2 Live Jews

2 Live Jews is a comedy hip-hop duo composed of MC Moisha (Eric Lambert) and Easy Irving (Joe Stone). Their name is a parody of 2 Live Crew. They are known for songs that mix and spoof hip-hop culture and Jewish-American stereotypes, and the fact that the "members" were purportedly two elderly Jewish men who had recently discovered their rhyming ability. In reality, Eric Lambert and Joe Stone were young men who were raised in the Jewish tradition.

Style

2 Live Jews' original rhyming style involves hip-hop lyrics typical of the Golden Age hip-hop of the early 1990s, but includes sung and non-hip-hop tunes. Their lyrics tend to be about clichéd or stereotypical Jewish topics. In keeping with the Jewish stereotypes, their lyrics are full of Yiddish words, often unknown to most non-Yiddish speakers. Due to Moisha and Irving's old age, they sing with haggard voices.

History

Created in 1990, 2 Live Jews released their debut album, As Kosher as They Wanna Be. The name of the group and the album were spoofs of 2 Live Crew's 1989 hit As Nasty as They Wanna Be. With hits like '"Oy! It's So Humid", "Young Jews be Proud", and '"Shake Your Tuchas," As Kosher as They Wanna Be was a success and launched 2 Live Jews into the spotlight. This album was supposedly the springboard for comedy hip-hop.

Comedian Eric Lambert, who played MC Moisha and was the co-writer on the first album with then partner Joe Stone, is not Jewish and broke off affiliation with the project after the first two albums. "It was kind of a one joke thing to me," says Lambert. "I can't believe they're still making those albums."

As Kosher as They Wanna Be was the duo's only successful and popular album, and afterward, 2 Live Jews slipped into obscurity. Yet they made Fiddling With Tradition in 1991, a hip-hop reworking of the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof. Fiddling got only minor attention and was not a successful novelty album. 2 Live Jews went on to create Disco Jews in 1994 and Christmas Jews in 1998, before quitting.

In 2005, Moisha and Irving released their greatest hits album, The Worst of 2 Live Jews...the Best of the Shticks.

Discography

• As Kosher As They Wanna Be (1990), Hot Productions
• Fiddling With Tradition (1991), Hot Productions
• Disco Jews (1994), Hot Productions
• Christmas Jews (1998), Hot Productions
• The Worst of 2 Live Jews...the Best of the Shticks (2005), Empire Musicwerks/Universal Records

External links

• 2 Live Jews biography