Raphael Nathan

DJ Raphi
רפאל נתן
Born
Raphael Nathan

(1990-02-27) February 27, 1990
Johannesburg, South Africa
Other nameDJ Four Eyez
EducationOno Academic College
Occupations
  • Content Creator
  • Recording Artist
  • DJ
  • Dancer
  • Beatboxer
Awards
  • Israeli National Beatboxing Championship (2007)[1]
  • Israeli National Breakdancing Championship (2011, 2012)[2]
  • Red Rocks "Piece of the Rock" commemorative award[3]
YouTube information
Channel
Genres
  • Kids Content
  • Educational
  • EDM
  • Tech House
Subscribers1.61 million
Views1,048,618,751
Last updated: July 7, 2026
Websitedjraphi.com

Raphael Nathan (Hebrew: רפאל נתן; February 27, 1990), known professionally as DJ Raphi is an Israeli content creator, recording artist, DJ, dancer and beatboxer.[4][5][6]

He has achieved popularity on YouTube,[7][8][4] where his dance music videos have surpassed 1 billion views.[9]

Early life

Raphael Nathan was born in Johannesburg, South Africa,[7] son of musician Mickey Nathan,[10] and Naomi, editor[11] and teacher at King David Schools[6] He immigrated to Israel with his family in 1998.[10] They settled in Ra'anana.[12] His mother died in a traffic accident in 2022.[13][11][14] Nathan had difficulties with learning the language and suffered from bullying at school.[12][15] He began taking drum lessons at the age of 10. Since he did not have his own drum kit to practice on at the time, he started developing his rhythmic ability by doing beatboxing.[10]

Since the age of 16, he also trained as a breakdancer. He then went on to win the Israeli National Beatboxing Championship in 2007.[1] In 2010 he participated in a breakdance video on the occasion of the celebration of Purim.[16][17]

Career

Nathan co-founded the Kosher Flava crew which went on to win the Israeli Street Festival breakdance competition in 2011 and 2012.[18][2] The Kosher Flava crew represented Israel at the Battle of the Year in France,[19] at Notorious IBE festival in the Netherlands, and at the DOYOBE International Hip Hop Festival in Salzburg.[20]

In 2013, Nathan co-founded Kippalive, an acappella group. The group appeared on The X Factor Israel reality show.[21] Kippalive went on to achieve online popularity with a series of viral videos that feature versions of pop songs reworked to reference Jewish themes.[22]

In 2015, Nathan began creating content on YouTube under the name DJ Raphi. In March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, his video "The Cha Cha Slide Dance" had an extraordinary impact,[23] surpassing 125 million plays.

Nathan has received accounts from families and hospital staff who used his videos to support children undergoing medical treatment.[15]

In the year 2021, DJ Raphi was featured in the Jewish Festival Tzama, where he introduced his dance instruction videos to the orthodox Jewish community.[24] Tzama is known as the biggest Jewish Music festival with singers such as Ishay Ribo, Avraham Fried and Nathan Goshen.[25][26]

In September 2024, he produced and released a new dance video to the song "Nekudot" alongside musician Shmuel Perednik, who wrote the song, presenting it as "a moment of light in the context of the war".[27]

Despite facing social media backlash,[15][8] particularly after October 7 attacks, Nathan said he has many followers in Muslim countries and that he has focused less on conflict and more on shared dancing.[13] In another interview, he stated that Muslim countries account for 20% of his audience.[28]

In April 2025, he reached 1 million subscribers on YouTube.[29][13] By June 2026, DJ Raphi's channel had surpassed 1 billion cumulative YouTube views.[9]

In March 2026, he undertook his own headline tour, the "2026 USA Hype Tour," performing in nine U.S. states, including stops in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Houston, and Fort Lauderdale.[30]

Nathan does not perform on Shabbat.[15]

Nathan performed at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, as part of "Family Rave on the Rocks," alongside headlining Australian musician Lenny Pearce.[31][32] The show, held on June 14, sold out with an audience of approximately 9,000.[3][33] During the event, DJ Raphi signed the venue's artist tunnel, whose past signatories include the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, and received Red Rocks' "Piece of the Rock" commemorative award, an annual keepsake presented by the venue to performers.[3][15]

In June 2026, Nathan performed at a community event in New Jersey hosted by Nefesh B'Nefesh.[34]

Nathan is represented by global talent manager Rhys Paynting, while his U.S. bookings are handled by Peter Schwartz of WME.[15]

He currently resides in Jerusalem, with his wife and two children.[12]

