Jeru the Damaja | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Speaking out against what he saw as a decline in rap during the mid-90s, Jeru the Damaja came to the fore as a self-proclaimed prophet and the savior of hip-hop, much as KRS-One had done almost ten years before. Jeru first appeared as a guest on Gang Starrs Daily Operation album, and his own deal with Payday/ffrr appeared soon after, resulting in 1994s The Sun Rises in the East. Though he made few friends in the rap world -- given his outspoken criticism of such popular figures as the Fugees and Sean "Puffy" Combs -- he proved a vital force in the emergence of the new rap consciousness of the late 90s. Raised Kendrick Jeru Davis in Brooklyn, the Damaja began writing rhymes at the age of ten. At high school, he met Guru and DJ Premier of Gang Starr, and first guested on Gang Starrs "Im the Man," from the 1992 album Daily Operation. Jeru toured with the group during 1993 and released his solo debut, Come Clean, for Gang Starrs Illkids label. The single became an underground sensation and led to his contract with Payday Records. He recorded The Sun Rises in the East with DJ Premier producing, and released the album in 1994. Though the album was well-received, Jeru got some flak for the song "Da Bichez" -- though he explicitly stated that most girls did not fit into the category. During 1994, he appeared on Digable Planets second album (Blowout Comb) and recorded his follow-up, Wrath of the Math, with DJ Premier and Guru once again helping out with production. The independent record Heroz4hire followed in early 2000, and his protégé, Afu-Ra, debuted in 2000 with Body of the Life Force. Jeru kept a surprisingly low profile thereafter, though he did appear on a stellar track from Groove Armadas 2001 album Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub). Two years later, another solo album, Divine Design, was released, but it wasnt until 2007 that Jeru made another record, Still Rising. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 6 Title: The Sun Rises in the East Released: 1994-05-24 Tracks: 13 Duration: 38:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Intro (Life) (00:50) 2 D. Original (03:35) 3 Brooklyn Took It (03:22) 4 Perverted Monks in tha House (skit) (01:13) 5 Mental Stamina (02:21) 6 Da Bitchez (03:51) 7 You Can’t Stop the Prophet (03:54) 1 Perverted Monks in tha House (theme) (01:01) 2 Ain’t the Devil Happy (03:44) 3 My Mind Spray (03:44) 4 Come Clean (03:58) 5 Jungle Music (03:50) 6 Statik (03:07) |
| The Sun Rises in the East : Allmusic album Review : DJ Premiers first album-length production outside of Gang Starr was his best by far. Where Premiers productions hadnt shone underneath the cracking, over-earnest vocals of Guru, with a superior stylist like Jeru these tracks became brilliant musical investigations with odd hooks (often detuned bells, keys, or vibes), perfectly scratched upchoruses, and the grittiest, funkiest Brooklynese beats pounding away in the background. Of course, the star of the show was Jeru, a cocksure young rapper who brought the dozens from the streets to a metaphysical battleground where he did battle with all manner of foe -- the guy around the corner on "D. Original" or an allegorical parade of hip-hop evils on "You Cant Stop the Prophet." The commentary about inner-city plagues arising from spiritual ignorance only continued on "Aint the Devil Happy," with Jeru preaching knowledge of self as the only rescue from greed and violence. Jeru also courted some controversy with "Da Bichez," at first explaining, "Im not talkin bout the queens...not the sisters...not the young ladies," but later admitting his thoughts ("most chicks want minks, diamonds, or Benz"). His flow and delivery were natural, his themes were impressive, and he was able to make funky rhymes out of intellectual hyperbole like: "Written on these pages is the ageless, wisdom of the sages/Ignorance is contagious." It lacks a landmark track, but The Sun Rises in the East stands alongside Nas Illmatic (released the same year, and also boasting the work of Premier) as one of the quintessential East Coast records. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 6 Title: Wrath of the Math Released: 1996-10-15 Tracks: 15 Duration: 50:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Wrath of the Math (00:56) 2 Frustrated (03:10) 3 Black Cowboys (03:43) 4 Tha Bullsh**t (02:00) 5 Whatever (03:16) 6 Physical Stamina (03:05) 7 One Day (02:14) 8 Revenge of the Prophet, Part 5 (04:05) 9 Scientifical Madness (04:14) 10 Not the Average (04:23) 11 Me or the Papes (04:25) 12 How Im Livin (04:24) 13 Too Perverted (03:20) 14 Ya Playin Yaself (04:07) 15 Invasion (03:07) |
