The Sun Rises In The East

Hard hitting samples, crisp MC delivery, strong lyricism, balance between consciousness and gangster, Brooklyn sound, album cover shows WTC in flames (in 1994!). This one hits hard. Love! Ain't the Devil Happy Da Bichez

Sounds like Jay Z's granddad. I love the historicity of this album, but I also really dig the album itself. Jeru has great flow, good beats, and some truthful rhymes. This will definitely stay in my rotation for a while.

I thought this album was pretty cool. It is very emblematic of early 90s hip hop but it still feels relevant today. He had a nice flow and the album was pretty smooth while still being hard hitting.

Super unique and fun bars and flows. Another underrated throwback rap album that was extremely influential!

Great early 90s NYC rap. The juxtaposition between Jeru The Damaja's easy listening and fun flows with the discordant and jarring beats makes the album still fresh today even with all the hallmarks of the East Coast rap resurgence from that era easily identifiable. I'll be coming back to this for sure.

An underground classic that got lost in the mainstream due to its proximity to other major releases, notably Illmatic. A lot of it didn't age particularly well, but there's some cleverness in the beats (Come Clean) and the lyrics (You Can't Stop the Prophet, among others) that still stands up. Best track: You Can't Stop the Prophet

For the most part, never heard this. I know I’ve heard samples from this though. Pretty good. I enjoy it lyrically and a lot of it still as relevant as the day written.

Day 20 of Albums You Must Hear brings me the second Hip-Hop album so far, The Sun Rises In The East by Brooklyn, NY emcee, Jeru The Damaja. While the rap market was bloated and over saturated in 1994, some of the greatest acts in Rap Music, my first love, dropped their debut albums in 1994. It was a hell of a year. Ready To Die from The Notorious B.I.G., Illmatic from Nas, Creepin’ on ah Come Up from Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, The Most Beautifullest Thing In The World from Keith Murray, Tical From Method Man, Southernplayalisticcadillacmuzik from Outkast, all debut albums from icons, and thats just scratching the surface. The Fugees, Warren G and Da Brat also stepped out onto the scene. On top of all that, established artists like Snoop Doggy Dogg, Ice Cube, 8Ball & MJG, House of Pain and Hammer released music in ’94. Shit, even Shaq had a rap record, and it actually wasn’t total crap! Thats just in hip-hop, 1994 was a great year for music in general. I say all that to justify why Jeru the Damaja wasn’t really on my radar… I knew of Jeru the Damaja and saw the video for his single Come Clean on Rap City on BET and I liked it, it just didn’t stand a chance competing with the above mentioned artists for my attention. Jeru went to high school with Guru and DJ Premier of Gang Starr. When he was featured on the song I’m the Man from their album Daily Operation, doors were opened for the Brooklyn rapper. Come Clean gained a lot of traction with its gritty, authentic New York hip-hop sound. The Sun Rises In The East is entirely produced by DJ Premier. Jeru has a very clean and intelligent flow. You won’t be starved of any witty punchlines, and while the majority of the tone of this album is anti-gangster rap, he uses his distain for that part of the culture to come off pretty aggressive and violent. Jeru’s stance earned him more than a few adversaries with his colleagues at the time. I love Gangsta Rap, so while I recognize the abilities Jeru showcase in this album, its just not in my wheelhouse, as my Uncle Rick would say. Its 1994’s version of “woke music” and their were plenty of NY lyricists like Jeru the Damaja at the time. This might sound sacrilegious to other hip-hop heads, I found Coolio to have more of an impact on Rap. Side note, the cover art for this album depicts Jeru in front of a skyline of Manhattan with the World Trade Center buildings on fire and collapsing, eerie shit. In the end, I appreciate the lyricism on this album and how it stayed authentic to New York hip-hop. It may be among your favorite ’90’s rap albums, it just had way better competition in the genre at the time, in my opinion, to draw me in. With that said, Jeru the Damaja is still active even today and is passionate about his craft. No disrespect intended Mr. Damaja. Please share your thoughts, opinions and memories!!

Didn't like hip-hop then. Don't like it now.

