Many thanks to Yossi
Zweig of the Jewish Entertainment Magazine for supplying the Sameach
Music Podcast with this interview. To read more interviews like this
with Lev Tahor, Shalsheles and many many other Jewish artists, you can
e-mail Yossi at JEMAGAZINE@gmail.com
There
are singers and there are singers. And then there's Lipa! A true original, Lipa
is in a class all his own. JE Magazine met with the artist to discuss his life,
his views and his brand new hit album, Keinehora. "I sing partly for
parnassah and partly for my neshama" Lipa says. And that, in a nutshell, epitomizes
Lipa. A cross between practicality and soulfulness, between humor and
sincerity, between droll wit and genuine heartz. Read on for the inside scoop.
JE: Hello, Rabbi Lipa. It's a thrill to meet with you, and
we're sure our readers will be just as excited. So, Lipa, you've become one of
the most popular sensations in the Jewish Music world. How long is it since you
started singing?
Lipa: I was in the sixth grade when I officially started
singing. I guess that means I was about 9-10 years old.
JE: On how many albums have you sung so far?
Lipa: Well, I sang as a child on Shofer Shel Moshiach,
my brother, Zishe's, album, and on some Aleph-bais tapes. Then in my yeshivishe
yuren (years), I did some more. Later, I started composing. Michoel Schnitzler
was the first one to take a song from me, and I'm grateful to him to this
day. Then one day, I heard that
Mordechai Ben David wants a song from me. I couldnt believe it. I drove down
to Seagate; it was the biggest thing for me. Since then, on each of his albums,
I have the zechieh to do a Yiddish song for him.
JE: So you're pretty prolific. Composing, singing,
producing?
Lipa: Thanks. Hashem gave me amazing hatzluche. Boruch
Hashem I can spread my talents that Hashem gave me. Right after my wedding I started
doing badchunes, and people used to tell me, Lipa, you have to decide. Either
you do grammen or you sing. People will get confused. But I said, I'm
going to do both. People will get to know me and see what I'm all about."
JE: Which number album is Keinehora?
Lipa: I started with a little-known album called Nor
B'simcha, then I did Shema with JJ Fried. Next, I did Gam Zi
Letovah completely on my own. I decided that I want to have the final say
on everything. But, I didn't have the money to produce it on my own. I ended up
borrowing money, and it took me four years to pay it back. It was most
definitely worth it. Everything came out the way I wanted it.
After that, I did Lipa Baderech, then Leilu
Uleilu, which I did strictly for the ruchnius aspect. I did it for my
neshama. When I sing, I do it half for my parnossah and half for my neshama. And
finally, I made Keinehora.
JE: Lipa, you've been doing a video for the HASC concerts
the last number of years. Can you tell us what this year's video will be about?
Lipa: Actually, I'm not doing one this year. I also need a
break once in a while.
JE: Do you have a certain style for your albums?
Lipa: I can say that all the albums I did till now, and I
hope to do in the future, are totally different.
JE: What was your deciding factor in becoming a heimishe
singer, as they say?
Lipa: It's very funny. I never decided that I'm
going to become a singer. I was always dreaming about singing, but I never made
a decision to become a singer. When I was a chosson, I started to sing at
weddings for free. Then someone gave me $100 to sing at a wedding. I grammed by
my first mitzvah tanz when I was still a bochur. My brother-in-law asked me to gram at his brother's
wedding. Then I started singing unofficially.
JE: What do you mean "unofficially"?
Lipa: I was working for a butcher in New
Square.
JE: As a shochet?
Lipa: No, I schlepped chicken. I delivered chicken and
fish in New Square. That's
right, I'm not embarrassed.
JE: An honest living, huh?
Lipa: Yes, an honest living. I was doing it part time, and
I was in kollel part time. But I was singing wherever and whenever I was
called. One night I stayed up till 4am
and I couldn't wake up in time for my job. My boss called me. "Where are you?
People are waiting for their chicken." But I was too tired. So he told me, I
think you better just sing and forget about this job. And the rest is history.
JE: Tell us about the songs on the album.
