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. He has released two albums, Until When (2009) and Connection Revealed (2011). Prodezra is known as one of several African-American Orthodox Jewish rappers, like Y-Love, Nissim, and Shyne.

Early Life and Music

Formey was born in Minnesota. When he was three, his family moved back to Savannah, Georgia. His grandfather, Henderson Formey Jr., was a respected Baptist minister. He was also the first black leader of the Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools.

In the 1970s, Reuben's father learned about Chabad, a Jewish movement. In 1993, his family officially converted to Judaism. This happened just before Reuben's bar mitzvah, an important Jewish coming-of-age ceremony.

Reuben loved music from a young age. He used his cousin's Casio keyboard to create new sounds. He mixed his favorite pop, rock, and metal songs. His parents also loved jazz and classical, which influenced him. Later, he discovered hip hop and fell in love with it.

He finished high school in 1999. Then he went to Georgia Institute of Technology. There, he kept making music beats. During college, he drifted away from his faith for a while. But he soon realized that he was being helped out of tough situations. He felt there was a special reason for this. After getting his degree in business management, he moved to Israel.

In Israel, he studied at the Mayanot Institute, a yeshiva (a Jewish learning center). Rabbis and mentors there encouraged him to combine his music with his faith. He even dedicated a song on his second album to the Mayanot Institute.

Music Career

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

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

His second album, Connection Revealed, came out in 2011. To promote it, 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 Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice."

Prodezra performed with Y-Love at a special event. It was a benefit for victims of the Mount Carmel forest fire in Israel. He also performed at a public menorah lighting in Charleston, South Carolina. Some of his songs were played on the radio show Kosher Noise in 2012.

In 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, Prodezra started a fundraising campaign. He used the website Jewcer to raise money for his third album, Face to Face. The campaign was successful in February 2016. Later that year, his song "Flip" was chosen for The Forward's "Soundtrack of Our Spirit." In 2017, The Atlanta Jewish Times included him in their "40 Under 40" list.

In 2019, Prodezra 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.

Music Style

As a producer, Prodezra uses special tools like the Roland Fantom-X and Kontakt to make his beats.

His song lyrics are inspired by his Jewish faith. But he says that many of his songs also share a general message of being positive. He looks up to Matisyahu, another artist who is an observant Jew in mainstream music. When he was a teenager, he was influenced by groups like Public Enemy, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, and Outkast. He also mentions a Southern hip hop influence in his sound. He feels his music is unique because it combines Southern, Jewish, and hip hop styles.

He has listed some of his favorite hip-hop albums. These include Goodie Mob's Soul Food and Outkast's ATLiens. A writer for Tablet magazine compared his music to another black Orthodox rapper, Hebro. The writer said their music mixes thoughtful lyrics with modern sounds and older rhythms. This creates a unique and pleasing style.

Personal Life

Formey lives with his family in the Toco Hills area of North Druid Hills, Georgia. He moved there from Alpharetta. He serves as a gabbai (a helper) at Chevra Ahavas Yisrael, a local Chabad synagogue.

Discography

Albums

• Until When (2009)
• Connection Revealed (2011)
• Face to Face (Coming Soon)

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)