The beats are often very dissonant such as ok D. Original and You Can’t Stop The Prophet. Personally, it’s not my favorite although I think it works better on YCSTP. Da Bichez is almost a good song but the lyrics are really sexist which really ruins it for me. Jeru does mention “I’m not a sexist” on My Mind Spray which honestly makes it worse. I find the hook on Come Clean annoying. That being said, most of the album is enjoyable. I don’t know enough about hip hop to get into specifics but I did like a lot of the beats and I’m sure this album was influential but I can’t help thinking that it hasn’t held as well as some other hip hop albums from that era. Favorite songs: Mental Stamina, Ain’t The Devil Happy, Jungle Music, Statik Least Favorite Songs: D. Original, Perverted Monks In Tha House, Da Bichez, Come Clean Light 5/10

Jeru has formidable intelligence with a freaky-freaky flow. Preemo’s production has a cold menace that’ll make your neck snap. An Essential Combo

Fantastic early-90s east-coast rap.

Good shit, really enjoyed the old school NY rap vibes.

Wordplay that clearly inspired all of modern rap with weirdly addictive beats

Here’s to you Jeff ❤️

Originale, crudo, rap preciso

Classic new york hip hop, gritty beats, and creative samples never heard of this rapper despite being a big hip hop fan and I loved this project the mixing is really bad but I think it really adds to the aesthetic of the album almost all songs are bangers but some of the songs were not as interesting as others but were still good. 9/10

I'm really surprised I've never heard of this album before because it's very much in my wheelhouse. some really clever rhymes, incredible production, and is over before you're even starting to lose interest.

It's hard to beat when both a rapper and a producer are at the top of their game. If I was Guru in 1994, I'd be lowkey pissed, because DJ Premier provides an insane set of beats for this album, and the Damaja more than lives up to his end of the deal. It's dated in the ways most of the era's best boom bap is—the requisite homophobia pops up in Come Clean and "dealin' with bitches is the same old song" in more ways than Jeru likely intends—but otherwise it performs an excellent lyrical balancing act: rugged yet conscious (without feeling overly preachy), delivered in a cadence that would hold you at gunpoint if it wasn't so tired with the gangster act. It even manages to have a bit of fun, with Jeru's spin on Redman-esque superhero storytelling being too corny to take seriously yet too entertaining to dismiss. It's not too shocking that an album like this would land under the radar compared to the Ready to Die and Illmatic crime rhymes that it rebukes, but it stands alongside them as a prime example of NYC hip-hop at its finest. Key Tracks: Mental Stamina, You Can't Stop the Prophet, My Mind Spray

I first heard this album years ago and wrote him off as another failed DJ Premier pet project in the vein of Group Home. After listening to this again, I have no idea what I was on because this is a fantastic album. Jeru has some real dumb lines but he says it all with such command that you can't help but go along with it, same with Premier's production. Easy 5 mics.

In the top 50 of all time

This record maintains the balance of the universe.

I can't believe I hadn't heard this one, but it was obviously good.

How have never heard this. Absolute amazing hip hop album…. I’ll revisiting this bad boy very soon!

A quintessential hip hop album of the mid 90s. This album is such a great encapsulation of east coast rap with its swing beats and its elements of jazz and world music. My only criticism is some of the misogyny in the lyrics though compared to some contemporaries, this album is pretty tame. The flow is acrobatic and the lyrics are clear and often socially conscious.

This is a classic, even though I personally prefer 'Wrath of the Math'. Jeru kicks esoteric knowledge and is a real rap legend. I went to see Jeru at Sub Tub in Umist in the '90s. After the show he went amongst the crowd to meet random people, even though it was mostly drunk students dancing to drum and bass. I vaguely remember seeing someone get punched in the face, but I suppose it was a rap show in the '90s.

Love it - old school sound with cool and unusual samples and beats from DJ Premier plus Jeru the Damaja's unique style.

Great 90s Rap from an artist I didn't know. Enjoyed the whole album.

Hip-Hop classic, the instrumentals are beautifully constructed and they have that marvelous 90's feeling.

I didn't think this was as good as Lauryn Hill's album but still fun to dive into old rap to see the roots of the genre

Are those the twin towers burning in the background? Not a bad album. Great production, and lyrics are mostly a refreshing change than the really gangster-y shit at the time (the f** flambé lyric notwithstanding).

underrated honestly

Solid. Bold. Aggressive. I'd give a 3.5.

