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Most of Bsamim’s lyrics come from the Bible or liturgy, and the group has only one English song. "Words from psalms are really just poetry that carry a lot of weight, forget from a religious standpoint, but from an artistic standpoint," explains Bodenheimer, who has red hair and a gentle voice. Though Bsamim’s main audience is Jewish, non-Jews also listen to their music, according to Bodenheimer. At an outdoor concert last summer, a Catholic woman came over to the group to discuss a song. "Music doesn’t discriminate," says Bodenheimer, who is also a student at Fordham Law School. "It is intended to reach a universal audience." The
attraction of a wider audience to Jewish music is not a new phenomenon.
Though
both the Moshav Band and Bsamim are religious and play songs with
a religious message, they do not want to preach. "I
do not want to come across as a rabbi but a musician with a message,"
says Bodenheimer. The message he wants to convey with his music
is twofold. "It’s about embracing religion, seeing happiness and
not viewing religion as burdensome."
"Gospel hip-hop opens the door to people who normally wouldn’t listen" to Christian preaching, says Keyonn Sheppard, a rapper and Baptist minister’s son who hopes to follow in his mother’s footsteps-or perhaps dance steps-by bringing an inspirational message to teen-agers living with drugs and crime in Brooklyn. "I want to be Dr. King with a soundtrack," says Sheppard, 30, referring to the slain civil rights leader. |
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samim,
a group of five twenty-something men, is quickly becoming a
household name in Jewish music, especially among high school
and college students. We wanted to bring a different sound to
the industry," says Shmuel Bodenheimer, 24, the founder and
leader of Bsamim,who
"They
go for the depth in number of years and the connection they have
to it," says Nachum Segal, host of JM in the AM, a daily radio program
on 91.1 FM. 
