Reviews (page 2 of 7)
Heaps of family samples, and dope tracks. Up loud relive the hay day
A near perfect rap album
Wow I can’t believe I’ve never heard of him before, but I was impressed by this album. While both are great, I’d consider east coast rap superior. I will definitely be checking out more of his albums.
What the heck amazing?! The root of some Dilated Peoples samples?! Super fun. Really good. Good vibes!
Although I had never heard of Jeru The Damaya before seeing this the album cover alone screams classic 90’s hip hop and this project really does not disappoint. This album is filled with slick rhymes, abstract beats and little MF Doom-like skit snippets throughout with no filler whatsoever, I wouldn’t be surprised if Joey Bada$$ took inspiration from this album for his mixtape 1999 as there are a good handful of moments on here that remind me of that project, classic Brooklyn hip hop. I particularly enjoy the unorthodox piano on the track ‘D.Original’ and the catchy hook on ‘Da Bichez’. Despite the stripped back production making way for more lyrical focus the beats on this record kept me listening and that’s why I find this to be such a great record, because there’s that balance
DJ Premier beats en goede old school east coast rap. Kende alleen mental stamina, wat ik wel echt een goed nummer vind net als de rest van het album eigenlijk. Staat blijkbaar in het rijtje met east coast classics uit die tijd waar ik het nu ook mee eens ben
This album fucking rules. If you need introduce somebody to 90s rap, do it with this album. Beats are great and interesting--I'll always for jazz-inspired beats like on Da Bichez. Lyrics are great and important, flow is great. Favorite tracks: Da Bichez, Ain't the Devil Happy. Honorable mentions to Mental Stamina and My Mind Spray
cool
Ovo je taj pravi hladni pa čak i mračni east coast klasik, 4.5, no cap. DJ Premier je napravio svoj posao kako on samo zna sa produkcijom. Esencijalan album za east coast. U ovom slučaju dajem peticu (4.5), jer ono, jeben album od glave do pete, no skips.
Love it - old school sound with cool and unusual samples and beats from DJ Premier plus Jeru the Damaja's unique style.
How have never heard this. Absolute amazing hip hop album…. I’ll revisiting this bad boy very soon!
I can't believe I hadn't heard this one, but it was obviously good.
This record maintains the balance of the universe.
In the top 50 of all time
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.
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.
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
Originale, crudo, rap preciso
Here’s to you Jeff ❤️
Wordplay that clearly inspired all of modern rap with weirdly addictive beats
Good shit, really enjoyed the old school NY rap vibes.
Fantastic early-90s east-coast rap.
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
If you don't like Jeru then you're Ignorant, simple as. Also that DJ Premier production, this is that Science.
Wauw, dit was een fijne verrassing! De beats zijn heerlijk lofi, soms zelfs bijna overdreven. Waar veel albums uit deze tijd zich typeren door wat agressievere beats en raps is dit eigenlijk een soort proto lofi hiphop. Zonder dit album geen Loyale Carner zeg maar. Het doet me soms ook denken aan A tribe called quest, maar dan wel iets meer richting de brag n boast hiphop van bijvoorbeeld NWA. Wel duidelijk minder agressief, maar nog steeds word er een hoop verteld over het rauwe straat leven. Eigenlijk is 1 vergelijking bijna onvermijdelijk: Illmatic natuurlijk! Jeru is lang niet zo goed als Nas, maar dat is geen schande gezien dat een van de beste albums ooit gemaakt is. Dit album is lekker, niet te lang en blijft zichzelf precies genoeg innoveren om je aandacht vast te houden. Bijna niets op aan te merken dus, maar het mist voor mij gewoon de Wow factor om dit 5 sterren te geven. Dit album is gewoon heel goed. En dat is geen schande. Favo: Mental stamina, Da Bichez, Jungle Music, Statik
I have not heard this before, at least I don’t think I have. I have heard Jeru The Damaja but the last time was back in college, and I’ve forgotten what he sounds like so I might have heard this before and forgot. Most of these songs sound familiar, so I probably did hear this before. It’s got a lot of that stripped down piano line sampling that wu-tang used so well and the lyrics I heard were pretty strong too, I listened to this while working and while driving so there were parts I didn’t pay close attention to. Altogether pretty great album.
Pretty sick album but what the fuck is that album cover lol
I’d be curious to see what the book says about this album. I do enjoy it but I don’t know if I’d say it really shines in any particular way. It sort of feels like a lesser Wu Tang solo album.
There are some records where the first job is not deciding whether you like them. The first job is working out what kind of listening they require. This was one of those. I do not think this is an album that benefits from being approached as “rap music” in some broad, lazy category sense, because that makes it too easy for the sceptical listener to dismiss it before it has even started. There is very little here that is trying to win over a listener who wants melody, warmth, harmonic development, instrumental soloing, or the sound of a band moving together in a room. But that is not a limitation. It is the point. This is hip-hop stripped back to its load-bearing elements: MC, DJ, beat, scratch, loop, breath, timing, voice, discipline and proof. Almost everything else is treated with suspicion. Gloss is suspect. Luxury is suspect. Commercial ease is suspect. Even conventional musical comfort feels suspect. The whole record seems to operate from the position that embellishment is where corruption gets in. That makes the production absolutely crucial. DJ Premier does not decorate the rapper. He builds hard little rooms for him to stand in. A bashed piano sample. A clipped drum break. A scratch used like punctuation. A strange little plinking sound that becomes less a hook than a signal. Small flashes of jazz-funk colour, but never enough to let the record become plush or comfortable. It is austere, but not empty. The sparseness is the argument. Again and again, the record asks: if we take almost everything away, who can still stand? That is also where the MC’s style becomes more interesting than it may first appear. He is not flashy in the obvious sense. He does not overwhelm the listener with speed, vocal gymnastics, theatrical charm or melodic invention. His delivery is clipped, severe, declarative. He often sounds less like an entertainer than a man issuing corrective notices over drums. But the lack of flash is deceptive. The technical skill is in the control: breath, stress, attack, articulation, timing, and the ability to keep thought moving rhythmically under pressure. One early track makes that explicit. It is not just about rhyme. It is about flow. The voice becomes a rhythm instrument, and the pleasure comes from hearing a mind move through a hard grid without slipping. That reminded me, oddly, of listening to great blues guitar the day before. Not because the music sounds remotely similar, but because both depend on fluency inside an idiom. A guitarist can demonstrate mastery through phrasing, placement, restraint, tone and timing. Here, the instrument is mouth, lungs, memory, vocabulary and nerve. Different form. Same basic principle: knowing the language well enough to make a phrase land exactly where it has to land. The album is also more conceptually layered than I expected. At first, it is tempting to hear the title idea as simple East Coast reassertion: New York telling the rest of hip-hop not to mistake commercial momentum elsewhere for cultural ownership. That reading is there, especially given the timing and the sound. But as the record develops, “the East” feels older and deeper than the American east coast. The record’s imaginative geography seems to run backwards through Brooklyn, through Black musical memory, through ritual rhythm, through African antiquity. Brooklyn is not presented as the original source so much as the current enforcement office. It is where the matter is being handled now. That gives the album its severity. It is not treating hip-hop as disposable entertainment. It is treating it as a discipline that has been diluted, misnamed, commercialised, misunderstood and abused. The task is to clean the form, strip away the fake glamour, and return to source. The strongest single statement of that idea is the famous minimal track built around that odd, spare, dripping/plinking sound. It is astonishingly bare. No lushness. No comfort. No crossover sweetener. No reassuring chord sequence for the unconverted. Just beat, voice, scratch, space and authority. It feels like a back-to-basics clarion call: stop faking, remove the gloss, prove it on the mic. That, to me, is the clearest answer to the question “why should anyone have to listen to hip-hop before they die?” Because a record like this demonstrates that hip-hop can build a complete musical world from pressure, repetition, voice, negative space and rhythmic authority. If someone hears only “talking over beats,” they are not hearing the form on its own terms. They are asking it to become something else before they will grant it legitimacy. The record has a daft side too, and I liked that more than expected. There is crew mythology, kung-fu language, lyrical combat, and one track that turns the rapper into a kind of conscious-rap superhero battling personified moral forces. It is ridiculous. There are organ stabs. There is a villain addressing The Prophet. It briefly becomes an audio comic book about social decay. But the commitment is total, and that saves it. The silliness is not throwaway. It is part of the world-building. The album is stern, but it is not without imagination. There is one serious flaw, though, and it is not a small one. At one point, after building a case around discipline, skill, wisdom, clarity and higher perception, the album collapses into ordinary mid-90s misogynistic rubbish. That matters more here than it might on a less self-consciously moral record. This album is not presenting itself as dumb entertainment. It is presenting itself as correction. It claims to detect corruption. So when its own judgement fails, the failure is structural. The inspector fails his own inspection. That stops it being a great album in the fullest sense. Its wisdom is incomplete. Its severity can become stiff. Its authority is damaged by one of its own blind spots. It can lecture. It can overclaim. It is easier to admire than to love. But I do admire it. By the end, the record reduces its argument almost to absurdity. The claim is not merely “I can rap over a beat.” It is closer to: give me crackle, give me static, give me almost nothing, and I can still impose flow on it. That is a proper closing boast. The MC does not require comfort. Skill creates order. So I land on a strong but not uncomplicated four. Somewhere around 3.7 to 4.1 feels right. It is brilliantly coherent, seriously flawed, and absolutely belongs in the conversation.
