I first linked up with Kosha Dillz last year after he opened up for Turquoise Jeep at The Echo last year. Some time later, he was featured during one of my DX Daily episodes where he premiered a song in celebration of “Back to The Future Day.” That’s what’s always been cool about Rami Matan Even-Esh since our first introduction. He’s fairly business savvy, extremely personable and has all the elements of what makes a great emcee.
Oh yeah, he wears his Jewish ethnicity heavily on his sleeve.
This became more apparent during a meeting at The USC Chabad House in late March. Besides eating some pretty good Kosher BBQ, I watched as Kosha presented his “How to Be a Jewish Rapper in 45-Minutes” to kids, adults, college kids and aspiring rappers. Besides giving light lessons on rhyming vocabulary and rapping on beat, there were hilarious moments where everyone was presented with the task of coming up with their own rap name. And yes, one kid even called himself Schoolboy Jew. By the end of the night, Dillz had each guest drop random items on the floor for him to freestyle for several minutes about them like a magic trick for attendees. Afterward, most of the adults that wouldn’t give rap an ear respected the artistry. Then again, it’s easy to forget his background in Hip Hop that stretches back over a decade. Currently, he made the news rounds after ISIS sympathizers hacked his site. Thankfully, the terrorist organization didn’t realize he was about to start pushing an album and therefore, actually helped him gain more notoriety.
During our interview over hamburgers and fries, Kosha relives the moment he went from selling drugs and getting locked up while participating in New York’s early 2000s battle rap scene and embracing his Jewish heritage.
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Kosha’s Was Once As Gully As Your Everyday NYC Rapper Before Changing His Life
Photo By: Ural GarrettHipHopDX: Last time we talked, you were about to do a show out in Tel Aviv.
Kosha Dillz: I did a festival called Tune In Tel Aviv and that was in November and my show was on the night of The Paris Attack. It was kind of traumatic cause the news broke while I was on stage. The people I was with were shocked. I’ll be back in Israel this summer to do more shows since the I have the album coming out in May. I’m going to be out there promoting it.
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DX: The idea of a short rap class for Jewish kids is pretty dope. I had a lot of fun here tonight. Where did this idea come from?
Kosha Dillz: I’ve been doing the rap classes since around 2013. I pitched them to schools and a lot of times, in a situation like this, there are not enough people since it’s so crazy in school and you want to get a gig. So what’s the easiest way to get gigs quick? Concerts take two months in advance to book and this is just a different way. Every Friday, Jewish people have Shabbat which is a day of rest. Sort of like church on Sundays for Christians. Every Friday, there’s a whole dinner and this place fills up. There are guest speakers who come through. It’s an inspirational time, so people come and speak. I started doing the rap classes and it was comical. People would be like, “You’re a rapper? Why don’t you come rap?” It’s like when rap heads are like, “Do you rhyme? Spits some bars.” So, I started rap classes and a program called “How to Be a Jewish Rapper in 45-Minutes.” It’s like a get-rich-quick scheme. The class is great because the funniest thing is, as smart as people are, this is like a play on being a rapper. The reason I started this because people were like, “My friends rap” and they didn’t realize that I really do this for real. I’m a career rapper. The reason why I came out and did this because people didn’t consider this a career. It’s like a play on that. People think it’s easy, but you have to be smart to really do this. This person can recite poetry and even The Torah or is a doctor but don’t have the capacity to think quickly like this when they speak because their brain works differently. That’s how this came out. It makes people happy too. I connect with people more through a rap class than a concert. When I rhyme at the end of the class I do something that’ll get people excited like a song. Sometimes classes are big. I did one in New Jersey where it was around 80 kids, 40 from Israel and 40 from New Jersey. Sometimes, I’ll do small ones. Any way I can get a gig. If I can’t do a concert, I’ll do an intimate show for 40 or so people. I can do a little rap class and then do a show off a speaker I’ve done street performances with.
DX: While you spoke with the kids, you talked about your identity as a Jewish man and coming into your own. When was the moment you came into your own and felt comfortable making that your thing.
Kosha Dillz: When I started battling, I was Kosha Dill around 18 or 19-years old. Then I became K D Flow in New York’s scene. I battled Immortal Technique. I didn’t want anything else to do with my Jewishness so I hid it. I was incarcerated for a bit.
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DX: Incarcerated?
Kosha Dillz: Yeah, I was hustling. I did some time. Outside of my new album, I have my jail diaries coming which is coming out in a digital booklet. I did a couple of months. That’s long enough. I was on parole and I wanted to come out with a record as K D Flow and then I went back to jail again for the third time. After that, I came out as Kosha Dillz. I just got back in touch with the guy that I put out the first record with. He lives in Berlin now. I was off the chain. This was the point when white people said the n-word regularly and everything was given a pass. I was like hood. Back then, 50 Cent was out and that was like the soundtrack to my hustle. I come from era where people didn’t take pictures of everything. There weren’t any pictures of me for a certain amount of years. Now, you don’t do it unless it’s on the camera. It’s kind of funny. At that time, none of my music was remotely Jewish at all. This was like 2005. If I come out like that, people will know about me and I’ll become more Jewish throughout the time. That’s obviously happened. It’s cool because there aren’t a lot of us.
