by Izzy Grinspan
This year’s MTV Video Music Awards will probably be remembered for disasters both natural and man-made: Hurricane Katrina, the shooting of Suge Knight, that scraggly stuff on Omarion’s chin. But for Jews in rock, the 2005 VMAs might go down in history as proof that not every hip-hop Hebrew is either a producer or a Beastie Boy.
When Kanye West won a VMA for “Jesus Walks,” it wasn’t the first award that song has won—it received a Grammy back in February. But the VMA is the icing on the cake, the schmaltz on the matza ball, the raisins in the kugel. You only get a VMA if you’ve very much arrived; even newer nominees like the Bravery reached maximum media saturation months ago. “Jesus Walks” has been huge for a long time now—Kanye’s follow-up album actually comes out today—but the VMA just seals the deal.
Why does this matter for Jews? Because “Jesus Walks” was co-written by a 26-year-old Israeli named Miri Ben-Ari. Sure, the subject matter isn’t terribly Jewish (unless you’re Norman Greenbaum). But Ben-Ari is a musician, not a lyricist. It would be hard to mistake Kanye West’s lyrics as anything but personal. What Ben-Ari has added is the powerful background, which, as much as the words, is what makes the song so distinctive. A classically trained violinist, Miri Ben-Ari arranged every song on “The College Dropout.” She’s also played on songs like Janet Jackson’s “I Want You” and Twista’s “Overnight Celebrity.”
The VMA was nice (as was the Grammy), but for Ben-Ari, this appears to be just the beginning. She recently signed on to do a music video with Reebok, who will also feature her in their “I am what I am” ad campaign. And on September 20, she’s releasing a new album. Called “The Hip Hop Violinist,” its guest list includes John Legend, Fabolous, Scarface, Anthony Hamilton, and both Lil’ Wayne and Lil’ Mo.