Mystical Mix-Tape: Darshan Gives a Shout Out to the Divine Feminine with Inspired Rap, Lush Vocals, and Global Sensibility on Raza
White-robed mystics gather in a field to sing and recite sensuous poetry. They summon the divine feminine, whom they refer to as the Sabbath Bride. Over time, this sense of spiritual creativity and these prayerful texts come to provide the template for the traditional opening sequence to Friday night services, known as Kabbalat Shabbat.

Centuries later, two artists of the same faith also long to sing a new song. They dive into to the communal pool of poetry and prayer to engage the wisdom of the past in a creative musical conversation.

“Those earlier mystics took an active role in their tradition, creating a musical montage of sacred texts, including selections of older canonical works as well as their own poems,” muses NYC-based MC EPrhyme (Eden Pearlstein). “This mystical mix-tape of sorts became the standard liturgy for generations to follow. Because they are so densely symbolic, Kabbalistic lyrics are notoriously hard to translate or incorporate into popular form or fashion. But we decided to take the leap.”

The leap from esoteric liturgical tradition to gritty rap and world grooves may seem huge, but it’s a natural one for New York’s Darshan. Jewish-soul singer, multi-instrumentalist, and recently ordained cantor Basya Schechter (Pharaoh's Daughter) and neo-Hassidic underground rapper ePRHYME spent two years working on Raza (Chant Records; release: March 9, 2018). With oud and flow, with exultant choral arrangements and spitfire lyrics, Raza transforms the traditional prayers and mystical poetry recited on Friday night into a work of sacred pop art.

“These songs have a lot of entry points. Although, some of the lyrics are in Hebrew and even Aramaic, which you may not understand if you didn’t grow up Jewish, you can dig into the meta-poetic raps, sink into the cyclical trance, or dance to the deep rhythms” reflects Schechter. “There are a lot of diverse elements at play on this album, from ukulele inflected singer-songwriter choruses to Middle Eastern taksims, classic breakbeats, North African rhythms, and free-form improvisation. While the vibe of the music is very urban and even electronic at times, the roots of the music come from mystical artists whom you might consider the hippies of their age.”