Ari Benjamin Lesser, born November 9, 1986, is an American rapper, singer, and spoken word artist from Cleveland Heights, Ohio. He began rapping at 17 and continued while attending the University of Oregon, where he joined the hip hop crew 4 Trees. In 2008, he moved to Los Angeles to record The Hippie, produced by Paul Fakhourie and featuring Carlton "Santa" Davis. His subsequent album releases include Psalms (2011), Three Weeks (2012), Tzfat Reggae (2013), Acoustic Bluegrass (2013), and Psalms of Ascents (2016). He issued singles such as "Yehudit" (2016) and "Martin Luther King Jr." (2017). Lesser collaborated with Gad Elbaz, Lipa Schmeltzer, and C Lanzbom, and performed at the Safed Klezmer Festival. His viral YouTube videos, including "Boycott Israel" (2013) and "Hamas" (2014), drew hundreds of thousands of views. He has also created rhyming translations of Pirke Avot and Psalms.