The realness

Primo, ne? Hab ich sofort gehört. Und von allem (Prä-2010er) Hiphop den wir hier bisher hatten find ich den auch am besten. Trocken, reduziert, tight und trotzdem lose, dabei mit schönem Hang ins abstrakte (Top Track: Come Clean). Kommt super nachts auf der A3. Außerdem ist Jeru natürlich einer von den Guten, wichtige Antithese zu der ganzen nihilistischen Gangsterscheisse. Klare 4.

Thought the fist half was shit but then the second half was the shit.

Liked it. Old school vibes and good flow.

Love the unpolished gritty sound from early 90s hip hop albums. Plus this is fire and a lot of fun to listen to

The daring tracks in the rap album with a good bit and voice.

A+ DRS Old School Rap with catchy beats.

really enjoyed it

honestly super surprised by this album, 3 or 4 saves and overall a great listen

Like Nas but without the hooks

Good stuff

I can’t tell if I’ve heard of this guy before or not, but the name sounds vaguely familiar. Either way, this is some excellent ‘90s NY hip hop. On first listen of course, I’m paying more attention to production, and I really love this dusty boom nap style. The lyrics I do catch are solid, and the vocal delivery is excellent too. Definitely on the higher end of the hip hop albums we’ve had on the list so far. Favorite tracks: Jungle Music, Come Clean, Perverted Monks in tha House, Statik, D. Original. Album art: Pretty standard art for this era/style of hip hop. But the twin towers burning is a surprising image. This was after a bombing in the ‘90s so it had to have been controversial then, but who could’ve known how controversial it had the potential to become? Maybe Jeru knew, y’know you can’t stop the prophet. 4.5/5

Great! Really liked the album.

I used to score a lot of weed and pussy simply by wearing a t shirt with Jeru on. He was my inspiration, my hero, my lover. He just had to run off with my grandmother, didn't he? He broke my heart. He broke all of our hearts.

I’m a sucker for all this scratching.

Jeru might be a bit intense in spots, but the album is still good.

No standouts to me but good hip hop

ebic hib hop

The early 90's was a great time to be a hip-hop fan. You had the incredible debut of Nas with Illmatic in '94, the explosive Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in '93, A Tribe Called Quest's jazz rap classic The Low End Theory in '91, and many more. Among all these, though, is Jeru the Damaja's debut. It's got classic east coast stylings with boom bap beats, but the interesting part is Jeru's willingness to push the boundaries on the samples. All be frank though, this is just great hip-hop. As far as I'm concerned, Jeru can hang with the rest of them. Wicked.

ægte 90'er

I was not familiar with the artist or any of the songs. However this was a good album and had good beats.

Rude in places (Da Bichez). Catchy early Eminem type vibes. Liked it.

Apparently I like old school hip hop

You can see how the influenced rap music, very good album

Cool, old school hip-hop. Was not familiar at all with this album but it's exactly the kind of thing I would have been into at the time. Kind of amazing what gems got lost in the pre-internet days of music discovery.

Murzynskie gransko wysokich lotow, jeden z mocniejszych debiutow, pan premier na bitach i danaja na zwrotkach, to mocno bijace slonce ze wschodu, na plejce juz mam wystarczajaco trakow z plyty

A hidden gem that came out in the year of hip hop, yet majorly influenced the East Coast scene. Hits hard but still has its fun, interactive moments. Album is very accessible, with funky samples and flow from track to track that is very easy to listen to. With decent tracks from start to finish, lots of creativity, a significant influence on the genre, and nothing that distracts my experience, there's no reason not to give 4 stars. Favorite tracks: D Original, Brooklyn Took It, Da Bitchez, Aint the Devil Happy, Come Clean

Skemmtilegt old school

Good beats, thoughtful lyrics. An era I have not explored enough of.

My one negative takeaway from this song is the borderline nice-guy-ish "Da Bitchez". It's a shame, cos it's a super catchy song, just feel like the message hasn't aged super well. Aside from that, the flows are tight, the lyrics flit between conscious hip-hop and classic, and the beats are great, occasionally showing some dissonance and noisiness. I got Gang Starr earlier in the list, and I still love the beats DJ Premier puts out. Also, massive, massive shoutout to Jeru for making cool little gifs that go along with each song on Spotify. Wasn't expecting that, and it's fun as fuck. Favorite tracks: "Come Clean", "Brooklyn Took It", "Ain't The Devil Happy"

Not sure how ive completely missed this but real solid '90s east coast hip hop.

i'm digging this 90s rap!