Just some damn good 90's hiphop, simple as. 4.5 bumped down to 4.
I was completely unfamiliar with this album prior to this. A great selection of beats from DJ Premier with lyrics and flows that for the most part really work with them. Sometimes he stumbles a little like I don’t think the flow on My Mind Spray really works. No filler here and it doesn’t outstay its welcome. Favorites were Da Bichez, You Can’t Stop The Prophet, Ain’t The Devil Happy, and Come Clean.
Good album, had a great beat.
How can this record not be more popular? Banger after banger, great vibes.
Really good hip hop
First few songs were not my taste but good after that
Très sympa ! Toujours chouettes les albums hip hop de la liste
Solid
Have heard of him, but never listens. This is very cool 90s hip hop. Lacks the hooks of wu tang but beats are cool. 3.5 rounded up Heard before? No Owned: No 75/298 (25%) Will I get: Already have
I rock with the production. Kind of a Mobb Deep/Wu Tang feel. He sounds like GZA.
An all-time great
그들 특유의 사운드가 마구들어간 앨범
90s rap still reigns supreme in my book, with early to mid 2000s probably right behind it, and this is another good example of why. Just a really solid 90s rap album. It’s got that gritty, stripped down feel where it doesn’t need a bunch of extra polish to work. Sharp delivery and lyrics. Favorite song: D. Original
def want to relisten. it was great background music!
The beats are pretty good. Some great rhymes in here. First time I hear about this guy tho
Never heard of Jeru before. dope east coast 90's hip hop tho. That beat on D.Original is insane.
This is just more proof that 1994 was the all time best year for music ever. This does feel a little like someone heard 36 Chambers and did their best impression of it, but he's a solid enough vocalist and Premier is a solid enough producer to give it a solid identity that lets it escape that idea. I still don't get though why rappers in the 90s were like allergic to not saying the f slur. It's really not that hard to just like not say it, and they just couldn't do it. Crazy stuff, but the album still goes crazy. Favorites: D. Original, Ain't the Devil Happy, Jungle Music
I liked the beats and overall vibe of this album. Liked Songs Added: Mental Stamina
The slower Eastside rapping is something I can kinda enjoy.
Like the Gang Starr album, this feels like it should be better known. Catchy, unusual samples that feel like RZA-ish beats punched up a notch, with largely solid rhymes. Added multiple songs to playlists (Mental Stamina, Come Clean, My Mind Spray). Only spoiled by the occasional dumb sketch (or interlude) that plagued so many 90s albums. And can’t help sighing at the irony of rapping you’re not a misogynist in a deeply misogynistic song.
This is actually much better than the label of mind-90's hardcore hiphop would suggest - clever lyricism and great delivery over some really inventive and complimentary beats!
DJ Premier always has one of the best New York hop hop beats. But I do admit I prefer when Guru is on the microphone (but Jeru is no slouch for early 90s skills).
Somehow missed this one despite believing myself to be a bit of a hip-hop head. I do love the flow and anything with Premier is of course great. This feels quite important but this is released in 1994, the same year as Illmatic, as another NY rapper. This isn't anywhere near Illmatic by any means. Good but not groundbreaking.
A hero of East New York
3.5
Classic. Some of the production on this album are wild with melody bits on top that are so far front in the and so prominent that it's almost like Jeru is sparring with the beat instead of rapping over it
I'm glad I discovered this one, there were so much great hip hop albums in 1994 I guess it was easy to miss that one unfortunately
Great old school boom bap hip-hop always hits hard!
Powerful flow and the rhymes are intricate, smart story telling while maintaining dynamic flow. The beats are basic scratching and 808, but still well produced. Really solid 90s rap.
Really good! Insane beats and interesting narratives 🙌
Very underrated album. Glad it was on this list.
Favorite songs are "Ain't the Devil Happy" and "Come Clean". In the 90's, my high school friends were obsessed with Wu Tang and Nas, and we would drive around the southern suburbs on our way to the country club bumping east coast rap in the new cars our parents bought us. There was something alluring and provocative in this transgression; it was defiant, it was cool, and it was culturally necessary. I'm so surprised I've never heard of Jeru the Damaja before, or maybe I did at a catered pool party and just don't remember, but this is so freaking good I already know I'm bumping this in the school pick up line or on my way to hot yoga and day drinking margaritas tomorrow. Also, the album is short, not weighed down with unnecessary skits and collaborator shout outs, so it gets right to the point and I appreciate that.
