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Contact Director Matt Bar
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While still a philosophy student at Washington University in St. Louis, Matt Bar developed a distinct Hip-Hop/Folk fusion of Bob Dylan and Lil’ Wayne, with his folk rap style earning him honors to open for Grammy-winning group Outkast as well as Jurassic 5 and Matisyahu. His debut album, “Lying in Chalk,” contains singles that have played on MTV's "The Real World" and NBC's “Hip Hop Nation Notes from the Underground.”
In 2006, Matt moved to New York to pursue his music career. While playing venues in the evenings, Bar worked as a part-time Hebrew School instructor in Greenwich, CT. In a bid to get restless pupils to behave during class, he promised to rap for them in the closing minutes of each session. Captivated by the merging of beats over biblical narrative, his students’ enthusiasm inspired Matt to flip his teaching model by giving hip-hop top billing in his lesson plan.
Bible Raps is an outgrowth of Matt’s success as a Hebrew School teacher. Bible Raps’ interactive approach offers students a unique experience of producing beats and writing lyrics that reflect their personal insights on biblical narrative and contemporary Jewish identity.
Today, Bible Raps is a full-time nonprofit expanding to it’s focus on co-leading a collaborative organization with other hip hop pedagogues called Rappers and Rabbis.
Bible Raps has sold 2,500 albums, and performed in stage shows and collaborative musical workshops for more than 125,000 youth in 75 cities in the U.S., U.K., and Israel including summer camps, conventions and Jewish educational settings. Matt has studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. He currently resides in Philadelphia with his wife, Rebecca, and two boys, Micah and Jonah.
In 2006, Matt moved to New York to pursue his music career. While playing venues in the evenings, Bar worked as a part-time Hebrew School instructor in Greenwich, CT. In a bid to get restless pupils to behave during class, he promised to rap for them in the closing minutes of each session. Captivated by the merging of beats over biblical narrative, his students’ enthusiasm inspired Matt to flip his teaching model by giving hip-hop top billing in his lesson plan.
Bible Raps is an outgrowth of Matt’s success as a Hebrew School teacher. Bible Raps’ interactive approach offers students a unique experience of producing beats and writing lyrics that reflect their personal insights on biblical narrative and contemporary Jewish identity.
Today, Bible Raps is a full-time nonprofit expanding to it’s focus on co-leading a collaborative organization with other hip hop pedagogues called Rappers and Rabbis.
Bible Raps has sold 2,500 albums, and performed in stage shows and collaborative musical workshops for more than 125,000 youth in 75 cities in the U.S., U.K., and Israel including summer camps, conventions and Jewish educational settings. Matt has studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. He currently resides in Philadelphia with his wife, Rebecca, and two boys, Micah and Jonah.