Yaakov Shwekey (Hebrew: יעקב שוואקי, last name was originally spelled Choueka) (born in 1977) is an American recording artist,and musical entertainer. Through his father, he is of Egyptian and Syrian Sephardic heritage, although his mother is Ashkenazi.
Yaakov Shwekey was raised in Brooklyn where he attended Yeshiva of Brooklyn. He now lives in Deal, New Jersey with his wife Jenine and their four children. Yaakov’s career began when he and his brother Yisroel Meir sang with the Miami Boys Choir for a short period of time. As a young man Shwekey learned in Rabbi Menachem Davidowitz’s yeshiva (TIUNY) in Rochester, NY, and for a short time in Yeshivas Ner Yisroel of Toronto. For a period of time he was an unofficial wedding singer.
Musical style
Shwekey is a singer and his music and songs are composed by others. His albums are produced by Yochi Briskman, and distributed in the US by Aderet Music, and in Israel by Greentec. Many different arrangers have arranged his albums including Moshe Laufer, Mona Rosenblum, Yanky Briskman, Leib Yaakov Rigler, and Yisroel Lamm. Until 2006 Shwekey’s primary studio was «Studio X» (run by Yochi Briskman, engineered by Zohar «Baba» Buerger), today, most of his recording is done in his private home studio.
His most famous song is Racheim composed by Pinky Weber. The lyrics are from the prayer after eating, asking God to have mercy on the Jewish nation and the city of Jerusalem. As Shwekey describes this song, «It’s a prayer. It’s not just a song. We connect with G-d and ask Him to have mercy». In 2008/2009 Vehi She’omdah, composed by Yonatan Razel and debuted on his Live in Caesaria concert DVD, and later rerecorded on Ad Bli Dai became a major hit. Many of his songs, including Shomati (from the Talmud) composed by Yossi Green and Im Eshkacheich, from Psalms 137, have found considerable popularity as Jewish wedding songs.
