Y-Love

Yitz Jordan (born January 5, 1978), better known by his stage name Y-Love, is an American hip hop artist. An Orthodox Jew, Jordan was formerly Hasidic. Jordan rhymes in a mixture of English, Hebrew, Yiddish, Arabic, Latin and Aramaic, often covering social, political and religious themes.

Biography Personal life Jordan, an only child, was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland to a Christian Ethiopian father and Puerto Rican mother, occasionally attending a Baptist church. As a youth, Jordan was a fan of the conscientious rhymes of KRS-One and Public Enemy's Chuck D.

Jordan first became interested in Judaism at the age of seven. "I saw a commercial that said, 'Happy Passover from your friends at Channel 2,'" he said, "and I went drawing six-pointed stars on everything at my mother's house." He started wearing a kippah and observing Shabbat at 14, and converted to Judaism around the turn of millennium. He later spent time studying at a yeshiva in Jerusalem. As of 2012, he still identified as an Orthodox Jew. However, by 2013 he proclaimed himself off the derech, which means, no longer observant of torah and mitzvos.

Career After moving to Brooklyn in 2001, Jordan began performing at open mics around the city as Y-Love. He received a measure of criticism from the local Jewish population for also being a member of the hip hop community.

In the Fall of 2008, Y-Love released his first solo full-length album, This Is Babylon. XXL said the album "balances Jewish spirituality with party rhymes and political commentary in an effort to spread [Y-Love's] message of global unity."

In Fall of 2014, Y-Love appeared in a documentary called Punk Jews. Y-Love took a 7-year hiatus before returning to the stage in 2019.

In June 2020 he became the chief product officer at Tribe Herald, a news site for Jews of Color.

Musical style Y-Love generally comes up with his rhymes through freestyling. "You freestyle and wait until something hot comes out," he says.

Y-Love uses strong Jewish themes in his lyrics, saying "We know that the Book of Psalms was written using the types of musical instruments which were contemporary to King David's day. Today we have digital equipment."

Discography

Albums Release dateAlbumLabel April 14, 2008 Count It (Sefira) (Y-Love & Yuri Lane) Modular Moods/Shemspeed October 27, 2008 This Is Babylon Modular Moods/Shemspeed

Extended plays

Singles "Change" - DeScribe & Y-Love, prod. Prodezra. Released May 14, 2010. "Boom Selecta" - Shemspeed MCs vs. Electro Morocco (feat. Y-Love, DeScribe, Kosha Dillz & Eprhyme). Released July 12, 2010. "Move On" - Y-Love feat. DeScribe. Released August 10, 2010. "The Takeover" - Y-Love feat. TJ Di Hitmaker & Andy Milonakis. Released October 18, 2011. "Focus on the Flair" - Y-Love feat. Onili. Released May 15, 2012.

Mixtapes DJ Handler Presents Y-Love: The Mix Tape (2005)

TV appearances London & Kirschenbaum - Israeli Channel 10 (July 2007) BBC World TV (September 2008) Late Night with Conan O'Brien - with Erran Baron Cohen (December 12, 2008) The Jewish Channel (multiple appearances since 2008) "Faith, Music and Culture" - CBS Special (June 7, 2009) Fox 2 Detroit (March 25, 2011)