# In-Depth Review: *The Sun Rises In The East* by Jeru The Damaja (1994) ## Overview Released on May 24, 1994, *The Sun Rises In The East* stands as one of the most distinctive debuts of hip-hop's golden age. Produced entirely by DJ Premier at the peak of his powers, the album captures a 22-year-old Jeru The Damaja at his most righteous and hungry, delivering a raw, uncompromising vision of Brooklyn hip-hop that deliberately stood apart from the era's dominant gangsta rap and shiny suit trends . --- ## Production: DJ Premier's Mad Science This album represents Premier's most experimental and left-of-center work. Freed from the jazz-loop foundations of his Gang Starr productions, Premier crafted a sonic landscape that was stark, dissonant, and utterly unique . **Key Production Techniques:** - **"Come Clean"**: Premier's most famous beat on the album, built from Shelley Manne's percussion intro on "Infinity," manipulated to sound like Chinese water torture—dripping, banging, and relentless - **"D. Original"**: Intentionally off-key piano chords paired with off-beat drum patterns that shouldn't work but absolutely do - **"Statik"**: A minimalist masterpiece using literal vinyl static and pops as a primary element, creating the grimiest possible soundscape - **"Ain't The Devil Happy"**: Haunting strings and cinematic piano stabs that rank among Premier's finest work Premier's approach here was crate-digging as archaeology—unearthing bizarre sounds and making them hip-hop. The result is production that feels simultaneously primitive and futuristic, stripped-down yet incredibly dense . --- ## Lyrics & Flow Jeru's vocal presence is immediately striking: a deep, booming monotone that commands attention through sheer force of will rather than melodic variation. His flow is intentionally unorthodox—stopping, starting, shifting tempos mid-verse, refusing to sit comfortably within the pocket . **Lyrical Strengths:** - **Internal rhyme schemes**: "Deviant monks attack the mic, it's mental pandemonium / And then some, you go for your handgun" ("Mental Stamina") - **Five Percent ideology**: Heavy emphasis on "knowledge of self," mathematics, and spiritual enlightenment - **Anti-materialism**: Consistent attacks on gun culture, drug dealing, and fake gangster posturing—"Leave your nines at home and bring your skills to the battle" - **Narrative ambition**: "You Can't Stop The Prophet" casts Jeru as a superhero battling personified evils (Ignorance, Jealousy, Envy) with cinematic storytelling Jeru references kung-fu films (*Man With The Bronze Arm*) and anime (*Fist Of The North Star*), creating a nerdy-but-street persona that was genuinely novel in 1994 . --- ## Themes ### Knowledge of Self & Five Percent Philosophy The album functions as a spiritual manual, constantly urging listeners toward enlightenment and away from ignorance. Jeru positions himself as a teacher and prophet, delivering "truth" with evangelical fervor . ### Brooklyn as Mecca Tracks like "Brooklyn Took It" celebrate the borough's toughness and authenticity while acknowledging its struggles. Jeru paints East New York as both battleground and classroom . ### Anti-Commercialism & Anti-Gangsterism Jeru explicitly positioned himself against both West Coast gangsta rap and the emerging shiny suit aesthetic. His disdain for "fraudulent MCs" and materialism feels genuine, if occasionally preachy . ### Social Commentary "Ain't The Devil Happy" and "Jungle Music" explore systemic oppression, the African diaspora, and how music connects Black Americans to their heritage. The closing track "Statik" serves as a final warning about societal decay . --- ## Influence & Legacy Despite modest commercial performance (peaking at #36 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums), the album's influence is substantial : - **DJ Premier's reputation**: Cemented his status as hip-hop's most innovative producer in 1994—a year where he also produced *Hard To Earn*, contributed to *Illmatic* and *Ready to Die* - **Alternative hip-hop blueprint**: Provided a template for conscious, boom-bap revivalists who rejected commercial trends - **Underground classic**: Consistently ranked among the greatest hip-hop albums; *Rolling Stone* placed it at #155 on their 2022 list of the 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time - **Video game presence**: "You Can't Stop The Prophet" featured on *NBA 2K16* soundtrack, curated by Premier himself The album proved that hip-hop could be intellectually rigorous without sacrificing grit or street credibility. --- ## Pros | Strength | Details | |----------|---------| | **Revolutionary Production** | Premier's most experimental work—waterphones, off-key pianos, static loops—sounds like nothing else from the era | | **Lyrical Density** | Jeru's internal rhymes and wordplay remain impressive; "Mental Stamina" won *The Source*'s "Rhyme of the Year" in 1994 | | **Cohesive Vision** | Single-producer, single-MC format creates unified aesthetic; no filler tracks | | **Authenticity** | Genuine street perspective combined with intellectual depth; avoids preachiness through sheer conviction | | **Timeless Boom-Bap** | Despite experimental elements, the drum programming and sampling remain quintessentially hip-hop | | **Narrative Range** | From superhero tales ("Prophet") to personal history ("Jungle Music") to battle raps ("Come Clean") | --- ## Cons | Weakness | Details | |----------|---------| | **Monotonous Flow** | Jeru's deep, steady delivery lacks melodic variation; can feel exhausting over a full album | | **Preachy Tone** | The righteous teacher persona occasionally overpowers the music; "Da Bichez" tries to justify its misogyny with disclaimers that make it worse | | **Dated Gender Politics** | "Da Bichez" and "Come Clean" contain casual misogyny and homophobia that haven't aged well, despite Jeru's attempts to distinguish "queens" from "bitches" | | **Lack of Humor** | The "extremely serious vibe" (*Rolling Stone*) can feel heavy-handed; Jeru's superhero narratives occasionally tip into unintentional corniness | | **Limited Commercial Appeal** | Intentionally abrasive sound and anti-materialist message meant it was always destined for cult status rather than mainstream success | | **Afu-Ra's Limited Presence** | The sole feature on "Mental Stamina" leaves the album feeling slightly insular; more collaborative moments could have added variety | --- ## Conclusion *The Sun Rises In The East* is a singular achievement—a debut that announced Jeru as a major voice while showcasing DJ Premier at his most creatively unhinged. It's an album that demands attention: the production is too weird to ignore, the lyrics too dense to dismiss. While its moral absolutism and occasionally preachy tone can grate, the sheer artistic vision on display is undeniable. Thirty years later, it remains a testament to what happens when an MC and producer operate in perfect sync, willing to sacrifice commercial potential for creative integrity. For listeners seeking the raw, uncompromising essence of mid-90s Brooklyn hip-hop—unfiltered by industry concerns or trend-chasing—this album is essential .
Some of the songs are a little too out there lyrically for me (Da Bitchez is just comically funny with it's wierd ass misogyny), but still overall not too bad. Nice beats and interesting choice of samples. 8/10.
pretty funny and excellent storytelling, shaking my head whenever Da Bichez comes on so people know I don't agree favourite track: You Can't Stop The Prophet
8.5/10 I really enjoyed the beats on this, I found it more enjoyable during the less serious parts but it's a really good album overall.
Fine East Coast hip hop
Yes it does
This was solid. Good sounds and an easy listen. Had me moving for a bit.
Yes, better than expected. I like this kinda rap. 3-4 stars, I think 4
Blimey. This is one from my youth. I can remember the excitement I felt when I listened to “Come Clean” for the first time, having bought it entirely based on a review in a magazine. It’s still an amazing sounding track. The album itself has not aged quite as well as I’d hoped - there’s definitely an uncomfortable amount of casual misogyny & homophobia, despite Jeru’s positioning of himself as diametrically opposed to the “fake gangster MCs” of the time - but Jeru’s flow is still a wonderful thing to behold, his wordplay & references are on point throughout. Primo puts in one of his best sets outside of Gang Starr (at this point) and it sums up why for so many of us, this period of East Coast hip hop really was head and shoulders above anything else coming out. It’s abstract, dense, ambitious and really, really clever.
Before starting on the 1001 albums project, I didn’t really like hip hop, but I feel like it’s because I never listened to stuff like this. While not as lyrically impressive as some of its contemporaries, this album delivers the same sonic satisfaction.
good fun fresh
Really enjoyed it! I really like the sparse, icy beats. His delivery and flow is great, there are some quite dense rhymes. Occasionally the lyrics are a little cheesy.