DX: Interesting you don’t see a lot of big name Jewish rappers despite artists like Beastie Boy’s License to Ill was the biggest selling rap album of the 80s or even the success of Drake, who is mixed.
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Kosha Dillz:Lil Dicky, Mac Miller, there are so many good Jewish rappers. I think it’s cool man. It’s like dead prez. They’re very empowering to black people. I think it’s the same for artists like me. Jewish kids love rap. The thing is for me, I exist in this world, but I exist in the rap world. When I’m doing tracks with rappers, I just dream of bringing all of that together. That’s what I did at SXSW this year though my Oy Vey showcase. I had Deniro Farrar and Gangsta Boo. I had Kool Keith and all these acts from Israel and I brought them all together. No one gets it yet, but I truly believe people do and someone will give me a million dollars one day. Then, I’ll be a hero for humankind.
DX: Those are people you collaborated with before.
Kosha Dillz: Yeah, I did some tracks with Murs and Gangsta Boo. I’m doing some stuff with Kool Keith. It takes people longer to get because it’s an artistic view into my life. It’s a smorgasbord. I was looking at my Wikipedia today and was like, “How the hell did I get so Jewish?” It’s hard for people to grasp it and when I look at all these other people with one particular lane they’re driving in, it’s easier for them. That’s like an Audi, that’s what it does and my shit is like a time machine. What road does that drive on? It’s cool, but hard for people to get. Hopefully, skills prevail. The oy vey is Yiddish for WTF or OMG. It doesn’t make sense. I like that because it brings culture and understanding. I love it when my black friends and Hispanic friends are like this Jewish dude is dope. A lot of people aren’t proud and don’t understand what it’s like to be a part of their heritage.
Transforming Into Kosha Dillz
DX: You mentioned the savagery of the late 90s battle scene in New York.
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Kosha Dillz: This is when Eyedea was battling people and slaying people before he died. Rest in peace, Eyedea. This is like all those people from that era, went on to have pretty successful music careers. This is like geeky rap battle world. This is like Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Pumpkinhead and the likes. The early 2000s battle scene was different than the one that exists now. Now, it’s multiplied way better. People were freestyling and you were allowed to smoke openly in New York City, it was a creative time. At that time, I was getting high and slowly drifting. That graduated to me doing other stuff. I have an interesting story. As you know, I was a Division One wrestler at Rutgers and a convicted convict multiple times. Now, I don’t do anything. Now, I don’t get high anymore and looking back, it’s cool to see that I’m still rapping. You just never know when something is going to pop off. I’ve seen Myspace come and go. I’ve seen Twitter, Facebook and the likes pop off. I remember when my first video got on YouTube and I was like, “This is nuts.” I remember playing a show in Reno and the video was a montage. There are a lot of people from that time still doing it and I was a lot younger and now, I’m coming into my own.
DX: You have this long history in Hip Hop and a lot of outlets are catching on to your momentum. Was that already there or are we witnessing a buildup?
Kosha Dillz: I think it’s about my marketing. You didn’t know that I was incarcerated for a bit and I have a jail diary book coming out. People didn’t know I was selling drugs for like three years straight. I was selling X, cocaine, weed and legitimate drugs.
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DX:Well, that makes you realer than most radio thugs. You had a burner?
Kosha Dillz: I did at one time. One time I did a robbery with somebody and that guy was completely insane. I definitely got robbed multiple times. That’s crazy because I don’t like guns. When I was on the drug shit, no matter what, I just wanted to be down. It’s like a false life, that’s not what I’m about. I know that now. I’ve been clean and sober for over a decade. When I see people at SXSW in that world talking about Molly, this and that, it’s cool and I get it, but how long does that last. Your goal is to succeed within these three years and you don’t get a deal for a million dollars, you’re not going to be successful for the long term of your life. You’re going to OD or fall out. That’s what happened to me. I just got lucky and just went to jail. Most people now don’t get it. It’s so weird, people ask me about it and I feel so uncomfortable talking about it. I’m so far removed from it. For three years, I always had coke on me. I have an event in Poland I’m about to do called Ride for the Living which is a 55-mile bike ride from Auschwitz concentration camps to Krakow. Then I’m performing at a 19th century synagogue. Someone just asked me to speak at a TED Talk. What do I have to talk about trapping for? What I learned is that you go to jail for such a minute amount of drugs and it’s a scam system with revolving doors that’s set up. I was never successful in rap music while getting high so I didn’t have the experience of being poppin’ and eventually having to go to rehab or something. For me, that didn’t exist. So now, I credit my success to having a level head. All that hustle that I took from the drug game has been directed toward music. Now, I’m slanging raps all day. Might as well be on Facebook or emailing rabbi’s asking them to book me for a class. Ride for the Living which is a 55-mile bike ride. Then I’m performing at a 19th century synagogue. Someone just asked me to speak at a TED Talk. What do I have to talk about trapping for? What I learned is that you go to jail for such a minute amount of drugs and it’s a scam system with revolving doors that’s set up. I was never successful in rap music while getting high so I didn’t have the experience of being poppin’ and eventually having to go to rehab or something. For me, that didn’t exist. So now, I credit my success to having a level head. All that hustle that I took from the drug game has been directed toward music. Now, I’m slanging raps all day. Might as well be on Facebook or emailing rabbi’s asking them to book me for a class.
