Who Is the Jewish Rapper BLP Kosher?

Many of the people instrumental to the success of Hip-Hop are Jewish (Jerry Heller, Lyor Cohen, and Rick Rubin just to name a few). A number of Jews have become prominent rappers – like Drake, the Beastie Boys, and Mac Miller.

But it’s not often that a Jewish artist rises to prominence in Hip-Hop, a predominantly African-American genre, let alone a rapper with such an overtly Jewish aesthetic.

That’s exactly what BLP Kosher has managed to do.

What’s A BLP?

Hailing from Broward County, Florida, BLP Kosher, aka Benjamin Landy Pavlon, was born in the year 2000. Pavlon grew up in a Jewish home, and while he didn’t grow up observant and, ironically enough, didn’t keep kosher, prayer was always an important part of his life.

“I would pray randomly at a bus stop, or when I’m doing something like jaywalking, I’ll start praying,” Kosher explains in an interview. “I would live a non-religious lifestyle but still pray.”

Over time and to deal with the losses he experienced in his life, Shabbat observance became important for him as well.

On a whim, he took up rapping during lockdown in 2021 and began to steadily release his first tracks on Soundcloud with his mentor and fellow Jewish rapper Jew Shiesty. Jew Shiesty was also responsible for thinking of Kosher’s stage name after Shiesty told him to keep the BLP (his initials) as a call back to his earlier skating days.

Since he couldn’t go outside and skate like he usually did, rap was a fun way to pass the time while the world seemed to be ending,

Being exposed to Hip-Hop as a teenager, he cites his biggest inspirations as being late rapper XXXTentacion, Lil Wayne, and even Camila Cabello.

His friends realized he had a unique charisma and sense of humor that he conveyed in his lyrics, and they convinced him to take rapping more seriously. He began to develop a following fascinated by his oddball aesthetic and hilarious punchlines, many of which involved his Jewish heritage and his affinity for skateboarding.

Even before he started rapping, he walked around wearing a Bukharian Kippah, a star of David chain, and grew out small payot (a Jewish custom of growing out the sideburns). His now iconic hairstyle came about in a rather beautiful way. Charmane, a close friend of Pavlon's, was grieving his late girlfriend, who had recently passed away. In an attempt to help, Pavlon taught him to say Kaddish, a Jewish prayer that elevates the soul to heaven. Thankful for the emotional support and empathy BLP showed, Charmane decided to return the favor. He used a crochet hook to turn the curls into the two small wicks that would soon be his calling card and a way for him to display his Jewish identity fully.

Is It a Gimmick?

From the moniker and the Jewish jewelry to the hairstyle and the deadpan delivery, BLP Kosher sticks out in more ways than one. Few rappers have incorporated Judaism into their aesthetic and lyrics as much as BLP has. But he says he was never worried about a negative reaction to his identity.

“The internet is going to be the internet, and they’re really not going to understand. But I know what it means to me. So I might as well just be myself and include skateboarding and being Jewish.”

He explains in an interview with Complex Magazine that the reason he is so aggressively proud of his Jewish identity is it is his way to stand up to the people who despise him even before listening to his music, just because he’s Jewish. When he was first starting out, he shares that “There were people who would crack little jokes and say some Nazi garbage. I tried to laugh at them because, at the end of the day, that’s fluff. The goal is to change minds and views,” he says. While Deerfield County was never a hotbed of antisemitism, or “anti-dreidel,” as Kosher calls it, he experienced his fair share of hostility.

One such incident occurred on the bus to school where a bully called a young BLP Kosher a kike. He retaliated violently and the bully’s nose began to bleed profusely. “I was crying because I hurt him. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to do that. The kid was evil, but it hurt me to hurt him. I couldn’t sleep after knowing that I really injured someone,” Kosher recalls.

His songs are laden with Jewish lyrics and messages, and while they aren’t all the most family-friendly, they are all deeply inspired by Jewish themes. Just turn on one of his songs, and you’re bound to hear lines like “No Lashon Ha'Ra, please” or “They throwin' shade like Sukkot.” BLP clearly has a penchant for witty one-liners and a real breadth of knowledge in pop culture and Jewish tradition. Despite flying in the face of every existing trend and norm, he has released songs with some of the biggest producers and rappers in the world. He’s received the respect and admiration of many of his peers and has slowly but surely built a name for himself as an independent artist. All while treating his success with the utmost humility and graciousness.

While his aesthetic may look brash, he’s humble, wholesome, and thankful for being given the opportunity to do some real good in the world. Kosher’s loyalty to his friends and his heritage is another one of the things that makes him such a unique figure. After losing two of his closest friends, including Jew Shiesty, his mentor, BLP isn’t a stranger to grief. He has continued pushing on in honor of the friends who helped get him where he is now. He feels that he has a responsibility to continue on the path he started and eternalize their legacy.

He explains that in his hometown of Broward, pride can get you killed, but for Pavlon, that’s precisely what fuels him to increase tolerance and challenge societal norms and people’s expectations, even if they aren’t ready for it.

In an interview recently, BLP Kosher waxed poetic on purpose. “Never judge a book by its cover,” he says. “Everybody is here for a reason, and I know the reason I’m here and the stepping stones I’ll use to get there.”

Last month, he released his second album, “Bars Mitzvah,” to much fanfare with some of his most viral singles yet, in “Mazel Tron” and “Special K.”

While it’s anyone’s guess as to where BLP Kosher heads from here, one thing is for sure: BLP will continue to represent Jews all over the world with his funny punchlines, skateboarding references, and Jewish pride.

 

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