Top photographer focuses on Pesach rap viral hit

A husband and wife photographer and singer duo are racking up social media views with their unique Chasidic pop Passover anthem.

When Blake and Yamit Ezra decided to find a way to engage their three young children with the Pesach story, the last thing they expected was to end up recording a viral hit video.

But just a few days after releasing ‘Every Generation’, a musical mashup that covers the themes of the seder, they’ve been completely overwhelmed with the response.

In just a couple of days the video has organically racked up close to 10,000 views across platforms, with reports of it being played in Jewish schools and communities across the world.

Performing under the pseudonym MC Chametz, Blake is better known as the photographer of choice for the UK Jewish community and high society in London, producing portraits of the late Queen and current King, chief rabbis, prime ministers and Hollywood actors.

But things took a turn for him a few years ago during one of the many waves of rocket assaults on Israel from Gaza. With a degree in Middle Eastern Studies and a background in education, he felt compelled to speak up.

Ezra said: “It seemed as though everyone with a platform was using theirs, often in the form of celebrities and influencers demonising Israel without the knowledge or context of what they were posting. After a long time of keeping my own platforms related to my photography, I simply felt like I had a duty to educate, to provide balance to a volatile situation”.

Suddenly his Instagram account surged to 14,000 followers, and he and Yamit found themselves at the heart of the social media war for hearts and minds.

“As many people do,” he continues, “I worried that revealing my ‘true self’ online would harm the business and reputation I’ve taken years to build, but it didn’t at all. Now I believe more than ever in bringing every part of my identity to everything I do.”

It was partly this experience that led to them creating ‘Every Generation’. Taken aback by the antisemitic vitriol they experienced online, they wanted to help their children connect with Judaism in a positive way.

Thanks to Yamit’s talent as a singer/songwriter (under the name YAMIT she’s written acclaimed songs for chart topping acts) and a friendship with Soulecta, a top UK Garage DJ and music producer, they wrote and recorded the song – inspired by Yaakov Shwekey and Shlomi Shabbat’s musical rendition of Vehi She’amda from the Passover liturgy.

Although it started as a family project, friends who got wind of it urged the couple to release it to the world. To do so, they shot a video which Blake produced, directed and edited himself. Ezra believed it was important for their children to  appear in the video, “as we’ll be able to look back in ten years time and see them grow through these original and meaningful videos and songs… it’s a very long term project!”

They’ve been overwhelmed by the response. “Some of the messages have been truly incredible,” he continues,”from people thanking us for helping them reconnect with their Judaism, to non Jewish minorities expressing how it resonates with their journey, to children of Holocaust survivors and of families who’ve had to flee Middle Eastern countries simply for being Jewish. Many have told us how they’ve become very emotional when watching the video and that it has brought them to tears.We just hope it inspires our children, and others, to connect with their heritage in creative and original ways.”

For more information contact Blake and Yamit at info@blakeezraphotography.com