Matisyahu
Matthew Paul Miller, aka Matisyahu, earned a lot of early press for being the first widely known Hasidic Jewish reggae performer to incorporate rapping and beat-boxing into his music. You could run down a calculator trying to add up all the films and TV shows that featured his 2005 single “King Without a Crown” in the soundtrack. Over the ensuing years, he’s evolved into more of an indie rock star who just happens to weave in and out of hip-hop and island music, as evidenced by both a new look (sans facial hair) and last year’s Undercurrent full-length, his second-highest U.S. charting album to date at number 16. The record didn’t exactly yield any hit singles akin to past smokers like “Sunshine,” “One Day,” “Live Like a Warrior,” “Miracle,” or even his one-off non-album track “Happy Hanukkah” (a tune currently back on the viral merry-go-round thanks to a slappy cover version by Canada’s Walk Off the Earth). However, he has picked up ever-increasing attention among alt-rock tastemakers and bloggers, even sparking a game over on Facebook called “Matisyahu or 311,” wherein snippets of music by both acts are paired without ID and the listener is tasked with guessing the performer. Considering Matisyahu has been known to cover songs like “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon, the game is harder than you might expect. He’s been making annual appearances in San Diego since first turning up at House of Blues in 2008, with his next area concerts scheduled for April 10 and 11 at the Belly Up.