Some artists are bound to an image: Bob Marley has dreadlocks, Matisyahu has a beard. But that's a reminder that the whole thing is not about style. It's about music.

A lot of people in the religious world believe that by secularizing, or viewing the changes as secular, such as dropping the beard and changing my appearance, they consider this to be a fall.

When there's light shining on a tree, that tree takes on different meaning. If there's no light at all it just looks dead. If you look at light as godly meaning, the world comes alive in a certain way.

If I've grown as an artist, it will be represented in the art. There's no need to explain it.

When you meet somebody who is vulnerable, there is an attraction. There is something to that. There is beauty there.

The religious lifestyle keeps you focused. It's helpful when trying to manoeuvre through the music scene.

Before I was 14, I wanted to be a singer, an actor, or a hockey player. By 15, I knew I was going to be a singer.