Long Live JDub Records

JDub was a not for profit that forged vibrant connections to Judaism through music, media, and events. Founded by Aaron Bisman and Ben Hesse, it operated a kick-ass record label whose music is now available through The Orchard. JDub operated from 2002 to 2012.

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Not from the archives, but from today! Deleon playing in Poland, using their last promotional photos from JDub to promote. Very nice

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Exotic on the Mixtape was a continuous promo mix to hype Soulico's album "Exotic on the Speaker."  It was premiered on Pitchfork and 5,000 copies were distributed thanks to a sponsorship from Masa Israel.  

Here's what Pitchfork had to say about "Put 'em Up," featured on this mixtape: [It's] representative of four-man Tel Aviv DJ crew Soulico's cross-cultural chops-- an exuberant synthesis of traditional Israeli folk melodies and familiar hip-hop sensibilities." - Pitchfork.

Still love this mix tape. And the cover. Listen HERE

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JDub had an amazing team with little turnover in its 10 years.  The team included:

Aaron Bisman Ben Hesse Jacob Harris Rebecca Guber Jaime Walman Deb Leipzig Dan Greenman Adam Teeter Mica Scalin Elliot Fox Naomi Zinner Emily Goldsher Jason Diamond Sharon Bruce Jacob Perlin Akiva Freidlin Phil Sachs Alex Eidman Carrie Goldberg Isaac Bernstein

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JDub funders and supporters

JDub aimed to earn half of its budget each year from CDs, events, sponsorships, merch, etc, while raising half from foundations and individuals. These supporters included:

Joshua Venture Group The Natan Fund Jewish Venture Philanthropy Fund of Los Angeles Bikkurim: An Incubator for New Jewish Ideas Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation   Slingshot Fund Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund Righteous Persons Foundation Leo and Libby Nevas Family Foundation Harold Grinspoon Foundation UJA-Federation of New York - Commission on Jewish Identity and Renewal Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation  Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland Rose Community Foundation - Roots and Branches The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston

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Look familiar? While the first issue of Heeb Magazine was released before The Socalled Seder, JDub's release was actually an expanded version of a concept piece Socalled had created years earlier.  We got our hands on it in 2001...

The SoCalled Seder: A Hip Hop Haggadah Released May 2005

SoCalled is a true auteur and the Seder proved it.  He agreed to expand the concept piece into a full album with the help of many friends including David Krakauer, Susan Hoffman Watts, Killah Priest, and Matisyahu.  The album's homage to Nate Dogg is entirely intentional

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The album that started it all

Shake off the Dust...Arise Matisyahu's debut album Released October 2004 on JDub Records

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History of JDub (as best we remember it)

Dec 8, 2002 - JDub's first event: Zachor: A memorial concert for Ben and Marla; the Knitting Factory, NYC

March 2003 - Co-founder Aaron Bisman begins 2 year Joshua Venture Fellowship for Jewish Social Entrepreneurs

April 2003 - The first Unity Sessions event takes place; Opaline

May 2003 - Kehilla: A concert to inspire community w/Sheva, Hadag Nachash, & Sagol 59; Tayellet Armon HaNatziv, Jerusalem

Dec 3, 2003 - Jacob Harris joins the staff, bringing the staff to 2 

Dec 24, 2003 - The first Jewltide party; Southpaw, Brooklyn 

July 1, 2004 - The Unity Sessions @ Celebrate Brooklyn w/Matisyahu, Mookie, Sagol 59, Tamer Nafer, and Kenny Muhammad; Brooklyn

August 2004 - Matisyahu's first appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live

Oct 28, 2004 - Matisyahu's debut, Shake off the Dust...Arise, is released

March 2005 - Balkan Beat Box has their US premiere at S.O.B.'s for JDub's annual Purim party. 

