Darshan is an American Jewish

alternative hip hop Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confor ...

group from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Formed in 2008 at the

Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center is a project of Hazon that sits on 400 acres of forest and meadows in the foothills of the southern Berkshires in Litchfield County, Connecticut. Isabella Freedman hosts organizational retreats, Jewish spiri ...

, the group primarily consists of rapper

Eprhyme Eden Daniel Pearlstein (born February 19, 1980), better known by his stage name Eprhyme (pronounced "E-Prime"), is an American Jewish rapper and hip hop production, producer based in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. While attending The Ever ...

and singer-songwriters Shir Yaakov and Basya Schechter. Its debut album, ''Deeper and Higher'', was released in 2015, followed by a second album, ''Raza'', in 2017.

History

The band's debut EP, ''Lishmah'', originally released by Shemspeed Records on December 15, 2009, was re-released on January 5, 2010. The EP was produced by Shir Yaakov and engineered by Smoke M2D6 of Oldominion. The group's first full-length album, ''Deeper and Higher'', was released on September 29, 2015. It was produced by

Jamie Saft Jamie Saft is an American keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist and composer. He was born in New York City, and studied at Tufts University and the New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private mu ...

and featured accompaniment by him,

Ben Perowsky Ben Perowsky (born May 12, 1966) is an American drummer, percussionist, composer, and music producer. He is the drummer on stage in the 8 TONY award winning Broadway musical Hadestown. Perowsky leads the Ben Perowsky Trio, Moodswing Orchestra and ...

, and Basya Schechter of Pharaoh's Daughter.

Musical style

In addition to hip hop, Darshan's music also contains elements of

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

and the

minor key In Western music, the adjectives major and minor may describe a chord, scale, or key. As such, composition, movement, section, or phrase may be referred to by its key, including whether that key is major or minor. Intervals Some intervals ...

melodies of traditional

Jewish music Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish people. There exist both traditions of religious music, as sung at the synagogue and domestic prayers, and of secular music, such as klezmer. While some elements of Jewish music may originat ...

. Ezra Glinter of ''

The Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ' ...

'' notes that "Eprhyme's hard-driving lyrics are tempered and sweetened by Shir Yaakov’s more melody-driven sensibilities."

Discography

Albums

* ''Deeper and Higher'' (September 29, 2015; independent) * ''Raza'' (November 1, 2017; Chant Records)

Extended plays

* ''Lishmah'' (December 15, 2009; re-released January 5, 2010;

Shemspeed Erez Safar is an American DJ, producer and songwriter who records under the names Diwon and h2the. He is CEO of Bancs Media, an American production company specializing in music and video production; Studio Bancs, a creative art space; and She ...

)

Music videos

* "Know Return" (2015; ''Deeper and Higher''; dir. Ken Ross) * "Aleph Bass" (2015; non-album single; dir.

Brian Savelson Brian Savelson is an American writer, director, and producer who works in film, theater, and television. Savelson has written for numerous TV series including Amazon's The New Yorker Presents, Fox's Next, and Apple's Little America for which he ...

and Abbey Luck) * "Remember the Future" (2017; ''Deeper and Higher'') * "Hapax Legomenon" (2018; ''Raza''; dir. Timslew and Eden Pearlstein)

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://darshanproject.com
Official Facebook page
Jewish hip hop groups Alternative hip hop groups Musical groups established in 2008 Rappers from New York (state) Shemspeed Records artists