Matisyahu – Ancient Child (2025)
Grammy-nominated reggae and hip-hop artist Matisyahu is back with his eighth album, Ancient Child. It is his own personal journey, taking in spiritual beliefs, fatherhood and ways to lead a better life.
The album’s opener, ‘Pro-cess’, has a lovely minimal opening before transcending into a reggaeton beat with nice synths. Matisyahu, who is proud of his Jewish identity, sings, ‘I contest/sit back and listen and let God do the rest /This is my process’. It is a bright opening to an album brimming with positivity and optimism.
‘Anxiety’ features a great freestyle from BLP Kosher, which works nicely over the atmospheric keyboards and gentle drums. The track contains the inspirational lyrics, ‘Anxiety you won’t get the best of me…take some time to breathe’. It is evident that psychology plays a large part of Matisyahu’s creativity.
The spiritual link continues with the gospel beginning to ‘Sound Foundation’, one of the strongest tracks on the album. The listener is treated to more motivational messages in the form of: ‘I look up at the sky /Stars remind me I can shine /Architect of my life /Of the life I deserve /Gonna build from the ground up /Thinking I’ve found a sound foundation’. From the first verse, this grows into a really lovely groove.
Matisyahu likes to use a multitude of instruments, even a dreamy Spanish guitar on ‘Crosswinds’. The lyric, “Dancin’ free like a willow branch”‘, is a meaningful one; the willow tree as a symbol of bringing good luck and protecting against evil is prevalent in cultures across the world.
Matisyahu finds himself reflecting on fatherhood on ‘Son Come Up’, which features his son Laivy. It has a fusion of rhythms which blend into a hip-hop groove, which feels introspective and full of promise at the same time. Another of his sons, Duvbear, features on the next track, ‘Rockets’, which contains nice piano and handclaps. It is another track where Matisyahu uses reflective lyrics: “Welcome home, welcome now to the life that you created /Make no mistake it’s a life so entertaining /How many days will we have /How many seconds / How many minutes yeah”.
‘Balance’ is a really gorgeous track on this thought-provoking album. It contains uplifting and inspirational lyrics about how to live a decent life: “How can you get by without balance / There’s no easy life without a challenge / Can’t get there without it”. Matisyahu’s lyrics on this album are consistently impressive; he’s obviously a man with a wise head on his shoulders.
Overall, this album is a collection of songs that lean heavily into spirituality and have a deep meaning behind them. Matisyahu is an astute lyricist and makes songs which leave you feeling enriched and in a happier state of mind.
Find out more about Matisyahu on his Instagram, Facebook and Spotify.
