''Light'' is the third studio album by
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
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 ...
, released on August 25, 2009, by
Epic
Epic commonly refers to:
* Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation
* Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale
Epic(s) ...
and
JDub Records
JDub Records was a non-profit record and event production company that produced Jewish music and cross cultural musical dialogue. JDub, unlike most record labels, derived half its annual income from foundations and individual donors and the other ...
. It's his second major label release following ''
Youth
Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...
'' released three years previously. ''Light'' was highly successful in the reggae world, holding the top spot on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Reggae Albums chart for 34 weeks.
Album delay
Matisyahu had been working on his third album for nearly two years, making it the longest time he has ever spent making a record. The follow-up to ''Youth'' had been delayed several times before its release. First scheduled for early 2008, ''Light'' was pushed back numerous times because Matisyahu continued to tour off and on since the release of ''Youth''. The new album's release date was set for April 21, 2009, but on March 3, the release date was pushed back to May 13, 2009. Then, once again, he pushed the release back, this time to Summer 2009, ostensibly because Matisyahu decided to record more new songs.
That date had already passed, and in a message from Matisyahu on Twitter the album is due to release on August 25. On May 27, Matisyahu's Facebook page stated that the album was going to come out on August 25. On June 23 ''Light'' was made available for preorder on iTunes, with the single "One Day," a last minute addition to the album, available for download at the same time. Eventually, the official release date of August 25 was settled on.
[''Exclaim'' magazine, September 2009 issue.] His third album finds him still creating the jam-band sound that made him popular, while shedding some light on his versatility. The theme of 'light' certainly ties the lyrical material together. On January 2, 2010, a remix to "One Day" surfaced which featured
Akon
Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...
.
Promotion
The songs "Smash Lies," "So Hi So Lo," "Two Child One Drop," and "I Will Be Light" also appeared on ''
Shattered EP''. The song "One Day" was featured on the video game ''
NBA 2K10''
Critical reception
''Light'' was met with "mixed or average" reviews from critics. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an
average
In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
score of 53 based on 15 reviews.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's David Jeffries saw the album as already better than ''Youth'' thanks to David Kahne being able to deliver on Matisyahu's worldview mysticism and spiritual musicianship, concluding that "
ether using his voice as a whisper or as a giant call across nations, the depth of feeling comes through brilliantly, and if the musical soundscape isn't familiar, the empowering and sincere lyrics most definitely are. Add Kahne's instantly accessible production and ''Light'' is not only a welcome surprise, but an album that matches his debut."
Mikael Wood, writing for ''
Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles
* Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'', said that "No longer content to be the world's foremost Hasidic reggae star — what an ingrate! — Matisyahu expands his sound
��punching up his earnest ruminations on faith and inspiration with sleek hip-hop beats and shiny pop-rock guitars."
Chris Martins of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' commended Matisyahu for scaling back on the "fake patois" delivery and "outdated
P.O.D.-style metal-dub" that brought down ''Youth'' but felt he "carries the curse of burying his true brilliance in too much pop schlock."
''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
''s
Christian Hoard found Matisyahu more professional throughout the record by incorporating various soundscapes but felt he gets "dragged into earnest tedium by good-natured platitudes ("I must find a road that leads where nobody goes") and hippie-soul moments".
Matthew Cole of
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
gave Matisyahu credit for pushing reggae conventions by exploring other genres but felt he lacked insightful ideas beyond "generic New Age sloganeering" and was hampered by the "stylistic shifts and production gimmicks" from his collaborators, saying that "''Light'' ends up with exciting moments, but few memorable songs." He later highlighted "Silence" for being "an affecting closer" that conveys "genuine reflection", concluding that: "If he could match that level of focus and sincerity in his more energetic cuts, Matisyahu could have a great album on his hands."
Track listing
Charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Light (Matisyahu Album)
2009 albums
Matisyahu albums
Epic Records albums
Albums produced by David Kahne