Born and raised in New York, AJ Barrenz has been writing music and rapping since he was a young child. “I’m surprised I still have my vocal chords,” AJ shares with us jokingly. With some of the greatest hip-hop legends as his inspiration, AJ dug deep into his soul and decided that he wanted to live his life as an Orthodox Jew and bring his musical talents to the greater Jewish world. After spending time studying abroad in Israel and realizing that he could fuse both of his dreams together – studying Torah and rapping – he scraped together whatever money he saved and debuted his single “Imma Do Me” which became a huge hit until Covid attempted to slow him down. “Covid won’t stop my dreaming, it only makes me stronger. We get stronger by walking uphill and I have absolutely grown into a better artist through all of the world’s turmoil. And I think during these trying times my fans need my music even more.”
When asked where he felt Jewish music was lacking, AJ’s response was: “Too many of our people are listening to big name hip-hop artists who don’t espouse our values. And they have reason to; no Orthodox Jewish rapper was creating music to fill that artistic and musical need. I wanted to change that.” Being hailed as “The Jewish J Cole” AJ continually consults with some of the greatest entertainment consultants from coast-to-coast. AJ is constantly inspired by their belief in him and their love of his music and vision. They inspire each other. “This is a dream I won’t give up on. I have a G-d given talent that I need to share with the world.”