Youth
Studio album by
Matisyahu
ReleasedMarch 7, 2006
Recorded2005
Genre
Length46:55
LabelJDub/Epic
ProducerBill Laswell, Ill Factor, and Jimmy Douglass
Matisyahu chronology
Live at Stubb's
(2005) 		Youth
(2006) 		Youth Dub
(2006)
Matisyahu studio album chronology
Shake Off the Dust... Arise
(2004) 		Youth
(2006) 		Light
(2009)
Singles from Youth
  1. "King Without a Crown"
    Released: 2005
  2. "Youth"
    Released: 2006
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[2]
Pitchfork Media(4.9/10)[3]
Rolling Stone[4]
Slant Magazine[5]
Sputnikmusic[6]
Robert Christgau(choice cut)[7]

Youth is an album by American reggae singer Matisyahu, which was released on March 7, 2006. It is his second proper studio release, as Live at Stubb's is a live album. The CD quickly shot to the top of iTunes best sellers list the day it was released (partially because iTunes ran a special promotion for pre-orders).

The first single from the album is "King without a Crown", which also appeared on Matisyahu's previous album, Live at Stubb's. However, a different music video was shot for the Youth version of the song, whereas the version on the Stubb's concert album was accompanied by a concert video. The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with over 119,000 copies sold in its first week released.[8] A month later, the album was certified gold by the RIAA.[9] As of September 24, 2008 the album has sold approximately 585,000 copies in the United States according to Nielsen Soundscan.[10] On December 27, 2006, Billboard announced that Youth ranked 3rd overall on the 2006 Reggae album charts, immediately behind Live at Stubb's.[11]

The topic of the album is mostly the support and promotion of youth voice, more explicitly in the eponymous second track. The album, along with its topic, mixes Matisyahu's lyrics, which contain several references to his Jewish beliefs, with a mainstream sound.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Fire of Heaven/Altar of Earth"Matisyahu Miller, Josh Werner3:59
2."Youth"Josh Werner, Matisyahu Miller4:19
3."Time of Your Song"Ivan Corraliza, Jimmy Douglass, Matisyahu Miller4:27
4."Dispatch the Troops"Josh Werner, Jonah David, Gordon Summer, Aaron Dugan, Matisyahu Miller4:05
5."Indestructible"Matisyahu Miller, Jimmy Douglass, Ivan Corraliza4:10
6."What I'm Fighting For"Josh Werner2:11
7."Jerusalem"Matisyahu Miller, Ivan Corraliza, Jimmy Douglass4:00
8."WP"Jonah David, Josh Werner, Aaron Dugan, Matisyahu Miller, Daniel Isenberg3:59
9."Shalom/Saalam"Matisyahu Miller, Youssou1:06
10."Late Night in Zion"Aaron Dugan, Matisyahu Miller3:14
11."Unique Is My Dove"Aaron Dugan, Josh Werner, Matisyahu Miller3:24
12."Ancient Lullaby"Jonah David, Matisyahu Miller, Aaron Dugan4:19
13."King Without a Crown"Josh Werner, Matisyahu Miller3:42
Total length:46:48
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
14."Warrior"4:43
15."Spark Seekers"5:03
16."King Without a Crown" (Remix by Mike D.)4:20
Total length:60:54

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Youth
Chart (2006) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] 57
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] 85
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] 48
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 35
Irish Albums (IRMA)[16] 47
Italian Albums (FIMI)[17] 65
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 43
US Billboard 200[19] 4
US Reggae Albums (Billboard)[20] 1
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[21] 3

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ Entertainment Weekly review
  3. ^ Pitchfork Media review
  4. ^ "Rolling Stone review". Archived from the original on July 5, 2006. Retrieved May 19, 2006.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ Slant Magazine review
  6. ^ Sputnikmusic review
  7. ^ Consumer Guide: History Lessons
  8. ^ "Juvenile Matisyahu Make Noise On Charts| E! Online". Ca.eonline.com. 2006-03-15. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  9. ^ "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  10. ^ "Matisyahu Preps EP, Eyes '09 for New Album".
  11. ^ http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=musicNews&storyID=2006-12-27T122224Z_01_N27320024_RTRIDST_0_MUSIC-REGGAE-DC.XML&WTmodLoc=EntNewsMusic_C1_%5BFeed%5D-2 Archived February 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Today.reuters.com Retrieved on 05-24-07
  12. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 179.
  13. ^ "Ultratop.be – Matisyahu – Youth" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  14. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Matisyahu – Youth" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  15. ^ "Matisyahu: Youth" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  16. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Matisyahu". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  17. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Matisyahu – Youth". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  18. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Matisyahu – Youth". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  19. ^ "Matisyahu Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  20. ^ "Matisyahu Chart History (Reggae Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  21. ^ "Matisyahu Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
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