Holy Hip-Hop
In his new album, 'GLORY,' Hasidic rapper Nissim Black navigates identity, purpose, and the power of music to heal divisions.
If there’s one thing that brings people together, it’s music. And if there’s one musician who knows how to bridge differences and break boundaries, it’s Nissim Black.
With his new album, GLORY, out today, he’s doing just that.
Nissim Black defies easy categorization. At 37, he’s transformed from a Seattle gang member to a Hasidic Jewish rapper living in Jerusalem. It might sound like the start of a joke—“a Black rapper walks into a synagogue…”—but this is no joke. This is Nissim's life: a blend of Torah and turntables.
In June, I attended a pre-release listening party for GLORY in a backyard in Forest Hills, Queens. Amidst a sea of yarmulkes and yentas stood Nissim Black, clad in his long black coat and fur-trimmed hat, schmoozing like he was at a family reunion. Though the only Black person at his party, he felt right at home. He told me he feels more like an outsider when he’s in his old stomping grounds of Seattle.
GLORY is his fourth album and his first since 2019. Blending synth-pop and hip-hop, it’s a genre-bending collection of 17 tracks. Initially slated for release last November, GLORY was delayed following the tragic events of October 7. “My heart was aching. I wanted to bring joy, but it was hard to find that clarity,” he said. Instead of pushing forward, he focused on comforting others, finding solace in offering strength to his friends, family, and fans.
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An unstable childhood
So, how exactly did Black go from a Seattle gang member to one of Jerusalem's biggest hip-hop stars? To understand his uncanny story, you have to start with his childhood.
Born Damian Jamohl Black, he was raised in Seattle’s Seward Park neighborhood, where music was more than a passion—it was the family business. His grandparents played alongside legends like Ray Charles and Quincy Jones, while his parents were key figures in Seattle’s music scene. With a lineage like that, it’s no wonder the Seattle Times dubbed him “Seattle hip-hop’s first son.”
Despite his deep musical roots, Nissim's home life was unstable. His parents divorced when he was two, and in 1995, the FBI raided their home, leading to his mother’s arrest. Years later, she tragically succumbed to a drug overdose at 37. Amid this turmoil, music became Nissim’s refuge, a way to say, “I’m more than this.” Under the mentorship of Seattle rap legend Vitamin D, young Nissim—then known as 'D. Black'—quickly emerged as a rising star.
As a teen, he slipped into a life of crime, joining the Gangster Disciple Nation—a gang whose logo, ironically, features a Star of David with two tridents piercing through it.
Nissim’s spiritual journey took him through the trifecta of Abrahamic religions: born into a Sunni Muslim family, he converted to Christianity at 14 and eventually found his spiritual home in Orthodox Judaism in 2013. During this time, he also changed his name to "Nissim," Hebrew for "miracles." In 2016, he and his wife, Adina, moved to Jerusalem with their four kids to start a new life. Their family has since grown by three more.
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"I literally feel like I've been reborn. I haven't said a swear word in over 17 years. It's not just about making music a certain way; it's about who I am now." The fact that his lyrics are entirely clean makes him even more of an anomaly in the hip-hop world.
Nissim’s experience as a Black Hasidic rapper has often placed him in the spotlight. "I view myself as an ambassador for God," he told me. "That naturally thrusts me into this place where I'm always having to be the Black Jewish face, whatever the issue is. But it's not something I'm actively seeking. In fact, I run away from it a lot."
Nissim’s gift as a bridge-builder gained prominence in 2020 when he appeared on Ben Shapiro’s podcast to defend hip-hop—a genre Shapiro had bashed for lacking melody and harmonic structure. Black made a compelling case, and it seems he left an impression. In 2024, Shapiro was featured in a rap song called “Facts,” which reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.
As Nissim returned to touring in 2024, he discovered how different the world has been since the Hamas attack on Israel. "Since October 7, there's been this crazy divide in the world. I don't fit the narrative of being a white colonialist. I'm very happy that I'm Black, I'm very happy that I'm Jewish, and I'm very open about who I am. But because of that, I don't fit into the boxes people try to put me in."
He also opened up about the challenges of being a Black Orthodox Jew in a world that often doesn’t know what to make of him. “People see me, and they don’t know what to think,” he said with a laugh. “I mean, I get it. I’m a Black guy with payot [side curls] rapping about God. It’s not exactly what you expect. But that’s the beauty of it. I don’t fit into any box, and I don’t want to.”
Toward the end of our interview, we took a short break so Nissim and a group of his friends could gather for Mincha prayers as the sun was setting. Because even on tour, Nissim doesn’t stop praying.
When asked what he hopes people take away from his music, his answer was simple but profound: “I just want people to know that no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, you’re loved. You’re valued. And you have a purpose.”