Hassidic rapper Nissim Black explains why upcoming album ‘Glory’ is ‘very different’ from past albums

Glory was originally intended to be released in November 2023, but the release date was pushed following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel.

By Shiryn Ghermezian, The Algemeiner

American-Israeli Hassidic rapper Nissim Black spoke to The Algemeiner on Monday about his new album dropping next month and how its tone is quite different sonically from his past projects.

Glory, which will be released on July 7, is an infusion of all the different parts of Black’s musical styles in one album, he explained.

“I’m very purpose-driven on this record and nothing sounds the same,” the Love Me singer said. “Every time I thought I was going in one direction, I wanted to go another place and another place. And I wanted to beat myself up and say, ‘Listen, can you just stay grounded somewhere?’ It was a really honest conversation I had with myself and was like no, I can’t. Because I’m all of this. I’m pop, I’m rap, I’m R&B … these are the components that have shaped me musically. On this record you get almost an element of everywhere I’ve ever been, musically, ever. I’ve popped all over the place.”

Glory was originally intended to be released in November 2023, but the release date was pushed following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel. Black has not released an album since 2019.

At a sneak peak listening party for Glory that took place on Monday night in New York, Black played all 18 tracks from the upcoming album.

“God got me feeling that I’m here for a reason,” Black sings in one song. On another track, he says: “You may have to face some fears/and you may have to shed some tears/and you may have to change some peers/all for you to do God’s will.”

In another song, he sings to a friend who attempted to commit suicide, saying, “I heard you tried to take your own life … how can I go on? Please just look up. Life will get better.”

Black told The Algemeiner that a rabbi he became close with in recent years in Beit Shemesh, where the rapper lives, inspired him to name the album Glory.

A native of Seattle, where his parents were part of the hip-hop scene, Black explained that he also recently experienced a period in his life when he thought a lot about his purpose in this world.

“I came to the conclusion alone that it was to spread the glory of God in the world. That’s what I’m here [to do],” said the He Is The King singer, who converted to Judaism in 2013. “I’m not here to hide it, to do it in a way where I’m kind of talking about it and nobody knows what I’m saying, I’m the type of person where I was put here to be open about that. [And] when I went to the rabbi, he kept screaming, ‘Glory to God. What he kept saying resonated to me, so I said, ‘The next project I’m doing, is [going to be called] Glory.’ And every time I would come into the beit midrash [study hall], the rabbi would put me on the spot and say, ‘Nissim, you need to make songs l’kavod shemayim [in honor of God].’ For him to be saying that about me, it was a good push.”

While the songs on Glory discuss sanctifying the name of God, they also address other topics, such as being bullied, pretending to be something other than one’s authentic self, mental health, having good friends, and “sticking true to who we are no matter what and allowing God to fight our battles,” Black noted.

“I was trying to capture and bottle some of the emotions and feelings that I’ve had over the years,” he added.

Black’s favorite track on the album is titled Ayeh, from the Hebrew expression “Ayeh Mekom Kevodo,” which means, “where is the glory of God?” In the song, Black sings about someone being in a very dark place in their life, crying out and asking, “God, where are you?”

“Each album is representative of me, of where I am at the time, but this is just another revealed layer,” he said. “Album after album, I’ve been more comfortable to use my singing voice — before I was always very shy about it. I had to strip away the idea growing up in the hood that you are either a rapper or a singer, that you can’t do both. And today, there’s no rules. And the more comfortable I’ve become with myself, I’m more comfortable with the gifts God gave me, so I’m able to use them shamelessly on this album.”

Black has already released two tracks from his upcoming album: Love Me featuring Oryahh, and Hu Hamelech/He Is The King featuring Gad Elbaz.

While speaking to The Algemeiner last year about Glory and other projects, he said about the upcoming album: “I’m really laying out my heart on a platter.”

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