At a first-of-its-kind academic conference this month at Harvard University, Shaul Magid and Terrence L. Johnson sought to broaden the Black-Jewish conversation.
A “beef” is just a mean poetry contest, but the stakes of this one felt higher for Jewish fans of hip-hop like me. A loss for Drake, who has celebrated his Jewishness in his art, is a loss for Jews.
“It doesn’t make sense that the most prominent Black Jew in entertainment is going through this right now,” said Y-Love, the rapper and content creator who is also Black and Jewish.
Nissim Black has a minhag before he performs: The Orthodox rapper recites a blessing on stage. The custom is a way to make amends for his past as a gang member and gangsta rapper in Seattle who “used to do the opposite of making blessings.”
When she graduates next year, Asher will become the first Black American woman ordained as a cantor — and one of only two Black cantors in the country, according to the other one, Cantor David Fair.