Klezmer-Hip Hop star, Socalled, visits Emory

On Monday, Jewish Canadian musician, producer and self-proclaimed Klezmer-Hip Hop maestro, Socalled visited Emory. Socalled mixes old Yiddish records with hip-hop beats and the brightest international artists. He’s created a modern and distinctive sound that had students moving in their seats.

Socalled sat down with Jake Krakovsky from Emory’s WMRE radio and music professor Dr. Matt Miller to discuss his Klezmer-Hip Hop invention. Socalled is an animated and talkative artist eager to tell you exactly what Klezmer is. He likens it to the Duke Ellingtons and Count Basies of Jewish culture, a genre he laments may be falling off of the radar since many young Jews have never heard of it.

“I guess I’m a missionary trying rile you up and make you a little interested about your own funky, interesting culture –it’s there if you want it,” he said.

Other Klezmer artists appreciate that Socalled has done his research and spent time learning about the history and lifestyle behind the genre instead of jumping in head first. He even agrees that he couldn’t do it as well as he does without understanding the community that facilitates Klezmer. In immersing himself, Socalled goes to “Klez-Fests,” or Klezmer music festivals all across the globe.

But don’t call him a Klezmer artist – he says the hip-hop aspect of his music means he isn’t. Like any hip-hop artist, Socalled said that side of his music is all about expressing himself and representing who he is. The Klezmer sounds help him to include the Jewish side, as well, even though he’s grown up in an assimilated Montreal family eating hamburgers with his friends and keeping Kosher at home.

Living in a Hasidic area of Montreal now, his crossover music is really unheard of. However, he said of his friends from that community who normally wouldn’t be exposed to hip-hop sounds or culture appreciate his work.

“It look a long time to make something wasn’t a clumsy cut and paste,” he said of learning to mix pieces of Klezmer and Hip-hop.

Socalled’s hard work has undeniably paid off. The end result is nothing short of musical genius from an artist who spends just as much of his time teaching about Klezmer and how to appreciate hip-hop as he does sampling international music and well-known names, such as the Wu Tang Clan, for his own style of self-expression.

At the end of the session Socalled explained how his tracks come together. He pulled out his soundboard and made a few quick beats for the audience before playing a few songs from his albums ranging from hip-hip and reggaeton to more soulful sounds. Socalled’s next album, recorded in 20 studios around the world, comes out in May.

Socalled's residency in Atlanta was sponsored by the Atlanta Jewish Music Festival (AJMF).