Strangely nostalgic for some reason
i like it
It’s good but why was it included
Pretty good, I'm starting to feel like 90's rap is one of the better times
Gritty and raw...with a delivery like a right cross to the jaw. This is essential 90s rap.
Ah yes, the classic 90s hip-hop sound. Some really good beats here, and in general I quite like this. Some of the lyrics are quite cringe, but that goes hand in hand with the genre. High 3 or a low 4 for me… I’ll edge just towards 4.
This album is great. I'd never heard of Jeru before but there are some cracking tracks on this. I was convinced that that was going to be a 5 star album after the first few but I don't think the later tracks were quite as good as the first ones. I'll definitely listen to this again and I might like it more and more. It's a peach.
Solid, preferred some other hip-hop albums on here but rounding up as 3* seemed very stingy for something that I enjoyed! :)
I'd never heard of this guy, but this was a good record. I'm not sure it counts as an essential hip-hop album but it's a good underground thing
i like this
Good, but there's something weird in the production that I can't quite put my finger on. Lyrically, it's excellent, but the production seemed almost bass free at points and some of the samples didn't seem to accent anything. So, 3.5 rounded up to 4 for me, definitely one I'll head back into at some point.
7/10
Chad the Damaja. Chad to have a 90's rap album with only 1 skit and only 40 minutes long.
I had never heard of this artist before and was pleasantly surprised. Great album.
Phenomenal, never heard of this dude before, in a similar vein as Del/A Tribe Called Quest. Can't wait to circle back around to this
I’m not sure how I feel exactly, but the beats were fire and the grooves were groovin, so I think pretty highly
Some big tunes on here, 'You Can't Stop the Prophet' is heavy. Never heard of this before but I'm a fan. Pep beats type beat.
I had not heard of this, but I really liked it.
Damn, this was really good, and I'd never even heard of Jeru! Lots of different sounds, good depth in the lyrics, and altogether refreshing vibe. And he's still touring! Anyone want to go to the Old but Gold Ü30 Hip Hop Festival in Hamburg, July 2026??
I cringed a few times at the lyrics, but appreciated their authentic representation of that era especially. The music around it was amazing
It's funny. It's spunky. It's New York City early '90s Hip Hop, and it's a fun sub-40 minute affair. Favorite Track: "Da Bichez".
There are some really strong tracks here, but I have to imagine this album would have hit a lot harder if it hadn't come out a year after Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Still, no shame in not being quite as good as one of the best albums of the 1990s.
Have we seen any Tupac on this list yet? I don't think we have. There's been a lot of Rap/Hip-Hop coming up here lately, and I'm STILL waiting on some RTJ. What gives? Anyway... this was a pretty good album. Some real interesting beats going on.
I really liked this album (outside of the most egregiously misogynistic parts) esp come clean and jungle music.
I had never heard of this band before, but enjoyed it.
I’ll always dig this type of hip hop. Old school style beats with some good flow on top. Would definitely see myself going back to and listening to
I absolutely prefer the more lyrical sounds of 90s rap and that is especially apparent after getting two albums on each end of the spectrum this week. Within the golden runtime bracket for an album and had just enough variation to keep you on your toes. Great lyricism as well. Easy four star album.
strong flow, less clunky than the roots, but doesn't feel distinctive
An underrated underground Rap classic.
Rock solid great production. Jeru showcases east coast rap just before the genre was really elevated by Nas and Biggie. Still great sound from this guy.
You know, not my kind of music but it's actually pretty solid. That flow is smooth and clear as fuck. Lyrics are deep and still fun. I feel like I'm listening to a Spike Lee movie. The song I hated the most was Come Clean, which seems to have the most plays on Spotify. I think this could be a good album to run to....might give that a shot.
3.5 - Good
This was so surprisingly good
Great classic 90s rap, fun to listen to, varied
I really enjoyed this one! Very in line with east coast rap at the time, but with a bit of a unique perspective. I'd never heard of Jeru before. I'm looking forward to tracking down more of his stuff. Also interesting to hear early DJ Premier!
I had never heard of this artist and I loved the listening experience. East coast, 90s rap to a T. The flow was good, the production was even better. Will definitely be listening again.
This album seems to be from an alternate dimension. It is clearly from the East Coast '90s scene that birthed so many rappers I love but I've never even heard of him. The raps are angry, passionate, and often introspective, it's kind of like what if WuTang rapped about things other than guns and drugs? I liked it a lot, will definitely listen again. The cover is awful, like I don't even know where to begin, a 1/5.
it reminded me of a time long past. east coast vs west coast beef
Good listen. I enjoyed Jeru old school Boom-Bap-Rap🔥🔥🔥
Gillar, bra gung. Would listen again
Excellent hip-hop
Never heard this before but the production was so cool.
Aldrig hört talas om Jeru. Men samma era som många hip-hop-album vi lyssnat på nu. Tycker nog att detta är mer behagligt och skönare än mycket av det andra. Intressant och rätt varierar. Kul
Oj, verkligen otippat att denna dök upp här. En riktig undergroundklassiker och en skiva jag har, men ändå inte lyssnat lika mycket på som mycket annat som släpptes vid den tiden, kanske för att det släpptes så mycket som är ÄNNU bättre då. Denna är inte direkt Illmatic, Ready to die eller 36 chambers, men forfarande en bra och framförallt välproducerad skiva. Stabil fyra.
East Coast at its best
Slow, steady beats with weird, atonal piano loops that work well with his gritty, street-preacher flow. Afu-Ra adds a sharp contrast, and tracks like Da Bichez give brief, smooth jazzy breaks before the darkness creeps back in. I quite like the superhero fighting ignorance schtick, part scientist, part preacher, although he hammers the same themes over and over. It makes the message strong, but it’s not always an easy, casual listen. Favourite track - My Mind Spray. 7.5/10
Good lyrics, good rhymes, good beats. I have never heard of Jeru so it was cool to be exposed to a new artist. I did appreciate that his lyrics were deeper and not just talking about how amazing he was (sometimes that is all rappers focus on). Instead it was more about culture and oppression, some deeper topics.
I was so-so on this at the beginning, but I thought the album got better and better as it went on. Great lyrics on race and culture and oppression and I thought it was really creative too.
Jeru! I did not expect to see this pop up. Prime DJ Premier production. For my money the greatest hip hop producer of all time. This is the era where he had so many great beats he’d just waste 2 or 3 an album on a 45 second interlude. Much like Guru, Jeru just can’t rise to the level of the production. Like most Gangstarr albums it’s B+ rhymes over A+ beats, good but not great. That being said “Jungle Music” is an A+ song buried at the end of the album. Jeru softens his style a bit and rides the beat rather than competes with it. 4 stars
4.1 I have never heard of Jeru before, but this came up and then again in a Mark Ronson Trackstar video I watched on the same day. Very solid. come clean was a standout
Solid vintage
The production on this is killer. Super lush all the way through. I really liked this one and I'm adding it to my rotation.
Never heard of this guy before in my life, but it turns out to be one of the best hip hop artists in the list. "You Can't Stop the Prophet" and "Jungle Music" were the highlights for me.
A real east cost album through and through. The album starts out a little slow but gains momentum and doesn’t ease up on the gas. What you get is gritty street narratives but the real stand out is the classic Premo production. Stand out track for me is “Ain’t the devil happy”.
