Yaakov Levi Robin (born 1992) is an American

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

singer based in

Huntington Beach Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, United States. The city was originally called Pacific City, but it was changed in 1903 to be named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as o ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He first gained attention as an opening act for

Matisyahu Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), known by his stage name Matisyahu (; ), is an American singer, rapper, beatboxer, and musician. Known for blending spiritual themes with reggae, rock and hip hop beatboxing sounds, Matisyahu's 2005 sin ...

, and released his self-titled debut EP in 2014.

Biography

Early life

Robin grew up in

's Orange County. He began playing

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

and writing songs at age 12, and later performed at clubs in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

with a band that ultimately broke up. He was athletic as a child, participating in

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

. Raised in a non-observant family, Robin first discovered

Hasidism Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a Spirituality, spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most ...

at 17, when some friends of his father were attempting to start a shul in Venice Beach with a rabbi who had studied under the

Lubavitcher Rebbe Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

. Intrigued by the

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

philosophy, Robin studied the works of movement founder Rabbi

Shneur Zalman of Liadi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, (; September 4, 1745 – December 15, 1812 O.S. / 18 Elul 5505 – 24 Tevet 5573) commonly known as the Alter Rebbe or Baal Hatanya, was a rabbi and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Hasidic Judaism. He ...

, including the Tanya and the ''

Shulchan Aruch HaRav The ''Shulchan Aruch HaRav'' (; also romanized ''Shulkhan Arukh HaRav'') is especially a record of prevailing halakha by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745–1812), known during his lifetime as '' HaRav'' (Hebrew for "The Rabbi") and as the firs ...

'', and began attending shul regularly after his father died.

Career

Robin released his debut EP, the self-titled ''Levi Robin'' EP, on February 4, 2013. Subsequently, Jewish

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

singer

began promoting Robin on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

and invited him to be an opening act for his 25-city acoustic tour. Later that year, Robin performed alongside the Moshe Hecht Band at the Roulette Theater as part of a fundraiser for Lamplighters Yeshivah. In late 2015, Robin performed at a

Sofar Sounds Sofar Sounds ''(Songs from a Room)'' is a company that organizes music events, known for its sensation, secret gigs in unique spaces. Founded in 2009, the company has its headquarters in Boston and London. __TOC__ History Sofar Sound was found ...

concert in New York. The following month, he and

Gad Elbaz } Gad Elbaz () is an Israelis, Israeli Jews, Jewish singer who has gained international success and recorded several albums. Biography Elbaz is of Moroccan Jewish descent. He began to sing and write music at age four. He first appeared with hi ...

played at a Chabad menorah lighting inside

Barclays Center Barclays Center ( ) is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liber ...

accompanying a

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

game. Robin announced in early 2016 that he was working on new material with producers

Stu Brooks Stu Brooks (also known as Stu "Bassie" Brooks) is a Canadian bassist, composer, and producer. He is a co-founder of the band Dub Trio. He is known for playing and recording with various artists and music bands, including Saturday Night Live Band ...

and

Joel Hamilton Joel Hamilton (born 1980) is an American Brooklyn-based record producer, audio engineer and musician. Hamilton performs as a musician for the band Book of Knots. He is also a producer and engineer at Studio G in Brooklyn, New York. In the summer ...

Artistry

Robin's style of

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

has been compared to

Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons are a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, double bass, bass guitar), and Ben Lovett (British musician), B ...

Iron & Wine Samuel Ervin Beam (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released six studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live alb ...

, and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

. He has stated that his early songs were conceived almost unconsciously: "I was relying on my subconscious to teach me messages. I would mouth sounds until they became words and so I had whole songs that I didn’t understand." He has also identified his faith as an influence, saying, "Being a Jew is an inner experience of growing in this context. I’m trying to tap into my American roots and express my American Jewish journey."

Discography

EPs

*''Levi Robin'' EP (2013)

Albums

*''Where Night Meets Day'' (2020)

Singles

* "Days of Our Youth" (2016) * "Airplane" (2017) * "Hey Love" (2017) * "No Other" (2020)

References

External links

Levi sits down with Ira Haberman of The Sound Podcast for a feature interview
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robin, Levi Hasidic singers Jewish folk singers 1992 births People from Huntington Beach, California Baalei teshuva Jewish American musicians Living people American folk guitarists American male guitarists Singers from California Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidim Guitarists from California 21st-century American singers