Blood of Abraham was an American hip-hop

duo Duo may refer to: Places *Duo, West Virginia, an unincorporated community and coal town in Greenbrier County, West Virginia *Duo, Tampere, a shopping centre in Hervanta, Tampere, Finland * DUO, a twin-tower development in Singapore Arts, enterta ...

composed of Benyad (Benjamin Mor) and Mazik (David Saevitz). They debuted in 1993 with the release of the LP '' Future Profits'' on

Ruthless Records Ruthless Records was an American record label founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller in Compton, California in 1986, where all of the Ruthless trademarks have been owned by Comptown Records, Inc. since 1997. Several artists on the la ...

. A key characteristic of the group was their unapologetic

Jewish identity Jewish identity is the objective or subjective state of Identity (social science), perceiving oneself as a Jew and as relating to being Jews, Jewish. Under a broader definition, Jewish identity does not depend on whether a person is regarded as ...

. Their best-known track is "Niggaz and Jewz (Some Say

Kike The word ''kike'' () is an ethnic slur for a Jew. Etymology The earliest recorded use of the word dates to the 1880s.

s)", a call for blackJewish unity in the face of shared struggle against

bigotry Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

. Made at the height of the strain on Black-Jewish relations in the United States, its opening

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...

was an actual recording of a

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

sman. It featured a verse from Eazy-E as well as the first recorded appearance by

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...

the Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hil ...

known then as Will 1X (the group was then known as "Atban Klann".) Other tracks dealing with Jewish themes were "Father of Many Nations" (a song in praise of the

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

patriarch

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

) and "Stick To Your Own Kind". A video was shot for the track "Stabbed by the Steeple," and print ads were centered on large text proclaiming "

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

was a

Black Jew African Jewish communities include: *Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews who primarily live in the Maghreb of North Africa, including Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia, as well as Sudan and Egypt. Some were established early in the diaspora; other ...

," but the album did not receive much publicity beyond that. Blood of Abraham fell into anonymity; their status worsened in 1995 with the death of Eazy-E and the folding of the Ruthless and

Relativity Records Relativity Records was an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his company, Important Record Distributors (IRD) in metro New York. Relativity released music that covers a wide variety of musical genres. When it entered in ...

labels. Mazik and Benyad then went on hiatus until 2000, which saw the unofficial release of the LP ''Eyedollartree'' on Mastergrip Records, which folded shortly thereafter. ''Eyedollartree'' featured guest appearances from rappers

Kool Keith Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer from The Bronx, New York City, known for his surreal, abstract and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Kool ...

and

Divine Styler Mikal Safiyullah (born Mark Richardson; 1968), better known by his stage name Divine Styler, is an alternative hip hop artist from Brooklyn, New York. History He first emerged as part of Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate. His first LP, '' Word Power' ...

, as well as production from will.i.am., Cyrus Melchor and Motiv8. Basement Records oversaw the official release of ''Eyedollartree'' (with bonus DVD) in late 2005. As of late, former Blood of Abraham member Benjamin Mor has become an in-demand music video director. He has directed clips for

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

and a few music videos for the

Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo (rapper), Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie (singer ...

Discography

Albums

* ''Future Profits'', 16 November 1993 ** Singles: "Stabbed By The Steeple" "Life" * ''Eyedollartree'', 2 May 2000 ** Singles: "99¢ Lighter" "Velvet Glove", "Iron Fist"

References

{{Authority control African American–Jewish relations American musical duos Hip hop groups from California Jewish hip hop groups Ruthless Records artists Hip hop duos