Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Kendrick Lamar’s New Hebrew Israelite Outfit

Rap star Kendrick Lamar may be getting a new wardrobe — from a Hebrew Israelite clothing line.

Hebrew Market, an online design company, posted an Instagram photo of Lamar holding one of their t-shirts on June 8.

DAMN. Even @kendricklamar has his Hebrew Market gear. Have you ordered your “Lord’s Most Wanted” tee? Don’t be left out, place your order at www.hebrewmarket.com

A post shared by Hebrew Market (@hebrewmarket) on

The Hebrew Market shirt is decorated with a mock “wanted poster” that calls a common depiction of Jesus as a white man an act of “mental terrorism” and “identity theft.”

“If you see this man’s image in your churches, flee immediately!” the text on the shirt reads. “Please contact the Israelites, the prophets of the Most High God.”

The same clothing company sells shirts that read “God is black, so is his son, so are his people.” Hebrew Market advertises itself as “a venue where you as an Israelite can purchase any and everything that identifies you with your true nationality.”

Hebrew Israelites are people of color, mostly African American, who identify as genealogical descendants of the biblical Israelites. Lamar’s cousin belongs to an Israelite organization called Israel United In Christ that calls Jesus the Messiah. While Lamar is not an official member of that group, the rapper included multiple references to Israelite beliefs on his most recent album.

Email Sam Kestenbaum at [email protected]

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.