Discography

Singles

TitleYear
The Workout2026
The Cleaning Song
Melody
The Robot Dance
Fire It Up
Be You Be Awesome2025
If You're Happy and You Know It
Move It
Paca Paca
Googoo Gaga
The Warm Up
The Cool Down
The Floor is Lava2024
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Superstar
Limbo
Happy Birthday
The DJ Dance
The DJ Says
Colors
Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes
Banish Darkness2023
Tooth Brushing Dance
Wheels On The Bus
Old MacDonald Had a Farm
The Anti-Bully Dance
Freeze Dance
The ABC Song2022
Machu Picchu
Shake It Off
The Lulav Shake2020

References

  1. 1 2 Dennen, Sydney (February 27, 2020). "Four men come together to form Israel's newest beatboxing group". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Tress, Luke (2 January 2012). "Breakdancing Spins Tel Aviv on Its Head". Haaretz. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 "היוטיובר הישראלי DJ Raphi כבש את במת ה-Red Rocks האייקונית בארה"ב [Israeli YouTuber DJ Raphi Conquers the Iconic Red Rocks Stage in the United States]". Walla! Tech (in Hebrew). Walla!. 2026-06-30. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  4. 1 2 "Who is DJ Raphi?". Fun In Jerusalem. December 18, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Un nuevo "Jerusalema" pero para Hanuka". Israel Económico (in Spanish). December 14, 2020. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  6. 1 2 "DJ Raphis' dance videos talk kids' language". South African Jewish Report. 2024-04-25. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
  7. 1 2 Matan, Aviva (May 10, 2024). "How an Award-Winning Breakdancer Broke into YouTube Kids". Thought Leaders. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  8. 1 2 Stern, Asher. "Confronting antisemitism in the digital age". Jewish News Syndicate. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  9. 1 2 Lukash, Alexandra (2026-06-29). "Israeli kids' star DJ RAPHI hits 1 billion YouTube views and takes US stages by storm". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  10. 1 2 3 David, Barry (January 27, 2022). "Meet DJ Raphi, the man transforming the religious dancing scene". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  11. 1 2 Feinberg, Tali (October 27, 2022). "Bus accident victim leaves legacy of love and language". Jewish Report. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  12. 1 2 3 "DJ Raphi, the Israeli influencer whose dances are a sensation worldwide". Aurora (in Spanish). May 12, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  13. 1 2 3 "From grief to stardom: DJ Raphi's dance movement defies anti-Jewish hate". Ynet. 2025-05-08. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
  14. ↑ Linde, Steve (November 11, 2022). "Why do Israeli drivers, pedestrians have right-of-way at the same time?". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kaplan, Chani (17 August 2026). "'Be you, be awesome': Meet the Israeli DJ dancing to a billion views". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  16. ↑ "How Does the IDF Celebrate Purim?". Jewish Humour Central. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Dancing to a different tune". Israel21c. 2010-07-29. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  18. ↑ Blondy, Brian (16 March 2010). "Breaking the mould". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  19. ↑ Gur-Arieh, Norah (6 August 2012). "Israel and the world". Jewish Journal. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Doyobe 2013: Breakdance-Wettbewerb". Salzburg 24. 3 November 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Acapella group Kippalive rock The X-Factor Israel". The Jerusalem Post. 29 October 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  22. ↑ Ziv, Stav (12 December 2015). "One for Each Night: Eight Hanukkah Songs from 2015". Newsweek. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  23. ↑ "How DJ Raphi Got To 700 Thousand Daily Views With Dance and A Positive Message". Youtube Creators Hub. April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  24. ↑ "This Niggun Comes With Dancing Instructions". Col Live. November 10, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  25. ↑ Hershenson, Sarah (March 19, 2019). "Tzama Jewish Music Festival travels from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  26. ↑ "Tzama Jewish Music Festival travels from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv". AJN (in Spanish). March 18, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  27. ↑ Tusak, Corey (September 15, 2024). "'Nekudot' dance by DJ Raphi spreads light amid darkness of war". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  28. ↑ "The Israeli YouTuber who reached a million subscribers: "Kids around the world dance to my videos"". Mako (in Hebrew). 2025-04-11. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
  29. ↑ "צפיות ולייקים זה לא כסף: כך יוצרי תוכן בונים עסק אמיתי [Views and Likes Aren't Money: How Content Creators Build a Real Business]". Walla! Marketing (in Hebrew). 2025-04-27. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  30. ↑ "DJ Raphi's 2026 USA Hype Tour". Brooklyn Bowl. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  31. ↑ "Dad DJ to bring 'toddler techno' rave to Red Rocks". 9news.com. KUSA-TV. 2026-05-14. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  32. ↑ "15 more shows added to Red Rocks' 2026 schedule — including return of several big acts". The Gazette (Colorado Springs). 2026-03-20. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  33. ↑ Sparx, Matt (2026-05-14). "A Baby Rave Is Coming to Red Rocks This Summer". K99. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  34. ↑ Taylor, Ezra (10 July 2026). "'Go big and go home': North American families make aliyah in the shadow of war". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
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