Pop Quiz: Matisyahu

Pop Quiz: Matisyahu

Aidin Vaziri | He went from wearing dreadlocks and following Phish around the country to embracing a life of hard-core religion. Now Matisyahu is the most popular Hasidic reggae star in the entire solar system. Born Matthew Miller, the 27-year-old New York native raps, beatboxes and tips his big hat to Bob Marley on "Youth," his breakthrough album. The disc premiered at No. 2 on the Billboard charts and spawned the hit "King Without a Crown."

Matisyahu
Q: When you were into Phish did you have dreadlocks and wear the same shirt every day for three years?
A: Yeah, I was into the whole culture, I guess.
Q: You also used to wear turbans, drink mushroom tea and play the bongos. Do you ever miss that?
A: Yeah, for sure. I miss it definitely. There are lots of things I miss but, you know, you've got to grow up at some point. Those experiences I had on mushroom tea weren't always the most enjoyable experiences. Some of them were definitely life shattering, but some of them were nightmares.
Q: You want more, don't you?
A: The way I see life, nothing is written in stone. You go through life and you make your decisions constantly. Things change. I mean, I definitely miss certain things, but I have other things in place of it, as well: a family, child, career.
Q: Fair enough, but you're only 27. There could be more mushroom tea and bongos in your future.
A: You never know.