Meet New York’s 6’7″ Jew Who Will Rap for You (VIDEO)
by Shiryn Ghermezian
He’s a 6’7″ Jewish freestyle rapper who roams the streets of New York delivering his rhymes to unsuspecting passersby. Te’Devan, who calls himself the “6’7″ Jew who will rap for you” was recently profiled by the Gothamist blog.
In a video posted Monday on YouTube, as part of the website’s No Your City eight-part series created by Nicolas Heller, Te’Devan is seen rapping about “not trying to conform to the status quo” and his mission to “be what I’m supposed to be.”
With dreadlocks cascading past his shoulders and a long beard, Te’Devan walks around Manhattan carrying a sign that bears his moniker. He says of his tagline, “it’s direct, to the point, and you’ll go home and remember it. You might live a very, very long time and you’ll always remember a 6’7 Jew that would rap for you.”
Te’Devan engages strangers from all walks of life and says that some have let him live on their couches, in their spare bedrooms, or given him plane tickets. He refers to New York as a “springboard” that has sent him to many different places.
Though he says he was born in New York City, “supposedly somewhere on the Upper West Side,” Te’Devan says in the video “first and foremost, I’m a nomad. I’m in New York in my nomadic journey at this point.”
“I view New York City as an airport terminal,” he says. “People are kind of looking for this place to lead them to many other places… For me, I don’t know that I come to New York looking for it to lead me anywhere anymore. It does as it does and I come in when the door’s open.”
“New York’s a very firm woman. If she wants you around, she’ll let you know; if she wants you to go, she’ll let you know,” he added. “And there won’t be any doubt one way or another.”
Watch Gothamist‘s video profile of Te’Devan below: