dr. Israel is a vocalist, producer, engineer, actor and revolutionary based in Brooklyn New York. The Doctor’s work has always had a foundation in the deep tradition of dub, dance hall and reggae, but what makes him stand out is his ability to fuse these styles with drum and bass, hip hop, and even punk and metal. His trademark sonically devastating base tones and politically conscious lyrics are always delivered in a surprisingly accessible format for such an underground Icon.
The doctor has assembled his own studio compound in a clandestine Brooklyn warehouse, where he has been producing chart-topping trax for over a decade. These releases include his debut album, “7 Tales of Israel”, a classic in the dub/jungle scene, his sophomore effort “Inna City Pressure” an underground hit which moved over 10.000 units in the first few months after its street date, and “Patterns of War” Which topped the CMJ, (#1 at world music for 7 weeks). In addition the doctor has made countless guest appearances, and production/remix cameos, too many to mention here, but they include remix, production and vocal work with the likes off Rancid, Sepultura, Praxis, Bill Laswell, Santo Gold, and Sublime to name a few.
dr. Israel is also known for his dynamic stage presence and aggressive vocal style. He has appeared Live all over the world, The U.S., Europe, Canada, Mexico, and Japan. These performances include solo sets and vocal guest appearances at venues and festivals including the Royal Festival Hall (London), (Fuji Rock (Japan), Reggae on the River (North Cal), and the Sync Festival (Athens Greece). Doc is equally comfortable in a 200-seat club, or at stadium gig (reggae on the river had over 17,000 crazed fans), and he always manages to stir the crowd into frenzy. In the studio and on the stage the doctor consistently receives accolades and acclamations from the international press community, with great reviews from Japan to France to the U.S. Just ask rolling stone, Vibe, or the Village Voice, or check out the countless reviews online.
In addition to Music the good doctor has recently delved into screen as well. He has some substantial air time in the documentary Awake Zion by Monica Haim, and the short film “Ascend into Zion”, which he starred in and co-wrote, was picked up by Palm Pictures in their joint venture with Comcast VOD. Also you can catch a portrait of doc in the opening sequence of the Sharon Stone movie “Prime”
As we enter into 2009 dr. Israel finds himself with a few different irons in the fire. He is fronting Method of Defiance, a live Drum and Bass/Dub/Hip-Hop unit consisting of Bill Laswell, Toshinori Kondo, Bernie Worrell, D.J. Krush, Guy Licata and doc on vocals. He also appears as a guest Vocalist for Heavyweight dub Champion, a San Francisco based trip-hop/dub collective. Doc is currently in the studio writing and recording a new solo record; the long awaited follow up to “Inna City Pressure”. The project is slated for a single release in late spring with the full length in the early fall. Once again doc is creating a project based in dub baselines, and conscious lyrics that will touch on many other various influences. Collaborators include Lady K, The mad Professor, Bernie Worrell, Killah Priest, to name a few. With the legendary Bill Laswell on production and mixing duties as well.
With these new musical projects, his foray’s into film and acting, and his uniquely revolutionary approach look for the good doctor to be making a great deal of noise in the very new future.

absent from the scene since 1999’s inna city presure Brooklyn based emcee/producer Dr. Israel reurns with a masterpiece. That is an understatement... —derek beres XLR8R

Vocally, Doc is an Icon, his voice strong, clear and clearly his, whether sending a yelp into a swirling haze of dubby delay feedback, delivering a hard hitting rap, a political sermon, or laying down a one word musical measure like a human sampler —Turbo Ted Propaganda

dr. Israel’s “Inna City Pressure” is as catchy a fusion of dub-ragga weirdness and power-chorded rock as you’ll ever hear… Dr. Israel manages to keep his bare feet grounded; not since Unity, by fellow New Yorker Shinehead a decade ago, has a raggamuffin sounded this original or this inspiring. —Chuck Eddy, ROLLING STONE

Deserves to be the sort of Next Big Thing the many, many publicists who get wet over the smooth integration of genres claim he’s going to be…The doctor really understands what dub, jungle, punk, metal and reggae have in common, and is demonstrably skilled enough to make them work together. In doing so, he drives home musical points that an army of hack critics haven’t yet been able to figure out…a rock and a hip-hop fan can groove to this. —NY PRESS

The album in both a history lesson and foretelling prophecy to the suburban rude-boys and girls looking for the futuristic, afro-mythic dub versions on The Clash. Buy this record. —URB

Suffused in gritty urban poetry, a sense of humor, a surprising respect for hard rock (Rancid and Clash covers, not to mention a whole song based on a loop of Black Sabbath’s “The Wizard”), and a deeply rooted sense of spirituality, records such as Dr. Israel’s late-’98 Inna City Pressure rise above the base elements of today’s stoned-slow reggae, melody-deficient hip hop, songless electronica, and crotch-grabbing Korn-metal. —VILLAGE VOICE

Of special notice is a truly ragga remake of “Armagideon Time,”…It’s safe to say, with the improved production, that this may just be better than the original. —MTV.com

Boasting a wealth of impeccable influences, Brooklyn’s Dr. Israel creates an intoxicating blend of reggae, ska, hip-hop, world music, punk, and drum ‘n’ bass married to a strong lyrical social consciousness on Inna City Pressure. “Pressure” brings to mind the great Two Tone band The English Beat jamming with Goldie. Dr. Israel updates the Clash classic “Armagideon Time” by tossing drum ‘n’ bass beats into the dub of the original, resulting in a funky stew of samples, grooves, and piano snippets. Vastly improving the version of “Coppers” he and Rancid recorded for Rancid’s Life Won’t Wait, the track is something akin to reggae with a hip-hop edge and a punk snarl. Actually it’s a bit surreal to hear Rancid in the context of this album -- for a minute, I could swear I was listening to Joe Strummer and some great, lost Sandanista song. —POP MATTERS

Inna City Pressure… blurs the boundaries between Roots and Dub, Jump-up Jungle, Hip-Hop, Punk, and Ska by uniting them. —DJMIXED/BPM

In a rational world, this irresistible fusion of reggae, dub, hip hop and jungle would be on every radio station’s playlist & booming out of every car stereo…a remarkable album. This is one of the best CDs of the year (1998). 4.5 of 5” —ALLMUSIC GUIDE

The Doctor mashes up dub, reggae and jungle, ganja and Sabbath, social conscience and Rancid, technoid paranoia and dirty breakbeats, RUN DMC’s cowbells and philosophy into one genuinely eclectic and forward-thinking album. Fusion, if it wasn’t so loaded with negative connotations, would be a good description---a fusion, not of unrelated and unsuitable components, but of styles that lock into each other, the ska interface with Rancid, the hip hop and drum’n’bass cross-overs with dub, punk and reggae’s long-standing relationship (musical and social) renewed and caressed into place. The main ingredient is the dub spine, heavily infected in the first half by junglist tendencies, which holds the whole thing together and comes to the fore in the later tracks although always giving room to the song. Which is just about my only gripe: the sequencing loads all the pounders up-front and the dub never really clangs low-down. A great record though —ROBOTS & ELECTRONIC BRAINS ZINE

Dr. Israel’s Inna City Pressure, released on the New York-based Mutant Sound System label, may not be the first reggae album of recent memory to wed an unlikely batch of musical styles together, but it’s certainly one of the more effective. With an emphasis on instrumental-backed drum ‘n’ bass and jungle tracks, Inna City Pressure is at its best when dropping mad, freaked out science on songs like The Doctor Vs. The Wizard (a remake of Black Sabbath’s The Wizard) and reconceptualizing songs like Armagideon Time, which was itself versioned by The Clash roughly twenty years ago. —THE HECKLER

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to take the best portions of virtually every music genre, throw ‘em in a big cauldron and stir? Maybe it would be pleasing, and maybe a little chaotic. For Brooklyn-based artist, Dr. Israel, it’s that and a whole lot more…places him on the tounges of underground/alternative fanbases worldwide. —BLACK BEAT

The most adventurous and cohesive reggae album of the late 90s…one man’s testimony concerning the plague of American urban violence and its effects on the spirit…no mere stylistic smorgasbord – it’s the most fully realized reggae concept album since Bunny Wailer’s now decades-old Blackheart Man, and it reflects a level of originality and power that’s rare in any genre. —Norman Weinstein, BOSTON PHOENIX

Drawing on a deep understanding of classic dub and reggae forms, this Brooklyn-based dub poet blends them with jungle, ska, funk and rock to create a liquid collection of truly global grooves. —LA TIMES

A jaw-dropping, multifaceted release. Forget whatever preconceptions you might have regarding what a dub or reggae record is supposed to be like, because Inna City Pressure moves beyond them with an amazing power. —MEAN STREET

Brooklyn’s Dr. Israel drops a major bomb with Inna City Pressure…Dynamic…electrifying…spiritual… somber…provocative… commanding. —RAYGUN