Always thought that this era and area is probably one of my favourites. Its quite alike other New York rap at this time like Nas and Wu-tang, I think DJ premier did the beats, and his record scratching and sample choice is always amazing. I do think some of the beats/choruses are a bit repetitive, like the third one, but you don't really notice when you're listening to the words. I think they're also purposely minimalistic. The words are great and so are the flows, they do occasionally verge on some onto the cheesy side which wu-tang also does sometimes, like the you can't stop the prophet song, which I think has one of the best beats, which sort of saves it. I think while it does have some violent elements, I think this is quite ahead of its time in terms of influencing conscious rap stuff, as he talks about some social issues and deep topics on here. The feature dude is great as well. Favourite songs: all but Brooklyn took it. Overall around 7/10
If you like 90s hip hop like me, this is your jam. Really smooth flow, good lyrical composition. Docked a point for the simplicity of the beats, but a great album nonetheless. 4/5
Had a really good time listening to this album! Vibes were great, Perverted Monks In Tha House is such a wacky song title heehee
Listens: 3 Standout Tracks: Brooklyn Took It, Da Bichez, You Can't Stop The Prophet Produced by DJ Premier == Double Thumbs Up! It's very clear his influence on the album, you can hear this in the sampling style on all of the tracks. You Can't Stop The Prophet sounds like a proto-superhero rap song, something you'd here from MF Doom or more recently Czar Face. Love it. I get a kick out of Damaga calling women bitches for almost 4 minutes and then in the middle of the track he has the balls to say explicitly that he's not misogynistic. LOL, like I get it, to differentiate "Queens" from "Bitches" but, come on. Being misogynistic against only one "category" of women is still in fact misogynistic. It doesn't change my attitude that the song is excellent in all regards, especially paired with the the jazz trumpet/sax sample. Overall, this aligns with my enjoyment of rap and hip-hop from the 1990s. I found it appealing in the same way I enjoy Gang Starr, Notorious BIG, Wu Tang and other albums that came out of the 90s. And then from the west coast, Del The Funky Homosapien. Also Mos Def's Black on Both Sides, specifically his love for Brooklyn.
Very cool I liked
Had never heard of this, but this is an excellent and solid early 90s east coast hip hop album. Really enjoyed this.
Classic album. Premo’s production was incredible. Jeru solid throughout as well.
I’m about as far from an expert in hip hop as one can get, so don’t pay any attention to me, but I liked this album better than most examples I’ve received from this project. I found the “beats” were more interesting than much of the hip hop I’ve listened too. Unusual textures and sounds, brought together into music that literally had me, a 55 YO white dude, boppin’ my head throughout. The raps were delivered clearly in a way that meshed with the music perfectly. Still not my genre of music, but I’m learning. I’m giving this a 4* because it is an album that I intend to revisit as I continue my quest to finally get hip hop music.
Album très cool, boom bap des années 90, je connaissais pas. Le poème d'intro est beau, je pourrais le sampler en vrai.
3.5⭐️/5 [08.17.2025] 01.16.2026
Interesting. Cool relic of an old type of hip hop.
4/5 - Boom Bap! - Catchy loops and samples - Lyrical chops fading between conscious and "gangsta" states of mind - Young kids making art and trying to be Big Dawgs. They take it seriously. - While it may be a forgettable record, it remains an enjoyable listen.
infelizmente foi bem apagado por ter saído pertinho do illmatic né, mas não fica mto atras não!! eh um pouco datado, mas o dj e o mc tavam na melhor fase, aparentemente. tem umas que eu fiquei boquiaberto. dito isso, da bichez é mvp solo desse aqui que ABSURDO de beat
I'm not a big fan of rap / hip-hop but I like the old-school feel of this album. Not something I'd seek out to listen to again because it's not my style, but it's definitely one of the better rap albums I've heard.
Love the vibe
Good hip hop
Thoughts before listening: This is one of those hip hop artists from the 90s that I certainly heard of, but since they weren't making hit records that landed on MTV, I don't believe I've ever heard of them. If this is in the same vein of other 90s underground hip hop i.e. A Tribe Called Quest or De La Soul, I'll probably enjoy it. The album cover however makes me think this is a bit darker. Review: So it seems this is underground rap from the NYC scene of Nas and Gang Starr, with DJ Premier being producer for all the albums from this scene. There's definitely an early-90s vibe to the sound here that I can appreciate with Wu Tang Clan being another in this same vein. This is true in the beats as well as Jeru's flow. When I think of hip hop that I like, this is what I am thinking of. I guess they call this boom bap rap...or something like that? I don't really know, but I do like it. 4-stars
The discordant piano on D. Original is very prominent. He's got a really cool flow, I'm liking the lyrics a lot. I would have believed it if someone told me this was a Cannibal Ox album. Wu Tang beat this guy to the Kung Fu references though, this guy is not straight from the slums of Shaolin. Da Bichez is a great song, if a little dated lyrically. It's almost unbelievable now that at one point this would have been one of the more respectful songs in hip hop related to women. This guy is a great lyricist and the beats are definitely unique, but the marital arts references definitely seem like he wanted to cash in on Wu Tang's vibe. I'm sure there's a million posts online about how he predicted 9/11 with the album cover and the line, "'Cause I blow up spots like the World Trade Center," but it was bombed in 1993. This album is very much of its time and place. It feels a little bit Wu Tang, very Tribe Called Quest. It's good though, the execution is good because he's got a great flow. He also reminds me of Pete Rock.
Liked this a lot!!
I think this is definitely solid hip-hop, though I don't like it as much as other things from Wu-Tang or Dungeon Family. That being said, I think it's at least a 3.5, and I feel like just given the fact that I could slot this in between an Outkast and a Gza album makes it worthy of 4 stars.
An okay album, not my usual style. I liked Da Bichez the most.
Almost a classic.
thoughts: from the start, i could tell the beats were gonna be fantastic. i’m a huge fan of good use of samples, and this was really impressive. i recognized a two-second clip from “you can’t stop the prophet” because dj shadow sampled it on endtroducing, which felt like discovering hidden treasure songs: “d.original”, “mental stamina”, “come clean” rating: 7.0/10
Classic album
Funnily enough I listened to this album just a couple of weeks ago, as Jeru was playing near me and I almost ended up going to see him. It's an album I know reasonably well, but it's eclipsed by other albums from the same era. It's still a fine album, but slightly derivative and doesn't bring much new to the table. Four stars seems fair.
I really enjoyed this.
I hadnt heard of Jeru before, but i enjoyed the lyrics and I can hear the influence on MF Doom
Basic blueprint of East Coast rap in a good way. If you’ve heard Illmatic or Ready to Die you’ve kinda heard this already but it’s a good album. Better than Jay-Z Best track You Can’t Stop The Prophet, hilarious and awesome storytelling
I was unfamiliar with this, but damn did I like it! 90s hip hop in a good way. Great beats. Vocals were killer.
A classic rap album that is smooth as silk. BUT let’s talk about the song Da Bichez… misogyny has never been cool. That’s a huge minus for me.
Super great album - production from DJ Premier kills as always, rapping from Jeru is strong. Just a classic 90's Boom Bap record. 8/10
This was good, I thought it sounded a little bit like the guru and read up that they worked together. A nice start, this is something I definitely wouldn't have picked myself.
