Did hip-hop superstar, Drake, know that his new music video would stir such a machlokes among American Jews? Probably. Did he give a foreskin-sized hoot? Clearly not. Then again, it doesn’t appear that much consideration went into his music video at all. It was filmed in Miami’s Temple Israel sanctuary and depicts Drake’s “re-bar mitzvah,” showing the Jewish rapper reading from a Torah. The confusing part is, the profanity-filled, sexually explicit song, Hell Yeah Fucking Right, doesn’t seem to have much, if anything, to do with Judaism—unless you can see the connection between a bar mitzvah and lyrics like “But she was no angel, and we never waited / I took her for sushi, she wanted to fuck”. If you’re like me, you probably asking yourself, “Why the hell wasn’t sushi served at my Bar Mitzvah?” But I digress.
Only five days after its release, the music video had garnered well over 1 million views and predictably, a fair amount of bitter criticism too.
"What's the point of committing to a religion, whose principles you are not going to follow...?" one commenter wrote. "This is just making a mockery of Judaism. I do not practice Judaism, and even I am offended” offered another.
Meanwhile, Temple Israel’s president, Ben Kuehne couldn’t seem to make up his mind regarding the video. At first, he hoped that “Jewish youth will see the Drake video as a reminder to ‘re-commit' themselves to their Jewish religion.” Then Kuehne actually watched the video and quickly changed his tune, asserting, "Temple Israel does not adopt, condone, or sponsor any aspect of the Drake video, and was not involved in its production." Smooth Kuehne. Very smooth.
But with assimilation/intermarriage rates continuing to soar, perhaps it’s Drake with the ace up his sleeve.
Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Graham, was raised by his Jewish mother in Toronto and attended a Jewish day school. Today, the 25-year-old rapper is one of the biggest names in hip-hop and has been very public in embracing his Jewish roots. Ask yourself: Is there a more effective way to inspire curiosity among young Jews whose only connection to religion is knowing that their mothers’ last names once ended with “stein” or “berg”? Probably not. And while outreach programs continue to spend millions of dollars without making a dent in assimilation rates, Drake may have just done the Jewish population a significant favor.
Truth is, when it comes to encouraging unaffiliated youth to explore their Jewish heritage, you can preach Torah values, quote great sages and espouse the importance of Jewish continuity till you’re blue in the face. But those topics simply don’t register. Why? Because they lack any semblance of “cool”. Jewish/Black rappers, on the other hand, are cool. Hip-hop is cool. Irreverence is cool. (Ironically, overusing the word “cool” is not cool.)
Am I suggesting that Drake’s video become the foundation upon which a new generation of Jews practice? Of course not. But hey, whatever floats your boat. I am however suggesting that the video might just be the gateway for disconnected American youth to eventually experience something even more transcendent than, “My nuts hang like ain't no curfew, bitch, if you wave, then I will surf you” (which, to be honest, I still don’t completely understand.)
Apparently, Yitz Jordan, an Orthodox Jewish rapper who goes by the stage name Y-Love, agrees. "I'm ecstatic just to see Drake in a yarmulke period." he commented. "This is going to help a lot of Jewish kids of color stand up in the hood. Drake doing this is really going to help those kids."
As an ad guy, I feel qualified to speak about what sells, and Drake swigging Manischewitz outside a synagogue certainly sells. Not to mention fellow rapper Lil Wayne (also featured in the video), wearing a panda mask while lounging beside a lavish shmorg boasting matzo balls, bagels and gefilte fish, also sells. The same way Rabbi Shmulie Boteach featuring the word “sex” in almost every one of his book titles, sells. Or Matisyahu’s Chasidic exterior combined with his reggae infused hip-hop, sells.
Like it or not, nowadays religion is just another idea vying for our severely compromised attention. Promote it the same ol’ way and you may as well pray to inspire more followers. Try something different, and who knows?
Besides, ask yourself what’s more disturbing: Filming a music video inside a shul, or sitting in that same shul on a Saturday, reading about God testing Abraham’s devotion by commanding him to slaughter his only son?
Special thanks to JTA.org. Read more here
