Photos by – By Baruch Ezagui
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 three 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  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. His debut solo album, Shomati, was released in 2001. To date, ten albums have been released, including both albums of original songs and compilations of covers (an album of wedding songs and an album of kumzitz songs). Less than one year  after the release of his hit album, Ad Bli Dai, Shwekey released a brand new all middle eastern style songs album, titled, Libi Bamizrach – My Heart is in the East (July 2010). While Shwekey used some of his well known past composers, this time he also went to many of the composers and arrangers who have become mainstays  working with the current Mizrachi genre in Israel. Featuring 10 brand new songs, and one traditional Sfardic melody, Libi Bamizrach includes songs composed by Yitzi Waldner, Yoni Rohe, Moshe Wertzberger, Yonatan Razel, Eli Laufer, and for the first time, a song partially composed by Yaakov Shwekey himself.  Shwekey has headlined numerous concerts, including 3 HASC concerts and an OHEL concert.