They don’t make rap like this anymore

Poetry in rap

Way better than expected, like a mix between Public enemy and Ice-T. And compared to modern rap, this is fucking Mozart. 4/5.

A lot better than I was expecting.

3/24/2022 Today's Album: "The Sun Rises In The East" by Jeru The Damaja - This album is really fun to listen to. I have very little experience with this era of rap, but the funky hip hop beats and fairly impressive flows throughout this project are really just a delight to the ear. It feels like the perfect music for just booling around the city and feeling like a badass with friends. The verses on these tracks are really great and seem to feature a lot of fantastic features, unless if this is just a rap group or Jeru putting on multiple voices. Anyways, There's a ton of diversity of this record and I like all of the interludes throughout the album. There's some great jazz accompaniments that boost the smooth feeling of these songs and there is just such a solid flow from track to track, with many dynamic changes in the sound, without ever feeling out of character. Other than that, it's pretty hard to review anything else about this record. I am pretty new to this genre and dont have a good frame of reference for the lyrical talent behind the record, but the grooves are smooth and theres a ton of character and talent behind the rap verses. Check it out if you like classic hip hop. The best I can compare it to is my very little knowledge of Biggie's top tracks. Score: 8/10 Enjoyed it a lot despite my lack of experience in the genre Highlights: D. Original, Da Bichez, Ain't The Devil Happy, Come Clean, Jungle Music, Statik

I have to admit this is probably the first hip hop album I've listened to fully. And this one is pretty good! The lyrics can get silly at times but the beats are great and the flow is always there.

Straight out of '94 east coast hip-hop. Great stuff, hazy samples and vicious flow. It's a couple of steps behind the classics of that era (Illmatice, 36 Chambers etc.) but it's well worth an inclusion. Best Tracks: D. Original; You Can't Stop the Prophet; Come Clean - E New Y Radio

Debut album from American rapper Jeru the Damaja (lots of the same letters in my name. It confused me at first). Produced by Gang Starr member DJ Premier. The album is credited with helping revive the East Coast hip-hop scene in the 90's along with Wu Tang, Nas, Big L and the Notorius BIG. Kind of ominous with the World Trade Center burning in the background of his album cover (the WTC had been bombed the year before). However, I did not find or interpret this album to be violent or even gansta at all. He seems to be challenging all rappers to his rhyming in a lot the these songs. And, his rhyming is great. I don't have a ton of experience in hip-hop lyrics but this guy sure seems prolific with his sheer number of lyrics per song. His non-stop lyrics are laid perfectly against hypnotic beats and weird and sometimes eerie sampling and sounds. As previously mentioned, Jeru seems to be challenging all comers to a rap-off against him and, in general, East Coast rap as in songs "Brooklyn Took it" and My Mind Spray." He goes anti-gansta in "Ain't that Devil Happy." Although he made some people (evidently The Fugees) angry thinking this to be misogynistic, one my favorite songs on the album is "Da Bichez" where he goes after a specific type of woman; those only after the money. Overall, a very well produced and recorded album. Along with the previously mentioned acts, probably a good place to start and/or experience early- to mid-90's East Coast hip-hop. I'm sure I'll be coming back to this album and scene in the near future.

I previously had only heard of Jeru through him being sampled by DJ Shadow. This is great stuff and with the exception of one dated track really top class Hip Hop.

Gick hårt bortsett från ett spår.

Quality boom bap but a degree under the classics from that era

Likeable but not mind blowing. 3.5 stars. Mental Stamina and Bichez stand out

Some good old classic 90s hip hop to start off the week. Jeru the Damaja sounds nice and indie too… loved this record

Solid rapper.

Best wel lekker old school hip hop album

Enjoyed it more than I thought. Pretty chill

Solid old school hip hop

it was good

Hip-hop de los 90. Pianos, samples de jazz, ... las torres gemelas ardiendo. Suena muy bien y no lo conocía. Algunas veces esta lista de 1001 álbumes te da una alegría. Temas como "You can't stop the prophet". "Ain't the devil happy" o "Come clean" siguen sonando muy bien.

