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  • The Guardian

    Nissim Baruch Black: the rapper who gave up bling for Jewish redemption

    The former drug dealer tells of his journey from a tough Seattle neighbourhood to an ultra-orthodox family life in Jerusalem
    by Harriet Sherwood Feb 25, 2018 4 minutes
    Rapper Nissim Baruch Black performing onstage in his everyday black hat and coat.

    Once he rapped about gangs, guns and drugs. But since swapping his gold jewellery for a black hat, the message of Nissim Baruch Black’s music has been one of hope and redemption.

    Black, who grew up in a tough neighbourhood in Seattle and was selling drugs by the age of 12, now lives in the most uncompromising ultra-orthodox Jewish area of Jerusalem as a devout family man who reads the Torah, keeps kosher and strictly observes the sabbath.

    Surprisingly, he is still a rapper. He is working on an album, (meaning strong in Hebrew) and performed in New York’s Times Square on Saturday as part of a world tour that ends in London next year. His stage outfit (ritual fringes), with (sidecurls) hanging beneath his hat. In his former persona, D-Black, he was flanked by scantily dressed women as he rapped; now, in an hour-long meeting, he did not once make eye contact with me (“Please don’t be offended,” urged his producer).

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