Nissim Baruch Black (born Damian Jamohl Black; December 9, 1986) is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer.
He retired in 2011 to focus on his conversion to Orthodox Judaism, but soon returned under his new Hebrew name Nissim Black (nissim / ניסים means ‘miracles’ in Hebrew) and began writing from a more religious standpoint. He appeared on Shtar’s song “Rabbit Hole” (2012). He has since released a mixtape called Miracle Music (2013) and the studio albums Nissim (2013), Lemala (2017), and Gibor (2019).
Nissim Baruch Black was born Damian Jamohl Black in Seattle on December 9, 1986, the son of rappers Mia Black and James “Captain Crunch” Croone. His grandparents had also been musicians, playing alongside Ray Charles and Quincy Jones. He grew up in Seattle’s Seward Park neighborhood. He was raised as a Sunni Muslim, but was non-practicing and converted to Christianity at the age of 14 after attending an Evangelical summer camp.
His parents divorced when he was two years old, and his mother took him with her and remarried shortly thereafter. Both his biological parents and stepfather used and sold drugs from home, prompting an FBI raid on the house in 1995 which resulted in his mother’s arrest; she later died from an overdose at the age of 37.