Really cool album, a lot closer to some more modern stuff I like in its particular style. Admittedly I don't have a lot of context for hip-hop from this time period, but it's good to me
This one caught me completely off-guard and I adored it. It's nice to hear this type of sound without it being parodied into the ground.
OK this came out the year I was born. So I've never heard this or even was slightly aware of its existence. But damn dude. Its not illmatic buuuttt its very very good. The beats are amazing the whole time. That 1st song with the reversed i think its cymbals but its so so sick. The flows all over rule in that old school way. The rapping is cleaver and good but that producer i can't get over. OK I just looked it up and its dh premier so I guess that's why its good. Damn dude imma be playing this for a bit
Haven't heard this one before. Big fan of 80's and 90' hip hop. Bars.
Heavy nostalgia here. In the summer of 94 or 95 we kept this CD playing on repeat in my best friends car for the entire summer. We loved this so much that we nicknamed a friend Briru the Damaja. DJ Premier’s style is one of my favorites. This was the golden age of rap for me.
84% Best: D. Original; Da Bichez; You Can't Stop The Prophet; Come Clean; Statik Must-Hear? Sure. Y'all underrate this album.
Ok
I got a little distracted while listening to this album doing some chores around the house, so my favorite song listed below probably isn't the most accurate. Most of what I wasn't paying close attention to was the beginning of the album. That said, I really enjoyed this. A lot more than I thought I would. It feels almost like a way to ease into some harder rap/hip-hop, without having any sacrifices to quality. And the rapping itself is actually really good, like probably my favorite part of the album. The backing tracks are solid enough, but they get a little tired at the end of each track. They're not the reason to listen to this album, though. Favorite Song(s): Ain't the Devil Happy
Love the jazzy east coast hip hop sound
Was super pleased to see this album pop up on here, I love it!
Great! Learned a lot about the 1993 world trade center bombing.
yeah this kicks freaking ass
Excellent 90s East Cost rap with socially-conscious lyrics and hard-hitting beats produced by DJ Premier. I've never head off Jeru the Damaja, but this album stands alongside some of the best rap of this era.
The mixing of the first few songs is meh, and as always Jeru is quite preachy, even in the sub-genre of conscious rap. But when My Mind Spray comes on, the production is on point and the flow is impeccable. There's a reason he's well known in the hip-hop head genre. The beats for the next two songs, Come Clean - E New Y Radio and Jungle Music, are also fresh.
D original dissonance in a cool way Ain't the devil happy was a highlight
Despite this album showing it's age (especially with the flow and some of the lyrics), I really liked the raw production and the beats on this thing. Not used to hearing raw production I'd usually find on black metal records on a hip hop record (lots of crackling, sound levels vary across songs, etc), yet here we are, haha. The beats too have this really unique style to them I haven't really heard anywhere else. This really dark, uncomfortable vibe that's really cool. Definitely hearing this album's influence particularly in other ungrounded hip hop records like Dr. Octagonecologist (just without the juvenile humor and sci-fi weirdness. Will say Dr. Octagonecologist is a fantastic record). D. Original and You Can't Stop the Prophet being my standouts.
I could do without the misogyny and homophobia but musically I enjoyed it.
I didn't realise how much rap albums needed a bad English evil accent until now. This was also switched-on and super exciting, although I'm not sure how well "Da Bichez" will go down now.
A stone cold classic
I’ve been pleasantly surprised a lot lately. So east coast its almost comical. Lot of different flows and most of the beats are pretty good
EXCELLENT
Solid hip-hop, love that
Great flow, great vocabulary.
Great album. Only song I didn't like was Mental Stamina because of the annoying bleep sound that plays throughout, though I enjoy the other components of the song still. Just a good example of the late 80s / early 90s flow.
Really liked this - just laid back and chill. Will relisten.
Solid hip hop album. I liked Jeru's flow, rappers today don't rap like this anymore. The back half of the album came in strong and upped my opinion of the album. Standouts: Ain't The Devil Happy, Come Clean, You Can't Stop the Prophet Rating: 4.00/5
Classic NYC East Coast rap. With DJ Premier boom bap you can’t go wrong. Not in my usual rotation but goes down smooth.
Familiar with most East/West coast artists/albums from this era, but this artist and album flew under my radar. Album art is eerily prophetic. It’s a really solid record. Jeru is a great lyricist with meaningful and clever lines. MC work is masterful. The DJ beats vacillated between average and unique. The album definitely holds up 30 years later. I’ll add this one to my rotation of early 90s rap for sure.
Great album. I love Jeru's flow, and the production is perfect. I love the dissonance and the kinship with the Wu Tang sort of vibe coming up around the same time. Come Clean is an absolute classic.
Sounds like he inspired wu tang
Never heard of this artist before. I'll check him out. This album is known as one of the top 100 greatest hip hop albums in the 90s. This album is pretty good and I have never heard of this. I'm not much of a "hip-hop head" but I do think I am very aware of history music. Almost reminds me of Wu-Tang before Wu-Tang.
Solid DJ Premier work here in the early platinum age of rap, in a year full of absolute classics in the whole genre. It's been a minute since I listened to this album. Da Bitchez is the best known classic and Can't Stop the Prophet, but there's tons of great music often slept on here, like Mental Stamina, Ain't the Devil Happy, My Mind Spray. And underground producer-nerd-out tracks like Come Clean, with water drop sound... "You want to front, whatttt?"
3.6 I was initially apprehensive. There's been a few of these mid 90s minimal beat hip hop albums now. Maybe I'm in a good mood, but this was landed better than the others. Kind of thing that wouldn't be bad having on in the background, lowish volume. Didn't drag on either, sub-40min seems like a super rarity in the era of hip hop albums containing 15 skits and coming in over 74 minutes to stop CD burning. Small win.
4/5
Great, old school (at least considered that these days) Brooklyn hip-hop. Great wordplay and strong beats.
Good album, reminds me of a slightly less developed Jurassic 5. But of course, this album is from 5 years before they even formed. A stepping stone that holds up.
Man, the mid-90s were cool as hell for hip-hop. Pre-technological overload, the craft was insane. Crate digging and socially conscious grooves. The one downside is the cultural bent toward misogyny. It came up multiple times and is the one thing that turned me off. This was the magic time in NYC when it was livable and everybody in the culture was optimistic about a future world. That world never came to be, it the ciphers of old give a cool window into a better musical time in hip hop.
Some OG shit , I liked it - clean Beats and rhymes.
Never heard of them but it’s great old school hop-hop
Thank goodness I’m not here to be objective bc this was right up my alley and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Here’s 4 reasons why I liked this album: 1) “Damaja” is a sick rap name 2) album cover is kinda nuts for reasons that Jeru couldn’t have possibly known (or did he) 3) a lot of really clever, socially conscious, and also humorous lyrics 4) changed up his flow throughout individual songs and across the whole album The production and beats are the only things that keep this from being a 5, and I honestly think the former is just a consequence of its times. 4.3/5 Fav song: Da Bichez + My Mind Spray
Will be playing da bitchez on repeat from now on
Dit voelt een beetje alsof ik dubbel 6 heb gegooid, een joker of troef mag gebruiken. Ik ken het album niet en ome Jeru ken ik alleen van het drum 'n bass nummer 'Set It Off' met Camo & Crooked, maar dit soort muziek kan ik de hele dag aan hebben staan. Lekker gruizige boom bap uit 1994 met een prima rapper op hele sterke Dj Premier beats. Dit soort beats zijn anno 2025 nog uniek, laat staan in 1994. Ik snap niet zo goed waarom dit album uitgekozen is, los van het feit dat Dj Premier wel een legende is dus. Kijk ik naar of je dit album echt gehoord moet hebben dan is dat antwoord voor de niet-liefhebber sowieso nee. Dit album is binnen het eigen genre al niet eens de absolute top, denk ik. Ik vind dit wel lekkerder dan 90% van wat er op deze lijst te vinden is. Ik ga deze 4 sterren geven en ik wil officieel vastleggen dat het een schande is dat 'The Infamous' van Mobb Deep niet in deze lijst staat.