It’s the blessing of being the only one in your lane. Over the years, I learned how to make lots of money doing shows. When you’re the only one to do what you do and no one gets it and there’s a lane for it. You can come up with things that other rappers never get to experience. It gives you more freedom.
Kosha Throws Supports Behind Bernie Sanders’ Prison Reform Policy
DX: What’s the average amount of shows you do a year?
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Kosha Dillz: Probably about 100 or so. Last year, I did a bit less but now with the record, I’m trying to do hit the road. I want to do multiple marketing plans. Every year is different. I was just talking to my boy about 175 to 200 dates this year which is like being on the road and living there non-stop. In this business, we’re always working.
DX: When is the prison diary coming out?
Kosha Dillz: I’m trying to get the digital edition out. It’s me going back to my younger days with a level head looking into my mindset. I hope that people are intrigued in seeing the artistic value in my music. Why does Kosha talk about these juxtaposing positions that don’t make sense? I have real life experience and never had a real job except for this. Being a convicted felon keeps you from monetizing your life and getting a job. If you’re not going to be in business for yourself, you’re really going to be broke. I tried applying for a job at a rehab once and Postmates, but I couldn’t get it because of my felony. Clearly, that was the reason why I was in jail. I wasn’t able to get into Canada for like eleven years. I’m like, dude, throw me a bone. And, that lets you know how broken our system is. That’s why I’m excited for Bernie Sanders because he might help fix that. There are plenty of people who are like me who are not artists and need jobs.
DX: You’re a Bernie Sanders supporter.
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Kosha Dillz: I come from a family of Israelis that aren’t Democrats, they fought in every war in Israel. They don’t care about American politics, they only care about what’s good for Israel. Cruz is episcopalian and they love Israel. Technically, they want everyone to become Christians, but that’s a whole nother story. I went to the Bernie Sanders rally and it was cool. I pay my own taxes and I’m totally fine financially. So, if it makes the community I live in happy and all for it because I live in an area full of Latinos. I’ll survive no matter who is president and I’m aware of that. That’s why I don’t think about myself and think about who will be best for the rest of the people. America would look cooler if Sanders was president. It’s crazy. It’s hard to convince people to do primaries because they’re rigged for waits that can go on for hours. No one wants to vote anyway. This is rigged like the XXL Freshman Cover. I would think Sanders being president would be cool because if we get a Jewish president, blacks and Hispanics would think he’s cool because it’ll create a community of peace. Helping minority communities would help against racism and antisemitism. Rather than someone who is praying upon our fears and insecurities and having things look like MMA fights and Don King. Obviously, people like Trump because people like it. A bird and Bernie Sanders were trending.”This[Presidential Election] is rigged like the XXL Freshman Cover”
DX: It was cute.
Kosha Dillz: It was. That shit was dope as fuck and people lost their mind over that. Let me stop talking about politics, though.
DX: Let’s get to the album.
Kosha Dillz: I worked a new deal with the folks over at Soulspazm who helped with Oy Vey. Trying to get the album featured on Spotify and getting folks to hear it. Pass a bunch out and sell some. I’ve been looking to get a proper release and have a single that I’m pushing. I’m big in the middle of nowhere like Duluth, Minnesota. I might never have the big show, but I try to make a better band and they backed up A$AP Rocky and A$AP Ferg on tour. I’m playing Broke LA this month. Touring with Matisyahu became a huge co-sign. I believe every rapper needs someone bigger that’s messing with you. I remember being in Europe with Matisyahu and a cypher broke out with A$AP Rocky. My name was buzzing for a while now since getting hacked by ISIS and weird shit like that.
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DX: Why would ISIS have a problem with….Oh yeah, you’re Jewish.
Kosha Dillz: Yeah, people forget. Some people trip over it. Point being, I don’t know if it was a blessing or curse but Elite Daily had “The Jewish Rapper ISIS Loves To Hate” and it was clickbait. It’s sad to say one day like, “Yeah, this happened when ISIS was poppin.” It’s so sick to say and I shared it on Facebook and people were shocked because this is a real thing. It went viral. It’s like, a talking point. Now, I penned an editorial about anti-Semitism which is a real thing. For me, that’s why I’m just releasing music because I’ve never had a major label deal. I’m just trying to do these big songs.
DX: Do you even need one?
Kosha Dillz: I’m just trying to have one so I can experience what it’s like to be on the radio. I’m going to push my music until the wheels fall off. If you have a great song, it’s timeless.
