What do you get when you mix the message of Torah with pounding dancehall grooves?

The answer: A truly unique brand of music in the form of Matisyahu.

Matisyahu, (born Matthew Miller) is a 24-year-old reggae phenom unlike any other artist before him. With the looks of the traditional Lubavitcher of Crown Heights and the skanking sounds of Bob Marley, Matisyahu is a little hard to make sense of at first. A reggae Chasid? "Seems too weird to be true," was my first impression. How could this be any good?

But all it took was one listen to Matisyahu's debut CD, "Shake off the Dust...ARISE," to realize this guy is for real. For real about his love of God, for real about his artistry and for real about trying to do something new.

"The Rastas had a strong connection to the Old Testament and they incorporated that into their music," Matisyahu told the New York Post . "Now what I'm doing is taking their music and incorporating it into religion."

Matisyahu was not born into reggae stardom, however. A look at his early life shows that of a "Wandering Jew," never at home in his various locales. Born in West Chester, PA., he moved to Berkeley CA and eventually settled into White Plains, NY. He grew up listening to Phish, as well as hip hop and reggae, and at one point considered himself a "Dead Head."

Matisyahu dropped out of high school in the 11 th grade, and after a particularly moving camping trip to Colorado, decided for himself that there was in fact a God with whom he needed to find a way to connect. Subsequent trips to Israel and Oregon strengthened his personal connection to Judaism, and when he moved back to New York City to attend the New School, he began making music. Music that was authentic to him.

It was through a chance encounter with a Hasidic rabbi in Washington Square Park that Matisyahu connected with the Chabad-Lubavitch philosophy. And while his Rebbes would rather see him studying more and performing music less, he has found a home for himself at his Chabad.

"People have an idea what it's like to be religious, to be Jewish," says Matisyahu. "I'm breaking stereotypes."

While Matisyahu's message is strongly Jewish, it is meant for a wide audience. "Your a warrior/fighting for your soul/taken from the world above/and brought down to a world below," Matisyahu chants on the penultimate track of "Shake off the Dust," and this verse sums up well what his music is all about. Never preachy, Matisyahu uses his skills to encourage his audience to think about what it means to be a person, made in the image of God.   Staying away from hot button current events (like the Israeli/Palestinian conflict for instance) that most modern Jews tend to identify themselves with, Matisyahu prefers to engage on a higher, personal level of thought that is applicable to all people, particularly Jews.

"(The album) is all about overcoming, it's all about beating negative forces," he says. "A person has negative forces and positive forces and it's all about that war."

What does it mean to praise God? To be a good Jew? What the heck is our purpose on Planet Earth? Matisyahu might not have the answer for you, but listening to his music makes you really start to think about it. And that's not something you would expect from your average Reggae CD.

Josh Eagle would give nearly anything for the chance to travel back in time and see Bob Marley live. He is also former senior editor of JVibe.