NEW YORK—At first glance, Yosef Savoy is somewhat of a mirage. As an African-American music producer, he has great knowledge of popular music, as well as a personal connection to key people in the industry. As a Hassidic Jew, he proudly wears his black Yarmulke and traditional Jewish prayer shawl. The mix can be a bit confusing at first sight.
After the second glance the conversation starts to roll.
Spreading Positivity
“I’m the great grandson of W. Savoy of the Savoy Ballroom,” Savoy introduces himself and his lineage. “My family has been involved in the entertainment business for 80 years. I’m heavily involved in the music business.”
“I know there is a lot of violence in music, especially in pop music. I try to put a stop to violence in music and lyrics. I create positive artists that give out positivity and life,” he said.
Savoy is a partner in Moonlight Entertainment, together with Mike Jean. As part of his project, which he calls MAAV, an acronym for Mad Artists Against Violence. As part of the project he explains to his artist they have great power and influence, and they should use that power for positive purposes.
“There is so much violence in the music and people play it out on the streets. You can see that crime is high. It’s like a self-fulfilling prophesy.”
Mike Jean, Savoy’s business partner, is Haitian-American and also works in producing fund-raising and charity events featuring topnotch artists. When he was only 18, even before he got to the United States, he helped organize a trip by The Fugees to Haiti where they put on a historic concert to raise money for the country. He currently is working on a big fund-raising event for Haiti.
The Way to Music and Faith
Savoy’s was raised as a Christian in Ohio. He never new his father or his father’s side of the family. His mother kept him away from the music business and did not tell him anything about his father. “You are Savoy. That’s all she said,” he mentioned.
Only after his mother’s death did he relocate to New York City and connect with the family business. Savoy now resides in Crown Heights in Brooklyn, together with his Lubavitch congregation, an orthodox Jewish sect.
While growing up, Savoy felt a sense of discomfort and questioning. In 1998 he met with a rabbi, and began his journey to Hasidic Judaism. Today, while working with artists like Pras from the Fugees, or Andy Hillfinger, he studies in a yeshiva, or Jewish high learning school, where he studies the Jewish texts.
“I don’t speak to 99 percent of my family because of my religious convictions.”
The two worlds–the world of popular music and the world of faith – are not contradicting in his eyes. “We have to engage in the world,” states Savoy. It is a surprising statement from a member of a community known, or stigmatized, for being closed off from the world. “We are to elevate any situation. I try to elevate the music industry,” he said.
Working for Peace
Another project Savoy is currently working on is a peace museum, in memory of the terror attack of the Chabad House Jewish Center in Mumbai in 2008. This week marks the two-year anniversary of the bombings.
The museum will be dedicated to educating people about the different religious and cultures in New York. The museum is only in the preliminary stages.
“Ignorance is very dangerous,” said Savoy adding that ignorance leads to fear, which then leads to reactions and even violence.