April 2005 - JDub partners with EPIC for future Matisyahu releases; Live at Stubbs is released

June 2005 - The Socalled Seder: A Hip Hop Haggadah is released

Sept 2005 - Balkan Beat Box's self titled debut is released 

Dec 2005 - The LeeVees' Hanukkah Rocks is released on Reprise/JDub

March 2006 - Matisyahu's Youth is released; Matis departs JDub  

Aug 2006 - Golem's Fresh Off Boat is released 

Sept 2006 - JDub, along with Avoda Arts and the Foundation for Jewish Culture, launches the Six Points Fellowship for Emerging Jewish Artists 

Nov 2006 - JDub produces Just For a Day concert with Guster & The LeeVees as part of Hillel International day of service; Los Angeles 

June 2007 - Balkan Beat Box's Nu Med & Socalled's Ghettoblaster released

Nov 2007 - Michael Showalter's Sandwiches & Cats is released 

Dec 2007 - JDub produced The 8, a simultaneous series of Hanukkah events around the world.  (watch the Harold & Kumar video)

July 2008 - JDub celebrates its 5th Anniversary with events at Celebrate Brooklyn in NYC and Grand Performances in LA, and shows in Cleveland and Denver

Aug 2008 - DeLeon's self titled debut and Tomer Yosef's Laughing Underground are released.  DeLeon tours with Ozomatli and Mike Gordon. 

Feb 2009 - Golem's Citizen Boris comes out. 

April 2009 - The Sway Machinery's Hidden Melodies Revealed comes out on CD and vinyl.

May 2009 - JDub releases Hospital Blossoms by the Wailing Wall as a free download. 15,000 fans immediately download the record.

Sept 2009 - JDub releases the debut albums of Girls In Trouble and Soulico (featuring Ghostface Killah, Rye Rye, Del, Lyrics Born, and Ceci Bastida).

Oct 2009 - JDub announces that it has acquired Jewcy.com, the premiere online media outlet for young Jews.

Nov 2009 - JDub Kids launches with the first release, Let's Go Coconuts by the Macaroons.

Dec 2009 - JDub announces a strategic partnership with Nextbook Inc. and its projects, Nextbook Press and Tablet Magazine.

March 2010 - JDub launches JDub Digital, a new platform for the release of promising development projects via digital distribution.

April 2010 - The first JDub Digital album is released, the Gangsta Rabbi's DiKtatoR 17.

June 2010 - The Wailing Wall's second LP The Low Hanging Fruit is released.

July 2010 - Monsters & Healers by Can!!Can is the second release from JDub Digital.

Aug 2010 - Axum’s self-titled debut album hits the stores.

Sept 2010 - Clare Burson, an artist under JDub management and a Six Points fellow, releases Silver & Ash on Rounder Records. The release catches the attention of the NY Times and NPR.

Nov 2010 - JDub holds its first fundraiser, Festival of Strikes, in Brooklyn with comedian Eugene Mirman, and JDub artists the Sway Machinery, DeLeon and Soulico.

March 2011 - The Sway Machinery's record "The House of Friendly Ghosts, Vol. 1 featuring Khaira Arby" is released to much critical acclaim. The band launches a tour ending at SXSW.

April 2011 - JDub Digital releases the self-titled album by Shotnez, a band featuring the founding members of Balkan Beat Box. The same day, JDub Digital releases "Sabbapath" as a free download.

January 2012 - JDub sells its catalogue in its entirety to The Orchard.

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Oral History of JDub Records

Ten years ago, JDub Records was a collegiate pipe dream. By 2006, it was the single coolest thing in Jewish popular culture. Five years later, JDub Records ceased to exist.

Even if you’ve never heard of JDub Records, you may have heard of the Hasidic reggae-rapper Matisyahu, their flagship artist. But the story is bigger than him.

It’s the story of a scrappy start-up that broke all the rules, revolutionizing Jewish music over eight years and thirty-six albums. It’s the story of the savvy innovators and radical artists who shook up Jewish popular culture at the dawn of a new millennium.

And who better to tell that story than the people who were there: the founders, the staff, and the artists. Nearly 20 JDub principals spoke to The Brooklyn Ink’s Daniel Arkin about their decade at the forefront of alternative music.

An Oral History of JDub Records