Prodezra facts for kids

Reuben Ezra Formey (born in 1981), known as Prodezra, is an American Jewish rapper and music producer. He lives in Savannah, Georgia. Prodezra has released two albums: Until When (2009) and Connection Revealed (2011). He is known as one of several African-American Orthodox Jewish rappers. Other famous artists like him include Y-Love, Nissim, and Shyne.

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Where Was Prodezra Born?

Reuben Formey was born in Minnesota. When he was three, his family moved back to their hometown of Savannah, Georgia. His older sister is named Roxanne.

Family and Faith

Reuben's grandfather, Henderson Formey Jr., was a Baptist minister. He was also the first Black leader of the Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools district. Reuben's father learned about Chabad in the 1970s. In 1993, his family officially converted to Judaism. This happened just before Reuben's bar mitzvah.

Discovering Music

Reuben loved music from a young age. He used his cousin's Casio keyboard to mix his tapes. These tapes included pop, rock, and metal songs. His parents also loved jazz and classical. Later, he found his passion for hip hop.

Education and Spiritual Journey

He finished high school at Alfred E. Beach High School in 1999. Then, he went to Georgia Institute of Technology. There, he kept making music beats. During this time, he drifted away from his family's faith. He later realized that he was being helped out of difficult situations when others were not. This made him think there was something special about his faith. After getting his degree in business management, he moved to Israel. He studied at Mayanot Institute, a Jewish learning center. He even dedicated a song on his second album to this place. His teachers there encouraged him to combine his music with his faith.

Prodezra's Music Career

Early Releases and Collaborations

In 2009, Prodezra produced a song called "Change." It featured Y-Love and DeScribe. This song appeared on his first album, Until When. It was also on Y-Love and DeScribe's album, The Change EP. His album Until When also had "The South Niggun." This song was a collaboration with Hasidic singer Eli Lipsker.

Online Music and Videos

In 2010, Prodezra released an online-only album called Proud to Be EP. He also made a music video for the title track. That same year, he was featured on the Jewish website G-dcast. They created an animated music video for Rosh Hashanah called "Shofar Callin'."

Second Album and Performances

His second album, Connection Revealed, came out in 2011. To promote the album, he released "Tree of Life." This song was a collaboration with Nosson Zand, who also studied at Mayanot. The album also included "Money On Your Mind (G-d's Message)." This song was a response to another popular song.

Prodezra performed with Y-Love at a benefit concert. This event helped victims of the 2010 Mount Carmel forest fire. He also performed at a public menorah lighting in Charleston, South Carolina. Some of his songs were played on the radio station WREK in 2012.

Recent Performances and New Music

In July 2015, he performed at an event called "Twelve Tribes: Celebrating Jews of All Colors." In December, he performed at Philips Arena for the Atlanta Hawks' Jewish Heritage Night. This event included a menorah lighting before a basketball game.

In January 2015, he started a fundraising campaign online. He wanted to fund his third album, Face to Face. The campaign was successful and finished in February 2016. Later that year, his song "Flip" was included in The Forward's "Soundtrack of Our Spirit." In 2017, The Atlanta Jewish Times listed him in their "40 Under 40" list.

In 2019, Formey released a new song and music video called "I.S.R.A.E.L." This stands for "I Shouldn't Rely on Anything Except the Lord." He worked with Breslov rabbi Rav Dror Moshe Cassouto on this project.

Prodezra's Artistic Style

How Prodezra Makes Music

As a producer, Prodezra uses special tools to create his beats. These include the Roland Fantom-X, Kontakt, and Screwlab.

What Are His Songs About?

Prodezra's song lyrics are inspired by his Jewish faith. However, he says that many of his songs have a message of positivity for everyone. He looks up to Matisyahu as a role model. Matisyahu is also an observant Jew in mainstream music.

Musical Influences

When he was a teenager, Prodezra was influenced by artists like Public Enemy, Phil Collins, Metallica, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, and Outkast. He also has a Southern hip hop sound. He feels his unique style comes from combining Southern, Jewish, and hip hop influences. You can hear the Southern sound in his music.

Personal Life

Prodezra lives with his family in the Toco Hills neighborhood. This is in North Druid Hills, Georgia. He helps lead services at Chevra Ahavas Yisrael, a local Chabad synagogue.

Discography

Albums

• Until When (2009)
• Connection Revealed (2011)
• Face to Face (To Be Announced)

EPs

• Proud To Be EP (2010)

Singles

• "The Lamplighter" (2009)
• "Sound the Alarm" (feat. Nachman) (2009)
• "Let Me In" (feat. Nachman) (2009)
• "Tree of Life" (feat. Nosson Zand) (2010)
• "Where Are You? (24/7)" (2010)
• "Proud to Be" (2011)
• "On A Mission" (2012)
• "Don't Let Me Down" (2012)
• "Flip" (2016)
• "Egytian Cotton" (feat. Nachman) (2016)
• "Good Looking Out" (2016)
• "Smile" (2016)
• "He Say She Say" (2017)
• "I.S.R.A.E.L." (2019)

As Producer

• Y-Love and DeScribe, "Change" (Shemspeed, 2009)