| Wrath of the Math : Allmusic album Review : Jeru reunited with DJ Premier for this slightly sprawling second record, though fans must have been delirious with joy to find it was similar to -- and usually just as strong as -- his debut. Though its clear Jeru isnt as hungry a rapper as he was two years earlier, he has just as much to say, and hes just as angry with the state of hip-hop and black life in general. Jeru goes into metaphysical drama once again with "One Day," wherein commercial rappers (including Puff Daddy and Foxy Brown) kidnap hip-hop, and continues his comic-book battles with the evils of rap amidst the backdrop of the Big Apple on "Revenge of the Prophet (Part 5)." Jeru also spends plenty of time directly addressing real-life issues, dissecting the crass, money-hungry hip-hop scene on "Scientifical Madness," running a sequel to "Da Bichez" called "Me or the Papes," and preaching more knowledge on "Ya Playin Yaself." His version of the classic braggadocio track comes with "Not the Average" and "Whatever," where he uses knowledge as well as immense skills to foil anyone whos testing him. Though Wrath of the Math did sound similar to Jerus debut, Premier was even more wide-ranging for his backing tracks, ranging from the comparatively atmospheric ("Invasion") to a succession of momentary samples from out of nowhere ("Physical Stamina"). Unfortunately, it was their last time together; perhaps a bit jealous of Premiers sizable profile, Jeru began producing himself with his next record, Heroz4hire. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 6 Title: Heroz 4 Hire Released: 2000-02-22 Tracks: 14 Duration: 45:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Supahuman Theme (01:23) 2 Great Solar Stance (02:55) 3 Verbal Battle (04:20) 4 Bitchez Wit Dikz (03:37) 5 Seinfeld (03:37) 6 Renagade Slave (03:05) 7 Presha (03:32) 8 Supahumanz n Luv (interlude) (00:50) 9 Anotha Victim (03:16) 10 Billie Jean (Safe Sex) (04:21) 11 Blak Luv (04:06) 12 What a Day (02:56) 13 Miz Marvel (03:45) 14 99.9 Pa Cent (03:49) |
 | Album: 4 of 6 Title: Divine Design Released: 2003 Tracks: 16 Duration: 45:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Intro (00:33) 2 Logic (03:26) 3 True Skillz (03:17) 4 Murda 1 (03:13) 5 Baby Rappa (Skit) (01:09) 6 Da Game (03:24) 7 War (02:41) 8 Praise Da Lord (02:47) 9 Rasta Powers (02:54) 10 Zilch the Pimp (02:35) 11 Queens (03:52) 12 Dirty (03:56) 13 Rap Wars (02:21) 14 Rize (01:44) 15 Whatyagonnado (03:33) 16 Divine Design (03:50) |
 | Album: 5 of 6 Title: Still Rising Released: 2007-10-16 Tracks: 16 Duration: 55:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Intro (00:45) 2 The Crack (02:16) 3 The Prophet (04:07) 4 Ghetto (03:17) 5 Murdera (04:11) 6 Quantum Leap (03:49) 7 History 101 (04:22) 8 How Ill (03:32) 9 Will Grow (interlude) (01:08) 10 Dirty Bomb (03:55) 11 NY (02:57) 12 Juss Buggn’ (03:26) 13 Airplay (03:51) 14 Kick Rocks (04:18) 15 Hold Tight (04:38) 16 Streets (05:22) |
| Still Rising : Allmusic album Review : Though both Jeru the Damaja and Nas released their debut LPs in 1994, the former hasnt had the same kind of success and name recognition that his fellow New Yorker enjoys. A big part of this is because Jeru has been nowhere near as prolific. While Nas continued to make albums throughout the 90s and 2000s, some of them with poppy enough hooks that he was able to cross over into new territory, Jeru ditched beatmaker-extraordinaire DJ Premier (which Nas didnt do until much later) after his second album, The Wrath of the Math, came out; he kept on criticizing commercial hip-hip (a move that generally doesnt help radio play), and completed only two albums between 1995 and 2005, neither of which were particularly impressive. Now, with the issuing of Still Rising, a clear allusion to his debut, The Sun Rises in the East, on his own Ashenafi Records, Jeru is trying to re-stake his claim as an East Coast force. With a couple of unknown but generally capable, producers, the MC presents a compelling enough case regarding his verbal authority, both directly ("How Ill," where he spits "Bring peace to the Gaza Strip cause I got so much clout/Mario owe me dope for knocking Donkey Kong out/Wolfgang Puck gave me paper to teach him to cook/J.K. Rowling asked me to write the next Harry Potter book") and indirectly, like in the provocative "Airplay," which takes a close, thoughtful look at society, commenting both on the way blacks have been treated and how they treat themselves, in a way thats not often heard in hip-hop ("Like the days of step-and-fetch-it we still acting like fools/We have the most expensive cars but oldest books in school"). There are some weak points on the record -- the boring closer "Streets," or "Quantum Leap," which is a little too close to Nas mainstream breakout, "If I Ruled the World" -- and theres no real "standout" track, but, as the title implies, this is a process that isnt over, and Still Rising puts Jeru back on the path to MC venerability. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 6 Title: The Hammer Released: 2014-06-17 Tracks: 8 Duration: 18:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Intro (00:31) 2 Point Blank (01:57) 3 So Raw (03:54) 4 Attack the Wack (skit) (00:42) 5 A.R.M.E.D. (02:31) 6 Solar Flares (03:56) 7 The Hammer (03:39) 8 Dr. Freedman (outro) (01:30) |