A nice slow, stay-in-your-head, ear jam. Juts out in some tracks more than others

good, short, new

I hadn't heard of this guy buy I'd heard of Gangstarr. I remember the song Bitches, which is catchy but... Overall, Smooth style. Easy to listen to.

Yay. A Hip-Hop album. Bet Bjorno is excitied!? Starts off slowly and its only when "the Bitchez" comes on i start to pay attention (absoloute Jam BTW!). Everything after that is a level above what came before. Especially liked "Jungle Music" and "Ain't the Devil Happy". 3/5 Mainly for the 2nd half of the album.

Not too much to say for me here. Enjoyed the album. Some awesome sampling and rhythm favorite track: Mental Stamina

Again, no trouble. Quite enjoyed this.

Moeilijk begin, daarna ben ik er ingekomen

I gave this a listen but I was multitasking and didn't really pay attention  to the lyrics. I find with RAP in particular you can't really say you like or hate something without listening to the lyrics. Oh well, I didn't hear any "Yo Bitch" or  comments on Cristal Champagne so that's a 3 right?

Listened while working and it was pleasant from start to finish.

Classic hip-hop with the added bonus of referencing being a scientist.

A little bit of a swing and a miss on this one. I agree with Tim that the lyrics, often such a focal point in hip hop, are pretty thin here. And while there are some good beats here, there were a few that didn't quite blow me away either. Favourite track: "D. Original"

It was fine. Old school rap. Jungle Music was a good song

(Swap with The Healer): Chill country

I'll never be a fan of rap. This has great production value, but it's not my thang.

I've never listened to much hip-hop. This was alright.

This starts out really bad, with all the teribbleness of early 90s rap of bad flow and cheesy rhymes, then gets really good with all the awesomeness of early 90s rap, with on-point mixing and samples. Favourite track: "My Mind Spray"

The Sun Rises In The East starts of with a mysterious intro, which is followed by a real hip-hop classic. A tight beat, great rhymes and an edgy off-key piano makes for a great track. "Brooklyn Took It" and "Mental Stamina" have a beat that is too repetitive, with a sharp synthesizer riff that I can't ignore, besides the otherwise great lyrics. Fortunately, "Da Bichez" doesn't have a dominating sharp synth, which makes me appreciate the jazzy swing more. "You Can't Stop The Prophet" and "Ain't The Devil Happy" are the best tracks on the record, extremely tight beat that goes along with an engaging story. "My Mind Spray" and "Come Clean" are honestly underwhelming, maybe even boring in comparison. The last two tracks are alright, but add very little new elements to make the entire record more appealing. A 3/5 is fair.

Solid album. Some of the songs didn't age super well. But we are talking an almost 30 year old album.

Yet another name I know but have not deliberately listened to yet was not expecting that intro, interesting you can hear dj premier production all over this - "Before trains were graffiti proof I used to get loose great samples and scratches over classic early 90s new york rap complete with the kung fu influences very of its time "Until then, ain't the Devil happy" "even Men of Steel rust" like "Like Water For Chocolate" by common the standout here is dj premier Come Clean I have definitely heard this beat before but of course comes the casual homophobia of the 90s - "I snatch fake-gangster emcees and make 'em faggot flambé" but I think I recognise it because of the onyx song and not this song 3 - decent, could stick on again but a low 3 but i am more likely to look to the rest of his discophraphy to see so would give a 2.5 leaning to a 3

Not quite my style.

Not my usual taste but it's good for me to branch out. I especially liked the tail end of this album. Good hip hop album to jam out to

Blijft nog altijd niet mijn genre, maar ik had niet de drang om het af te zetten

Another hip hop album that I quite enjoyed. Good music, rhythmic vocals. Usual questionable lyrics - Da Bitchez!

