When Matisyahu shaved his signature Hasidic beard in 2011, he knew he would put off some of his fans. But he probably hoped they would still recognize him.
Not so much for this Hawaiian fan, who played an entire Matisyahu song in front of the ex-Orthodox reggae star without realizing who he was.
Matisyahu was in Maui for a music festival last weekend, and he happened upon a young ukelele player singing one of his greatest hits, “One Day,” at a local coffee shop. Holding a drink in his hand, Matisyahu joined in the singing. At the end of the song, Matisyahu asked the young man, “You know who wrote this song?” and pointed to himself.
Brooklyn-based musician Stu Brooks, who was at the coffee shop with Matisyahu, filmed the impromptu duet and uploaded it to Facebook. Brooks wrote in the post that the singer, named Kekoa Alama, “didn’t believe it was him and it took a second for it all to sink in.”
It all ended well: Matisyahu put Alama and his girlfriend on the guest list for his show that night.
Watch the delightful encounter below:
