GRAMMY-nominated reggae artist Matisyahu recently participated in an installment of the GRAMMY Museum's The Drop series. Before an intimate audience at the Museum's Clive Davis Theater, Matisyahu discussed the series of events that led him to create his latest album, Akeda, and reactions he received from fans after he shaved his beard, among other topics. He also performed a brief set, including "Champion."

"I have these fans [who] are so connected to my music and the words, and the spirituality in it," said Matisyahu regarding shaving his beard. "And then I realized that actually I have all these other fans [who] are not really fans of the music, they're just fans of this guy with the beard."

Born Matthew Miller in West Chester, Pa., Matisyahu was raised in Berkely, Calif., and White Plains, N.Y. After dropping out of high school to travel the country following GRAMMY-nominated jam band Phish, Matisyahu was sent to a wilderness school in Bend, Ore., where he developed an interest in reggae and hip-hop.

Matisyahu emerged in 2004 with his debut album Shake Off The Dust…Arise featuring the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Top 10 hit "King Without A Crown." In 2006 he released his sophomore set, Youth, which earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Reggae Album. The album peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Reggae Albums chart and cracked the Top 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. He subsequently released 2009's Light and 2012's Spark Seeker, both of which peaked at No. 1 on the Top Reggae Albums chart. Matisyahu made headlines in 2011 when he posted a photo of his shaved head and beard and announced that he was no longer a "Chassidic reggae superstar."

Released in June, Akeda cracked the Top 40 on the Billboard 200 and features 15 tracks co-written by Matisyahu, including "Champion," "Surrender" and "Built To Survive," which features hip-hop duo Zion I.

Upcoming GRAMMY Museum events include The Record Theater: The Beatles Something New (Capital T 2108) In Mono (Sept. 11), A Conversation With Yanni (Sept. 18) and Reel To Reel: Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction (Sept. 29).