It's not my genre; I don't listen to hip hop. That being said, I can understand why this album would be on this list. This is one of the few times that the predecessor is just as good as the albums it inspired a year or two later. Sure the mix could use some work as the beat overpowers the words a lot, but other than that it's great. Favorite track: You Can't Stop The Prophet

Overall, I thought this album was alright. Not as great as the other Hip Hop albums we have seen here. Honestly, nothing stood out to me in this album to make it memorable....that is...except for one thing. I had to do a little research on this but funny enough, the famous song from this album is Come Clean. Well, that happens to be the only song where I caught something. "Don't provoke the wrath of this rhyme inventor, cause I blow up spots like the World Trade Center"....within this verse there is also something about flying like a jet. Not ONLY that but this album cover has him crouching next to what appears to be the twin towers burning. Mind you...this album came out in 1994 so while the album itself wasn't that exciting, this entire thing will stay with me forever. Jeru the Damaja possibly knew about 9/11 seven years before it happened. He was ahead of the game (and I tried to find what Damaja meant, maybe seer or prophet, but all I could find was that there was a Brahman in Indian text called Damaja).

The sound of a jug of thick cream lashing against the pert behind of an Argentinian tango dancer...probably.

adequate.

This bounces along in the usual style. No stand out.

Very interesting album. Hip hop is the genre that has continued to surprise with consistently fine albums. 3.5 🌟

Didn't really speak to me until I got to "Ain't the devil happy". May be my whiteness or my relative normalcore tastes, but overall it wasn't hugely for me. But the nuggets that reached me told me there's something here.

it's good sounds like explicit versions of the beats that play in the knuckles and rouge levels in sonic adventures battle 2 DX Could totally imagine every song as the theme for Shadow the Hedgehog, straight 90's

Listened to most of this album, busy day kept me from finishing. Solid rhymes throughout but the lo-fi Wu-Tang-esque beats were really what propelled me through the album. Jeru has an original flow and is definitely entertaining to listen to, but I never found that standout track.

East Coast hip hop... Lyrics seem to be focused on business... Again, hip hop is not a fave but there were some good stories told in the lyrics.

fine. very repetitive 90s rap to me.

inte lika bra som ganstarr, men ändå bra

I liked to know this new hip-hop album, but for me, it's just more of the same thing that I already know. I understand the importance of it in a historical way, but I didn't get much from it

Pretty solid 90s hip hop. Classic DJ Premier Boom Bap production, but noting super stunning. Good rhymes and concepts, but again not much stands out. Fav track: Mental Stamina.

Debut album by American hip hop rapper Jeru the Damaja, released May 24, 1994 and called as the best Damaja's album by the critics. It is considerably significant in hip hop, as it contributed to the revival of the East Coast hip hop scene.

Great driving music!

Leuke eenmalige listen

Nice listening experience. Hate to say I didn’t grow up listening to hip hop, but I’m eager to hear more from this era.

Ca sonne bien, bon rap, bon beat, bonne realisation classique de brook’yn. Dj premier 3.65

Un poco rollo, pero te hace mover la cabeza con ritmo.

Hip-hop. Ni fu ni fa.

Rap. Geile Beats hier, das ist so peak harte Boom Bap Produktion, die Drums pushen richtig rein. Das verzerrte Klavier auf dem 2. Track kommt sehr genial. Ich hätte gehofft dass das ganze weiter so experimentell bleibt, so bleibts nur solide. Die Lyrics, bzw was ich davon so aufgeschnappt hab, wirken sehr verrückt und durchdacht. Ich glaube das könnte ein Grower sein, aber ich schätze dafür holt mich der Stil nicht mehr genug ab. Starke 3!

kA nicht ganz gehört aber die ersten paar tracks waren ganz cool

definitiv hip hop definitiv ganz ok definitiv ich werde es nicht nochmal anhören

Jo keine Überraschungen hier, ein 90er Rap-Album was gut durchfließt. Nichts besonderes, aber schon wohl interessant genug. Sehr in Ordnung halt. 6/10

A 90s rap album I was not familiar with. Listened to int once. Sounds fine but made less impact than some other albums from that period, so will give it a 3.

Seems like standard old school rap/hip hop to my untrained rap ear. Nothing really stands out for me, but it doesn't turn me off like some rap does. It's okay...

few interesting beats and not bad flow, typical black old school hip hop; 3-

Filthy beats, filthy lyrics. Good example of non violent gangster rap from the 90s but prefer lyrics that are more thoughtful

Good hip-hop. Nothing to blow me away. Will definitely have you tapping feet. Top 10 album covers that haven't aged well. Highlights: You Can't Stop the Prophet, D. Original, Come Clean, Jungle Music

Its good for what it is, but its all a bit childish really

Brash hip hop, musically very good but some fairly misogynistic lyrical stylings make this a tough listen

Love the flow, the delivery. Agree with the review that said parts didn’t age well, but good stuff.

