Kekoa Alama was performing a small gig in a Maui coffee shop, performing the gold-certified single by Matisyahu, “One Day,” when a bystander began singing along with him. At the end of the song, Alama approached the tall, blond-haired man and congratulated him, saying “you have a beautiful voice, man.” Only then did the man reveal himself to be Matthew Paul Miller, better known as Matisyahu, the original writer and singer of the track.

Matisyahu has featured in the news several times in recent years, most notably after a reggae festival he was due to take part in in 2015, Rototom Sunsplash, disinvited him under pressure from BDS groups. After coming under fire from the Spanish government, the festival re-invited him and he went on to perform. He also performed in Jerusalem in late 2015 during the wave of stabbings in the city, telling the crowd “Jerusalem, I’m home.”

“One Day” was originally released in 2008, and was followed by two official remixes; a hip-hop inspired one featuring Akon, and a trance remix by Israeli duo Infected Mushroom. It became Matisyahu’s second highest-charting single, entering the Billboard Top 100.

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