Jeru is here and he is intent to cause Damaje. After that, he may drop some philosophical knowledge and maybe a slur here and there. I know at least one song here. Let’s set the course for east and chase the sun alongside my pal Jeru. This song is SICK. From the intro, right into D. original. The discordant piano beat is so hard. God. Please continue in this vein. Beat is less fun here. The lyrics are fun and the rhymes are really popping off the page here. Let’s use this skit to describe what is happening on Spotify. An apparently aged Jeru the Damaja in a pork pie hat is absolutely throwing down HARD in front of a green screen that’s blue. It’s god damn gold. That visual adds like 12 stars to this. Not officially, but in my heart. Mental Stamina is good. Another heavy, raw rap track. Da “Bichez” loses me slightly with the lyrical content. I’m not a misogynist BUT is a classic argument. Kinda lame, but of the time. The Jeru loop of cupping his ears makes up for it. LOOK TOWARDS THE DARKNESS. What a silly and hardcore opening. Super scientifical powers needs to be added to my daily vocabulary. The beat has destroyed me. My intestines have been blown to smithereens and I lay here motionless, cheering against Ignorance and his wife, deceit. “Perverted Monks in tha house” is one of the great song titles I’ll see this year. The devil does appear to be pretty happy if the laughter is any indication. Great lyrical work here. A more serious moment in an album with fairly whimsical rhymes. The beats still hit so very hard. A small let down in form, but nothing bad at all. A decent song. Come clean buddy. Despite the homophobic artisan chef work at the top, this is one of the best rap songs from this region and time, and therefore, one of the best of all time. So incredibly catchy, tough, mean, clever. Fantastic. Another excellent beat mixed accompanied by solid rhymes. AND a whole bunch of fun animal noises. Jeru looks tired in the dance. He must’ve put in a few hours of takes just fucking giving it in front of the camera. Looks like a self production, so all you can hear is his breathing and the shuffling of clothes. The song doesn’t wear down though. The beat is still fun as hell, and the rhymes are great. This thing is a monster. So much energy behind the rhymes and the beat selection and composition of DJ premier make “The Sun Rises in the East” a complete auditory delight. Exactly what I look for in a hip-hop release, especially regarding atmosphere. Every beat of the drums bring to mind a menacing east coast monstrosity rising out of the Hudson, like a Brooklyn based Kaiju. Knocked me down and kept me wanting more for the duration of the tight 39 minutes. Dance on Jeru, thanks for the excellent Thursday. I owe you a new Pork Pie hat. 4 HIGHLIGHTS: D. Original, You Can’t Stop the Prophet, Ain’t the Devil Happy, Come Clean - E New Y Radio
The production stands out, I immediately like the drums and looped samples. Jeru's rapping is articulate and smooth. Mental Stamina is a good one and Da Bichez has a nice jazzy feel to it. Ain't The Devil Happy is another highlight. My Mind Spray goes futuristic with its beat and Come Clean is pretty out there too. There's a couple of questionable lines, it is still the 90s, but the beats are too good. Tight 40 minute runtime too - refreshing and a diamond in the rough.
8.5/10 Never heard of Jeru and this was really excellent. Really of its time, really good Love his flow, reminds me of Del the Funky Homosapien. Production is excellent, really high quality cut & paste samples Best: Ain’t the Devil Happy
The Sun Rises In The East is good old fashioned east coast rap. DJ Premier is amazing on this album, a lot of unique classic east coast beats. It sounds very Wu Tang-esque. Nas is also a lofty but fair comparison 8.4/10
Very good, I'd pick this up if I saw it. Certainly won't mind listening to this again.
A good hip hop album but not as great as some of it’s contemporaries - DJ Premier on beats makes it cool and Jeru does a good job on the mic - but it lacks star tracks.
Initially I thought this was fine but nothing special. But somewhere around Can’t Stop the Prophet I got into it. This album isn’t a masterpiece, but it’s really good
It's great.
It's a really good album I liked. A nice Boxing Day surprise. The skits aren't obnoxious, unlike a few rap albums. I liked every song on the album. This album is proof that East Coast rap outshines the West Coast by a mile. 4 stars for "The Sun Rises in the East".
3.5/5
Packed with fire beats and decent rap, it's quite a vibe
solid rap album
really good 90s rap album. i really liked the production here and jeru's flow is pretty good. it's a bit dated, but it is a 30 year old album. is it the best rap album i've heard of this era ever? no. is it pretty decent and a great example of 90s rap from new york? i think so
Viiibez
Solid 90s rap
Now, I am not normally a gangsta rap fan but there is something appealing by the laidback flow and the groove of the tracks. It sounds really good! That being said., I am a white European middle class kid who has become an adult — this was not written for me, was it? Anyways, I'll give it a 4 even if I will probably not listen to it again.
This is way better than I expected. Has a great flow. Had never heard of him prior to this.
Jeru really doesn’t like bichez. To be clear, he distinguishes between the young ladies and the sistas. Bichez are not all women. But if the man has a grievance against you, he will lay out your wrongs in blunt, savage, and poetic fashion, and lace it with one of the most impressive vocabularies in hip hop.
this looks fire af big fan of the spotify campus videos on most of the songs on this album. its just jeru old ass dancing in front of a blue background. its not even format for a cellphone screen aspect ratio its just a 16:9 video at the center of the screen with black filling the blank space. the beat on My Mind Sample samples the same song as sparkdala by quasimoto, but it turns out there's like a million different songs that sample that one song, interesting. dj premieres beats are grimy as hell and deru spits on every track. good shit usually i don't like old hip-hop but this appeals to me i like it a lot.
Pretty good album... slight bump up to 3.6+ because I really like this era of Boom Bap kind of hip hop.
Loved that
Wow, this was a surprise, mainly because I’ve never heard of Jeru before. I was very pleased to find that the entire album was produced by DJ Premier, one of the best beatmakers of all time. Preemo’s fingerprints are all over this thing. It sounds amazing and is already gonna go onto my list of great 90’s rap records.
LP
I had never heard of this artist nor had I heard of this album. I'm a little surprised, though I was never a huge fan of early East Coast rap. I don't find this album as compelling as Illmatic, though few albums are that compelling. I enjoyed a lot of the songs including Ain't the Devil Happy, Mindspray and Da Bichez. A lot of this is very early 90's rap and that is not a criticism. This isn't Illmatic but it's a good example of what good East Coast rap albums sounded like in the early 90's.
Fantastic old school hip hop album. Great beats, great lyricism. 8/10
At first I thought it would gonna be tiring since the first tracks overhelmed me a bit with the psychodelic beats. But his flow, lyrics and overall easy style of rapping is a great opposition to these beats. Enjoyed it.
