Black Bar Mitzvah

He’s Black, Orthodox Jewish, and a Dope-Ass Rapper

Seattle-born Nissim started out a Black Gangster Disciple — then became a disciple of the Torah

Nissim Black seen performing during the Chanukah festival in Pittsburgh, 2018. Photo: SOPA Images/Getty Images

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A trap beat fills the air, an African chant winding its way among the drum and bass. On the street, two groups of men approach each other: one in contemporary streetwear, the other clad in African dress and ornaments. The crews bump chests, ready to throw hands, but then yet another group appears to break up the impending battle — dressed in traditional Hasidic garb.

A stocky Black man appears on the screen. He’s wearing the furry shtreimel hat and the swaying tzitzit tassels of a Hasidic Jew; he’s also spitting absolute fire. “He said it’s God’s plan, but I’m God’s man,” he raps, shouting out fellow Jewish rapper Drake. This is Nissim Black — or, as he calls himself a few moments later, “Hitler’s worst nightmare.”

Shalom, y’all.