Cool and good

man, i wanted to love but it felt solid but not incredible. a couple great tracks, nice production overall. i had never heard of this one though so it was nice to find something new!

Interesting for a one time listen, not my style.

Jeru the Damaja is a very talented rapper, the vocals and clarity are certainly noticeable. A little bit of digging through the history of hiphop, particularly in the early 90s, it certainly shows the maturity and shift of the genre, and this album helps put that into perspective. The times have changed, where such talent seems to have been set aside for singles and quick success rather than intentional hiphop albums by artists that truly care about their productions. This review may be biased through the lens of history, but the point remains. Jeru the Damaja, and this album are a credit to more intentional times where hiphop and rap could be seen as valuable contributions to music and a constructive society.

Best Song: Brooklyn Took It. Excellent flow, vocals drip feed a the perfect rate. Worst Song: Da Bichez. Kinda disappointing that a song this misogynistic slaps so hard. Overall: A lot of older hip hop has a short shelf life, if only because the genre changes and transforms so frequently, but this still works decades later. Great voice and a great collection of beats.

It sounds amazing and the bits are great but my English and knowledge of the artist's background are too limited to fully appreciate his album.

Even if Robert Dimery’s hip-hop choices are fairly questionable, this is a fine album, if a bit stereotypically 2conscious4u as some 90s rap albums are. It’s also tastefully short

Eeeh

9. There's a jump in the intro? Someone didn't edit this properly 💀 The piano is literally terrible It just sounds incomplete and messy They need a proper pianist so bad 😭 Vocally completely fine! Mental Stamina could have been good if not for the weird high pitched sound throughout, makes it almost unlistenable. It also stutters a bit and it just sounds wrong??? Faves - Da Bichez, You Can't Stop The Prophet, Ain't The Devil Happy Overall - I had to listen to half this album before getting to something even somewhat listenable... Lyrics/vocals fine, music BAD Rating - 2/5

1994: You Can't Stop The Prophet, Come Clean - E New Y Radio

was okay

Not for me, I get it, just don't like it.

It's all same

Standard hip hop. Nothing special

Average hip hop / rap

awesome flow and grooves. 2.5

Cool but nothin crazy

An eerie album art

It was a fine record, didn't grab me for the most part.

Del Hip Hop, al no entender las letras, me quedo con lo buenas o malas que sean sus bases. En este caso, no me ha enganchado.

2/5 May have been more noteworthy and original in its initial conception, however feels like ground that has been trodden so many times that it feels somewhat pastiche.

Rap der alten Schule, eigentlich gut, musste ich dennoch gegen Ende abschalten, aber nicht weil so schlimm, sondern weil schon nach 3, 4 Stücken klar wird das „Abwechslungsreichtum“ nicht auf der Karte steht. Albumcover hat doch schon das SEGA Mega Drive Spiel „Shinobi“ geziert, oder? Punkte: 1.6

Vielleicht hätte das Buch eher 808 alben geheißen, das würde alles etwas konzentrieren. Nichts gegen Jeru, aber für den Nichtspezialisten ist es in meinen Ohren nicht speziell genug.

Not for me - Da Bitches is alright though

Sounds a bit dated Not for me

More 90s rap. Seems fine. Not exciting.

I just like beats and backing tracks on hip hop. Lyrics and the rap pass me by.

Nah

Pretty much what you would imagine if you were asked to picture generic 90s Gangsta Rap.

Inte min grej, liksom inget speciellt, känns som jag hört det förr. Hade satt 2,5

Best track: Jungle Music

More authentic than fun loving criminals, less fun.

Not really feeling some of the lyrics here from Jeru. The beats and atmosphere of the songs are pretty much on par with some of the Wu Tang Clan's albums, he's got a great gritty voice, but the lyrics seem to let down the rest of the record. Maybe I'm missing something, but some of the songs felt really hollow. Fav Tracks: D. Original

I tried. Never found a way to grab me. Admittedly the genre has never been in my wheelhouse completely. Would ordinarily give it a repeat listen, but it's almost like one complete listen told me everything I needed to know.

