Introduction
Kobi Oz (Hebrew: קובי אוז, [ˈkobi ˈoz], born Yaakov Uzan (Hebrew: יעקב אוזן, [ja.aˈkov uˈzan]) on 17 September 1969) is the lead singer of Israeli group Teapacks.
Biography
Yaakov Uzan was born on 17 September 1969 in Sderot to Tunisian Jewish parents. He had his Bar Mitzvah in 1982.
In 1985, Uzan adopted the stage name Kobi Oz and began playing music and composing. He started out playing keyboards for the band Sfatayim, which performed traditional Moroccan music.
In 1988, Oz released two solo singles, "Silonim" (Jets) and "Lispor kvasim" (Counting Sheep), which didn't get much traction. "Lispor kvasim" would be revisited in 1992 for Teapacks' debut album, Shvil klipot hagarinim. Two years later, he formed Teapacks with guitarist Einav Cohen, bassist Gal Peremen and drummer Yoav Nagar. This lineup recorded two songs, "Haavel" (The Injustice) and "Boi elai" (Come Here). Later in 1990, Cohen and Nagar were replaced by Rami Yosifov and Avinoam Marton, who recorded the band's first music video, "Harabi Joe Capara" (Rabbi Joe Capara).
Footage of Oz' time in Sfatayim was used in the music video to the Teapacks song "Avodat kapayim" in 2016. The song itself tells the story of Oz' involvement in Sfatayim. This is not the first time Oz has used footage from his teenage years in a music video: the song "Elohai" (God), released in 2010, used footage from Oz' Bar Mitzvah as a music video, as well as sampling an old recording of his grandfather singing.
Oz is the author of two books: Petty Hoodlum (2002) and Moshe Chuato and the Raven (1996). He organized a demonstration in 2007 to raise public awareness of the tragedy of his home town, which is constantly under missile attack from the Gaza Strip. About 40,000 people came to Rabin Square in Tel Aviv to show solidarity with the inhabitants of Sderot. In 2010, Oz released his second solo album, Mizmorey Nevochim (Psalms for the Perplexed).
Oz is 5'2".
During his Sfatayim days, Oz had short hairstyles common to young Israeli men of the 1980s. In 1990, he grew his hair out and began wearing ponytails. He shaved his head in 1996 and remains bald to this day.
Discography
- Silonim (Jets), 1988
- Lispor kvasim (Counting Sheep), 1988
- D'ma'ot veYam (Ocean and Tears), 2004
- Mizmorey Nevochim (Psalms for the Perplexed), 2010
- Mizmorim Nosafim (Some More Psalms), 2011