Raphael Nathan

Early life Raphael Nathan was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, son of musician Mickey Nathan, and Naomi, editor and teacher at King David Schools His mother died in a traffic accident in 2022. Nathan had difficulties with learning the language and suffered from bullying at school. He began taking drum lessons at the age of 10. Since he did not have his own drum kit to practice on at the time, he started developing his rhythmic ability by doing beatboxing. In 2010 he participated in a breakdance video on the occasion of the celebration of Purim.

Career Nathan co-founded the Kosher Flava crew which went on to win the Israeli Street Festival breakdance competition in 2011 and 2012. The Kosher Flava crew represented Israel at the Battle of the Year in France, at Notorious IBE festival in the Netherlands, and at the DOYOBE International Hip Hop Festival in Salzburg.

In 2013, Nathan co-founded Kippalive, an acappella group. The group appeared on The X Factor Israel reality show. Kippalive went on to achieve online popularity with a series of viral videos that feature versions of pop songs reworked to reference Jewish themes.

In 2015, Nathan began creating content on YouTube under the name DJ Raphi. In March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, his video "The Cha Cha Slide Dance" had an extraordinary impact, surpassing 125 million plays.

Nathan has received accounts from families and hospital staff who used his videos to support children undergoing medical treatment. Tzama is known as the biggest Jewish Music festival with singers such as Ishay Ribo, Avraham Fried and Nathan Goshen.

In September 2024, he produced and released a new dance video to the song "Nekudot" alongside musician Shmuel Perednik, who wrote the song, presenting it as "a moment of light in the context of the war".

Despite facing social media backlash, particularly after October 7 attacks, Nathan said he has many followers in Muslim countries and that he has focused less on conflict and more on shared dancing.

In April 2025, he reached 1 million subscribers on YouTube.

Nathan does not perform on Shabbat. The show, held on June 14, sold out with an audience of approximately 9,000. During the event, DJ Raphi signed the venue's artist tunnel, whose past signatories include the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, and received Red Rocks' "Piece of the Rock" commemorative award, an annual keepsake presented by the venue to performers.

Nathan is represented by global talent manager Rhys Paynting, while his U.S. bookings are handled by Peter Schwartz of WME.

He currently resides in Jerusalem, with his wife and two children.

Discography Singles Title Year The Workout 2026 The Cleaning Song Melody The Robot Dance Fire It Up Be You Be Awesome 2025 If You're Happy and You Know It Move It Paca Paca Googoo Gaga The Warm Up The Cool Down The Floor is Lava 2024 Row, Row, Row Your Boat Superstar Limbo Happy Birthday The DJ Dance The DJ Says Colors Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes Banish Darkness 2023 Tooth Brushing Dance Wheels On The Bus Old MacDonald Had a Farm The Anti-Bully Dance Freeze Dance The ABC Song 2022 Machu Picchu Shake It Off The Lulav Shake 2020