Wikipedia

DJ Raphi

Raphael Nathan (February 27, 1990), known professionally as DJ Raphi is an Israeli content creator, recording artist, DJ, dancer and beatboxer based in Jerusalem.[2]

DJ Raphi
Dj Raphi in 2023
Born
Raphael Nathan

(1990-02-27) February 27, 1990 (age 34)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Other namesDJ Four Eyez
Alma materOno Academic College
Occupations
  • Content Creator
  • Recording Artist
  • DJ
  • Dancer
  • Beatboxer
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2015–present
Genres
  • Kids Content
  • Educational
  • EDM
  • Tech House
Subscribers617.0000[1]
Total views283 million[1]
100,000 subscribers2022
Last updated: April 30, 2024

He has achieved popularity on YouTube, where his dance tutorials exceed 280 million views. [3] [4]

Early life edit

Raphael Nathan was born in Johannesburg, South Africa,[3] son of Mickey Nathan, musician, [5] and Naomi, educator and editor.[6] He immigrated to Israel with his family in 1998. [5] They settled in Ra'anana.[7] His mother passed away in a traffic accident in 2022. [6] [8]

The migration brought economic problems for the family. Nathan had difficulties with learning the language and suffered from bullying at school.[7] He began taking drum lessons at the age of 10. Since he did not have his own drum kit to practice on at the time, he started developing his rhythmic ability by doing beatboxing.[5]

At the age of 14, Nathan participated in and won a vocal music competition held by the Israeli radio station 99 ESC FM.[9] Since the age of 16, he also trained as a breakdancer. He then went on to win the Israeli National Beatboxing Championship in 2007.[10]

In 2010, during his service in the army, he participated in a breakdance video broadcast by the official account of the Israeli Defense Forces, on the occasion of the celebration of Purim. [11]

Career edit

Nathan co-founded the Kosher Flava crew which went on to win the Israeli Street Festival breakdance competition in 2011 and 2012. [12] [13] The Kosher Flava crew represented Israel at the Battle of the Year in France, [14] at Notorious IBE festival in the Netherlands, and at the DOYOBE International Hip Hop Festival in Salzburg. [15]

In 2013, Nathan co-founded Kippalive, an acappella group. The group appeared on The X Factor Israel reality show. [16] Kippalive went on to achieve online popularity with a series of viral videos that feature versions of pop songs reworked to reference Jewish themes.[17]

Nathan has recorded numerous tracks as DJ Four Eyez. He was regularly featured on the Battle of the Year soundtrack. [2] He also provided a track for Breaking Brooklyn (2018), a motion picture released by Lionsgate. [18]

In 2015, Nathan began creating content on YouTube under the name DJ Raphi. In March 2020, , during the COVID-19 pandemic, his video "The Cha Cha Slide Dance" had an extraordinary impact, surpassing 40 million plays.[19]

In the year 2021, DJ Raphi was featured in the Jewish Festival Tzama, where he introduced his dance instruction videos to the orthodox Jewish community.[20]Tzama is known as the biggest Jewish Music festival with singers such Ishay Ribo, Avraham Fried and Nathan Goshen.[21][22]

In 2023, his video celebrating the 75th anniversary of Israel's Independence became the focus of antisemitic comments. [4] His activity as a DJ was momentarily interrupted in during the Israel–Hamas war [3] DJ Raphi contacted the Sderot municipality and got permission to organize this uplifting moment for the evacuee children from Southern Israel.[23][24]

He currently resides in Jerusalem, with his wife and two children. [7]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "About DJ Raphi". YouTube.
  2. ^ a b "Who is DJ Raphi?". Fun In Jerusalem. December 18, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ a b c Matan, Aviva (May 10, 2024). "How an Award-Winning Breakdancer Broke into YouTube Kids". Thought Leaders. Retrieved May 12, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ a b Stern, Asher. "Confronting antisemitism in the digital age". Jewish News Sindicate. Retrieved April 30, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ a b c David, Barry (January 27, 2022). "Meet DJ Raphi, the man transforming the religious dancing scene". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved April 30, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ a b Feinberg, Tali (October 27, 2022). "Bus accident victim leaves legacy of love and language". Jewish Report. Retrieved May 12, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ a b c "DJ Raphi, the Israeli influencer whose dances are a sensation worldwide". Aurora (in Spanish). May 12, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Linde, Steve (November 11, 2022). "Why do Israeli drivers, pedestrians have right-of-way at the same time?". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved May 12, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ Kempinski, Yoni (December 10, 2015). "We found a human carrousel". INN (in Hebrew). Retrieved April 30, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ Dennen, Sydney (August 1, 2019). "Four men come together to form Israel's newest beatboxing group". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved April 30, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "How Does the IDF Celebrate Purim?". Jewish Humour Central. Retrieved May 12, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ Blondy, Brian. "Breaking the mould". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved May 12, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ Tress, Luke. "Breakdancing Spins Tel Aviv on Its Head". Haaretz. Retrieved May 12, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ Gur-Arieh, Norah. "Israel and the world". Jewish Journal. Retrieved May 12, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ "Doyobe 2013: Breakdance-Wettbewerb". Salzburg 24. Retrieved May 12, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ "Acapella group Kippalive rock The X-Factor Israel". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved May 12, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ Ziv, Stav. "One for Each Night: Eight Hanukkah Songs from 2015". Newsweek. Retrieved May 12, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ Ziv, Stav. "Breaking Brooklyn". FilmAffinity. Retrieved May 12, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ^ "How DJ Raphi Got To 700 Thousand Daily Views With Dance and A Positive Message". Youtube Creators Hub. April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ "This Niggun Comes With Dancing Instructions". Col Live. November 10, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ Hershenson, Sarah (March 19, 2019). "Meet DJ Raphi, the man transforming the religious dancing scene". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved April 30, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ "Tzama Jewish Music Festival travels from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv". AJN (in Spanish). March 18, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ^ Varnea, Yuval (December 12, 2023). "DJ Raphi and evacuee children help to bring light in times of darkness". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved April 30, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  24. ^ "DJ Raphi: We came to repel the darkness on Hanukka". Arutz Sheva. December 7, 2023. Retrieved April 30, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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