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Drizzy Drake’s profanity-laced ‘re-bar mitzvah’ video stirs controversy

Thanks to hip hop mega star Drake’s latest promo vid, there are presently much more eyes concentrating on Church Israel’s bimah than there are even in the High Vacations . And although the song’s words are decidedly more profane than holy, the Reform synagogue’s president asserted he was hoping the video would help Jewish youth connect to Judaism.

The video, parts of which were filmed in the Miami shul’s refuge, alleges to picture Drake’s “re-bar mitzvah,” showing the Jewish rapper reading from what seems to be a Torah.

But the concomitant song, “HYFR” ( Hell Yep F***ing Right ), has zilch to do with a bar mitzvah. Rather, it features profanity-filled and sexually unrestricted words.

The video had gathered well over 1,000,000 perspectives by Wed. , only 5 days after its release. Initially, Church Israel’s president, Ben Kuehne, recounted the video — words apart — is “an welcoming of spiritual passage.” He claimed, “It’s not a blasphemous message ; it isn’t an antireligious message.” But once Kuehne had an opportunity to review the video and the words closer, he announced, “The complete video is definitely not consistent with Church Israel’s longstanding history and status as a progressive voice in the Jewish Reform movement.” He added, “Temple Israel doesn’t adopt, condone, or sponsor any side of the Drake video, and wasn’t concerned in its production.” Nonetheless , Kuehne asserted, he was hoping “Jewish youth will see the Drake video at least in part as a reminder to ‘re-commit ‘ themselves to their Jewish religion.” Drake, whose actual name is Aubrey Graham, was raised by his Jewish mummy in Toronto and attended a Jewish day college.

“I went to a Jewish college, where no-one knew what it was love to be black and Jewish,” he told Heeb mag in 2010. “When youngsters are young it is hard for them to grasp the make-up of faith and race.” The video for “HYFR” opens with a clip of Drake as a boy at a bar mitzvah party announcing “mazel tov” and then cuts to him as a grown up wearing a yarmulke and prayer scarf as he’s shown allegedly reading the Torah at Church Israel’s bimah. A caption at the start of the video claims the rapper “chose to get re-bar mitzvah’d as a re-commitment to the Jewish faith.” The staged pictures of the alleged rite is followed by party and dancing scenes filmed some place else. In a number of ways, it seems like a normal OTT bar mitzvah party — only in this situation, the bar mitzvah “boy” is a very famous musician who is joined by hip hop producer DJ Khaled and fellow rapper Lil Wayne wearing a panda mask. The camera pans a food table with bagels and what seems to be gefilte fish and smoked fish. Drake is shown being lifted in a chair and later battering a cake with its Torah scroll decorations. Kuehne announced that those concerned in the filming were “very deferential and utilised the church inside and outside as we might have anticipated any person to do.” He revealed the producers of the video paid the standard rental charge for the utilisation of the synagogue’s facilities. Kuehne said the synagogue’s Torah scroll wasn’t used and therefore the scenes where Drake seems to be rapping in the refuge were inserted post-production. “None of the song’s words were sung in the Church Israel Sanctuary,” he revealed.

Yitz Jordan, an Orthodox Jewish rapper who goes by the stage name Y-Love, told JTA he’s excited to see Drake in public welcoming his Judaism.

“I’ve been asserting for ages ‘What’s it going to take to put Drake in a yarmulke,’” Y-Love asserted. “I’ve been clamouring for Drake’s Jewish visibility forever.” He discharged the words, exclaiming he does not hear Drake for the content. “You’re not especially sitting there trying to find out more about the system of wealth distribution in America,” Y-Love related. “I’m enraptured solely to see Drake in a yarmulke period.” He added, “This is likely to help a large amount of Jewish youngsters of colour stand up in the hood. Drake’s doing this is truly likely to help those kids.” The video’s director, Director X, told Vibe mag that filming the video last month was a “lot of fun.” “We were awfully deferential of the faith and all that occurs there,” he claimed. “So everybody took care with brooding about what’s what, but at the very same time, it’s Drake, he’s twenty-four having a re-bar mitzvah. So it does have a comedy part by the eventuality itself.” The video also had its defenders. “Drake is Jewish, his ma is Jewish and he was raised in Jewish religion,” one wrote.

“In this video he shows his recognition and essentially claims that is what I am.” Grantland blogger Rembert Browne sees the video as an expression of Drake’s 2nd growing up.

“Coming to terms with who you actually are, in public, is an indication of adultness, and with this video it’s clear that his process of doing this is at the least under way,” Browne wrote. He further said he never had seen Drake “as cheerful, on-camera, as he’s in these party scenes. The look on his face screams, ‘Finally, I’m able to be myself.’ “.