Who is This Hasidic Rapper Breaking into the Mainstream?

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September 12, 2022

4 min read

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Kendrick Lamar. Drake. DaBaby. Moshe Reuven? Meet the rising Hasidic rapper whose inspirational music is resonating with millions.

Moshe Reuven Sheradsky has always loved rap. When he was 8 years old, he was already writing musical poetry to express himself to the world.

“That was the way I expressed my feelings,” said Sheradsky, who goes by the name Moshe Reuven. “In my teens, it became a serious endeavor. My friends and I did it recreationally, but it became more than just a hobby.”

Now, what started as something fun is now a full- blown music career. Moshe Reuven is a rising star in the industry and has signed to Create Music Group, alongside popular artists like The Chainsmokers, Dillon Francis, and Future. He’s collaborated with Julian Marley, Bob Marley’s son, and he has 1.6 million followers on Instagram and millions of plays on Spotify. He’s been featured in Forbes and Rolling Stone as well.

Moshe Reuven’s music is quite different from most mainstream rap today. It’s uplifting, spiritual, inspirational – and catchy at the same time.

In his latest hit song, “Say,” (which you can listen on Spotify) the chorus, sung by Julian Marley, goes:

Ya only got one life
Do what ya got to do
Go ahead and speak your truth
You only got one life
Go make the most of it
Push it and don’t you quit
One moment in space and time
It’s your turn to wake and shine
So keep on to the fullest
Give on and never give less, be thankful
You’re blessed, no room for no stress

Moshe Reuven connected with Julian after his debut song, “You Are Not Alone,” took off (it currently has more than 1.4 million listens on Spotify).

“I sent Julian several of the songs in the works and he said he felt ‘Say’ sounded really incredible. I told him I needed to figure out what I’m doing for the chorus. I felt his sound would be the perfect compliment to the song. He eventually sent over vocals and my engineer worked on it and finally we had ‘Say.’ It was really meant to be.”

Though Moshe Reuven’s music is very spiritual, he wasn’t always so connected to his faith. Growing up in a Jewish family in Florida, he went through the motions of Jewish practice but didn’t fully embrace them.

“I enjoyed the stories and much of what I learned in Hebrew school, but never took going very seriously,” he said. “It was just something we had to do.”

When Moshe Reuven was a teen, he started partying. And while it was fun, he didn’t find it fulfilling. After one night of partying too hard, he decided he wanted to connect more to his faith.

“I dug deeper and deeper into what I believed, and what God wanted from me,” he said. “I began praying daily, as part of my authentic spiritual journey. Deep down, I was reconnecting to Judaism without even realizing it.”

Following a fateful meeting with a rabbi on his college campus, Moshe Reuven slowly became observant. He was eventually ordained as a rabbi as well. Today, he’s living in New Jersey and is part of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. His goal is to help others have a better life and transform them into better versions of themselves.

“The Lubavitcher Rebbe would often stress that one’s talents and opportunities are a divine calling that one has a responsibility to capitalize on for the greater good of humanity,” he said. “I think I have a unique ability to reach a very large amount of people and I am to utilize that as part of my spiritual work.”

With all his success, Moshe Reuven feels truly blessed. He built his massive following by spreading Jewish wisdom on Instagram and TikTok and putting out music that people are connecting to.

“Thank God, people happen to love it, and I’ve amassed some really amazing fans as an artist,” he said. “I can’t say I planned it perfectly. God definitely did.”

To Moshe Reuven, music is more than just his career; it’s how he fulfills his purpose in this world, and does his part to make it a more beautiful place for everyone.

“Music is an expression of the soul, regardless of what genre that it’s in, and my music is an expression of my soul and the journey I walk with God. Whoever you are in the world, you too walk a journey with God. Perhaps my songs can be part of the soundtrack to that journey.”

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