ожидал от диджея примьера большего

best Tracks: D. Original, Brooklyn Took It, Da Bichez, Come Clean Worst Tracks: Ain't the Devil Happy, My Mind Spray Can't stop the prophet (pete rock remix) is way better than this version., gets grating , got bored and wanted it to end so I can listen to a more fun rap album.

meh

I find myself not particularly liking the subject matter of this album this morning, which despite the good beats and rapping ability, drops my rating to a 2-star level.

2.5

It was OK for what it was. Not really my thing but I didn't actively hate it.

90s hip hop. Not great overall

meh

Definitely early 90's rap. Seemed pretty repetitive. Did not like Da Bichez... really bad lyrics. Overall, not my thing.

A second hip hop album that pretty much underwhelmed me. It was the first genre I fell for but I guess I'm happy just listening to the hip hop I know, and not too hot on looking for something new.

Not terrible, not amazing - some very 90's references and attitudes. Clearly very proud of Brooklyn. Will not be listening again

ist ganz gut so kann man hören, aber uff da bichez ist der lameste uncoolste dümmste track ever

The instrumentals were good but the lyrics didn't stand the test of time, some of the songs were just cringeworthy.

A bit crap 90s rap. At least there weren't any poorly-aged or downright bad skits

Not a fan, no songs I liked. 0/5

I liked absolutely nothing about this album, for which I must congratulate the contributors. I can usually find some redeeming feature. A song here or there will perk my interest. But this has none of that. Quite a feat.

I'm confused. How is this supposed to be worth listening to?

Too old, I guess...

Terrible - not my style at all

Not my cup of tea

Nothing but noise. No thanks

I turned off at "Da Bichez"

No es lo mío. Se me hizo muy cuesta arriba. Nada me llama la atención.

What the actual hell was that

I'm a big hip hop fan, and jeru has a revered reputation, but it's pretty shite. Decent beats at times but nothing grabs you. One for the purists... 2.5/10

No thanks

Nonsense

Not my thing.

Not particularly interesting

very 90s rap. not so great tho

Bah, uninspiring

More unlistenable hip hop garbage. This genre does nothing for me and I’m struggling to find any differences or stand outs among the different artists to date. Still listening to each track and trying to be objective while staying loyal to this process but it will take a serious hip hop album to raise more than 2 stars for me. I’m listening to these albums in the morning and I’m not irritable then. Maybe I’m being harsh or maybe I expected more of these albums to talk to me earlier in the list

What's the hype about this one? I don't really get it. The instrumentation is incredibly frustrating and the lyricism feels pretty basic. The keys are enough reason to turn off any song of this that comes up. I don't really care for any of the hooks either.

Not a fan….

Wie so häufig bei hip-hop belanglos und von Track zu Track immer anstrengender. Nach dem 6 oder 7 habe ich die Songs zum Ende hin übersprungen.

Cacophonous and thoroughly discordant, lyrically confused; can't even get misogyny right. absolute shit

A couple of tracks were OK but this is really not the sort of music ( if you can call the rest of it music ) that appeals to me. 1*

nope

Lots of misogyny in their despite what he claims. Like the minimal backing music,

Odotin nimen perusteella jotain maailmanmusiikkia, mutta peettymys oli suuri, kun tulikin Brooklyniläistä ysäriräppiä. Ei temmannut mukaansa ja sanomakin oli ainakin paikoittain aika seksististä. Kuuluu tietty tuohon aikakauteen, mutta ei toiminut ainakaan nyt.

Nerviger Rap über Rap mit dummen lyrics und uninteressanter persona. Der Bitches track ist unerträglich ekelhaft. Ich wette das ist sowas was Savas richtig cool fand

Kind of similar to almost every early 90's rap album included on this list so far. Largely anonymous and forgettable in my opinion 1.5/5

This is a new artist and new music for me. Jeru the Demaja has some good beats, and is a talented rapper with some clever rhymes. Unfortunately, I don't want to listen to the content of the tracks. Many of the tracks I did not like, but there was one track that clarified that this whole album gets 1 star.