Lipa: The first song, Rabosei, I composed because
when I sing at a wedding, the mechatunim come to me and tell me they want to
bentch already. At the same time, the bochurim tell me to continue singing
because they still want to dance. So, I made a song Rabosei. The
mechatunim hear it and they're happy cuz they think we'e starting to bentch,
and the bochurim are happy cuz I'm still singing.
And Sheli Sheluch. My tape is catered to all types
of yidden. People from all over the place listen to it: Boro
Park, Lakewood,
Baltimore, Florida,
L.A, Israel, Europe
and more¦ There are Chassidim all over. Sometimes a chussid is with a shtreimel
and sometimes he's a chussid at heart. This is whatI'm saying, sheli
sheluch. I try to put some mussar in my songs.
JE: Hashiveinu?
Lipa: Hashiveinu is a song that means a lot to me.
Its a song about R' Zishe. R' Zishe used to go to the mezuzah every night and
say, "Hashem, from now on, I'll be good. I know I said it yesterday, but now I
really mean it. I know that yesterday I also said I really mean it, but now I
really, really mean it." Now if R' Zishe says it, shouldn't we say it?
Then there's Galgal Hachozer. I know it's tough for
someone who doesn't know Yiddish to understand it. What I'm saying is that the
world is like a wheel. Sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down. It keeps on
changing. So we ask Hashem that we should always be on top.
Chalom Calomti When I was a child and I had a bad
dream, my father used to say to me, Chalomos shuv yedabeiri (dreams are
false), but when I had a good dream, he'd say, "Chalomos shuv yedabeiri?" with
a question mark, which makes all of the difference.
JE: Hut Bitachon is an inspiring song.
Lipa: Yes. I went to the Skeverer Rebbe, zul zein gezunt,
and told him that I had a problem. He
said to me, Hut bitachon vet ales zein git (Trust in Hashem and all
will be
well) I thought that was a great message and made bumper stickers that
said "Hut Bitachon, vet ales zein git" Then, I made the song. Lots of
people put the
bumper stickers on their cars and are finding it very encouraging.
Nisht in Shabbos Geredt, the next song, was
supposed to be mainly mussar not to speak about vochen'dige (weekday) things
on Shabbos.
Asooreh Harigei Hamalchus. I mamash had a nes that
this song got onto the tape. It almost didn't make it, and now it's one of the
biggest hits. It's very warm and very heartzig.
Tizku Lemitzvhas. I feel that I have a zechieh to
work for a lot of organizations and do a lot of mitzvahs. The song is for every
person. People don't need to work for an organization, they can do mitzvahs on
their own.
Zechor was composed by a great friend of mine after
his mother passed away, and it's a beautiful song.
JE: And Keinehora, the title track?
Lipa: I just think that people shouldn't be so makpid and
worry that others have a bad eye. Don't worry and Hashem will help.
Shivati was composed by P. Weber and is a really
easy song to sing. People like it a lot.
I finished the album with Al Tadin. I figured that
whoever listens to the tape and hears the mussar will start to think, "Oh,
this song fits this guy, this song fits that guy." So I'm saying, Al
tadin, be dan l'chaf zechus everyone. It's a more jokey song because I want to
give the message that you shouldn't take the lyrics too personally.
JE: So that covers all the songs on your amazing new
album. Lipa, what do you think of the music industry, in general?
Lipa: The music industry? You can't generalize. It's like
a restaurant. It depends who the manager is. If the restaurant has a good
manager and it's a good season, then it's great. The same with music, it
depends who's managing the album and how the season is. Of course, Hashem is
managing all of us.
JE: What's your message to your fans?
Lipa: I don't know exactly what "fans" means, but to my
listeners, I want to say: "Have simcha's the most important thing
in the world. A big mekubal in Eretz Yisroel once told me that I'm lucky
because I know why I came down in the world, to be mesamayach yidden. Some
people never know what their tafkid is. So this is what I want to say, "Be besimcha! Always. And don't forget: Hut bitachon, vet ales zein
git."
And a
great way to start, dear readers, is by listening to Keinehora. It'll
have you tapping your toes, dancing a jig and smiling, smiling, smiling all the
way through. It's a surefire recipe for simcha and bitachon.
To purchase Lipa's CD, click here.
