hip-hop flair,” New York Daily News, April 12, 2011.
  4. ↑ Amy Sciarretto, "DeScribe's 'Pure Soul' Single Features Matisyahu and Benefits The Friendship Circle," Artistdirect, February 9, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  5. ↑ Elad Nehorai, “Lyrics That uplift: Rappers Who Found Their Soul Through Their Music,” Chabad.org. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 Alan Zeitlin, "Will DeScribe Be the Breakout Artist of 2011?", The Los Angeles Blueprint, January 3, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.

External links

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