2 Live Jews

2 Live Jews was a comedy hip hop duo composed of MC Moisha (Eric Lambert) and Easy Irving (Joe Stone). Its name is a parody of 2 Live Crew. It is known for songs that mix and spoof hiphop culture and Jewish American stereotypes; the members were purportedly two elderly Jewish men who had recently discovered their rhyming ability. In reality Lambert and Stone were young men who were raised Jewish.

2 Live Jews
GenresComedy hip hop
Years active1990–1998
LabelsHot Productions
Empire Musicwerks/VI Music/Universal Records
MembersMoisha MC
Easy Irving

Style

2 Live Jews' original rhyming style involves hiphop lyrics typical of Golden Age hiphop of the early 1990s but includes sung and non-hiphop tunes. Its lyrics tend toward cliché or stereotypical Ashkenazi Jewish topics. In keeping with Jewish stereotypes the duo’s lyrics are full of Yiddish words, often unknown to most non-Yiddish speakers. Because of Moisha and Irving's age, they have haggard voices.

History

2 Live Jews released its debut album, As Kosher as They Wanna Be, in 1990. The name of the group and the album were spoofs of 2 Live Crew's 1989 hit As Nasty as They Wanna Be. With songs such as "Oy! It's So Humid" (a parody of 2 Live Crew's hit "Me So Horny"), "Young Jews be Proud," and "Shake Your Tuchas" (which borrowed liberally from KC and the Sunshine Band's "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty"), the album was a success and launched 2 Live Jews into the spotlight.

As Kosher as They Wanna Be was the duo's most successful and popular album. 2 Live Jews released four others. Fiddling With Tradition (1991) is a hip-hop reworking of the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof; it got only minor attention and was not a successful novelty album. 2 Live Jews released Disco Jews in 1994 and Christmas Jews in 1998. On VH1 the duo guest-starred as talking heads for the special "40 Least Hip Hop Moments." In 2005 Moisha and Irving released a greatest-hits album, The Worst of 2 Live Jews...the Best of the Shticks.

Discography
  • As Kosher As They Wanna Be (1990), Hot Productions
  • Fiddling With Tradition (1991), Hot Productions
  • Disco Jews (1994), Hot Productions
  • Christmas Jews (1998), Hot Productions
  • The Worst of 2 Live Jews...the Best of the Shticks (2005), Empire Musicwerks/VI Music/Universal Records
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