Great
This isn't really what I was expecting. It was a great listen, with lyrics that just flowed and were easy to understand.
Some of the other reviews I see for this are really not putting this album in the context of when it came out. This record is really good and brings some things that weren't as prevalent at the time it came out. You can hear that NY sound coming through strong and it has the same feel as a KRS One album
4.2 - Enjoyed this a lot, felt like it was pretty authentic
What a pleasant surprise. Some really nice beats, can't say I was really paying too much attention to the lyrical content but two of the tracks are called "Perverted Monks in Tha House" so you have to assume the wordplay is elite. Really liked this, very tight, no real filler, some creative and catchy beats, mellow but also pretty hard. Fave Tracks: D. Original, Perverted Monks in Tha House, Mental Stamina, Da Bichez 4.4/5
Amazing rhymes and flow over occasionally good but mostly serviceable beats. I definitely want to hear more of what Jeru has to say, but hopefully over more dynamic beats. I feel like Madlib or someone would be perfect with his flow.
Pretty good classic rap. Not one of the all-time greats, but a nice listen nonetheless.
While the album is a classic, there are so many bangers from 1994 it's hard to justify this one being on the list over some of the others.
It was okay. Didn't feel the need to skip any songs. 3/5
Certified underground classic. Jeru provides great bars and flow, but Preemo steals the show with gritty and abstract production.
The best component of this album is definitely the rhymes. Cleverly constructed, proficiently delivered, never written just to fill the page. I like the smooth beats, the dry humor, and the gothic novel-like Prophet storyline. The themes are pretty standard, and the social commentary isn't groundbreaking or anything, but that's fine because the focus of the album is on the craft of the word, finding new ways to talk about old topics.
It's got that old school hip hop vibe with some cool beats. Not sure about how it fits in the time period but I enjoyed it
Never heard this before but enjoyed it. DJ Premier
Really good
I was listening at work, so it was hard to hear/digest the lyrics. But I loved the flow, and I'm a sucker for this type of hard-hitting, minimalist production. It's hard as hell.
Jeru’s delivery throughout is smooth, the bests are a tad basic but enjoyable. Da Bichez is almost as awful as the album art. Great rhymes and smooth delivery, no phoney tough guy vibes. Good stuff 4 stars
Not bad, not into hip hop but I liked it more than I thought I would.
Wow!
African...............Americans..
Probably good but not my rap hip hop thing.
Not my usual thing but I actually quite enjoyed this. Early 90s rap/hiphop reminds me of the teen center days.
I saw Jeru a few times in the early 00s so have a bit of a soft spot for him. This still stands up, especially with the DJ Premier production, although not a huge fan of J's overtly pseudo-intellectual lyricism (despite the flawless flow)
This record’s on here?!? I did not expect this one due to it being underground hip hop. But, this is a longtime favorite of mine. The production, the lyrics, the mood, the grittiness - 90s hip hop! This record played a pivotal role in my development and fondness of hip hop growing up. This album did get thrown under the radar with the likes of other major hip hop artists also dropping around this time, but I will always cherish this one.
Sick. I lived it
Really enjoyed this! Obviously need to listen to more early-mid 90s hip hop. Last few songs are a little weaker/less engaging.
Really good example of rap done well. Jeru has great sound and mic style. I will ceetainly listen to this again. there are some great tunes on this. Favourite song: Jungle music and Statik are great tunes. Least favourite: Album artwork: This wont be going on my wall at home
Tämähän oli aivan sellaista mikä mulle tippuu! Osa stygeistä toki jäänyt vähän ajasta mutta minkäs teet. 4/5
Olipas hyvä, kunnon laatuysäriä. Jotain typerää lyriikkaa, silti vahva 4/5
groovy fun hip-hop with meaningful content that has apparently been called one of the top 100 hip hop albums of all time - completely produced by DJ Premier. This is a fun listen - i liked it.
Favourite song - Ain't the devil happy
Never heard of Jeru before, and it was interesting to read about a counter-culture rap album. Most notable were the stripped down beats and focus on rap only. Content of the songs wasn't that interesting to me, but I'm glad I listened to this album. D. Original was my favorite track.
This is an album that I was not on my radar at all. hard to put it in context, it feels old school even for coming out of 94. but really picks up steam in the second half.
Great sounding New York hip hop
Solid beats and rhymes from a guy I'd never heard of. Associated with gangstarr. This one won my heart with the prophet track in which he battles his nemesis "Mr. Ignorance." Finds that perfect balance of dumb and clever.
90s NY rap with a cool flow, no unnecessary language, and good story telling complimented with great samples. Excellent chill hip hop to enjoy.
"Sounds like an angry, raw Jazzmatazz" I thought for a moment, believing I had a clever moment there making a connection, before looking up if, aha!, Gang Starr will also come up on this list. This is good. Will probably be on repeat today.
This bumps
This rocked. Really coming to a better appreciation for rap. I could definitely get this on vinyl.
solid rap album,, really awesome wordplay, definitely a quintessential overlooked LP of the east coast underground. really interesting, almost ominous sound. homophobia and misogyny to be expected from this era but still threw me off. 7/10 fav tracks: you can't stop the prophet, ain't the devil happy
I know just enough about old school rap to be dangerous, but I did not know this record even existed until I was today years old. Not only did I dig the whole thing end-to-end but it made me go for the old Nas, Eric B & Rakim, and Tribe Called Quest. I'm not complaining about an east coast rap Saturday morning.
Listened 2x. Good album. 3.7/5
Cool album. Not very woke, but then not many rap albums are I guess. I liked it, and if you are looking for advice on rap music, always go to a white, middle class, middle aged, Englishman, I always say. We down wit dat shit Playa. With the Hippin and a hoppin etc....
That's some insanely smooth flows, lyricism is crazy high with this guy. Chill and very impressive rapping
Just let me disassociate and enjoy this.
Praise be, a new-to-me hip hop album that is pretty good! I guess I just love the late 80's/'90s style. Enjoyed it a lot
Solid hip hop album.
Never heard before; just great 90s hip-hop. The rather intense misogyny of one song aside I found the lyrics pretty enjoyable and the beats were really interesting
Exceptional East Coast hip-hop, but essential?
first listen good bars, even better production by DJ Premier
Have not heard Jeru The Damaja before, but I really dig the classic 90's hip-hop vibe. Certainly one to listen to again.
Smooth, consistent beats. These rhythms were solid and the flow was relentless. This album flew by but nothing stood out as a potential hit or song for the radio.
I loved it even the bitches the bitches the bitches 😭 takes off one star so people know I disagree. But I kind of don’t mean it
Cool album for sure and I can hear how he influenced so many of my favorite hip hop artists that came after him for sure. This is old school hip-hop story telling, which I love.
This was better than expected. Love the grimy New York rap, samples and beats were great.
This is excellent. How have I not heard of him before?
Never even Heard this guy before. It was decent
Liked it a lot more than I expected. The lyrics were deep and meaningful.
4/5. These beats are insane and the samples are so fun, definitely feel the parliament-funkadelic influence throughout. The flows are fresh and still relevant today. The album is also really well produced and has the alien and old-school vibe but sounds modern. The first side is stronger than the second side but still goes hard. The best parts are the transitions between songs, skits, ad-libs, and samples. All flows together so nicely.
Genre: R&B Rap Instruments: 4/5 Modern Translation: 4/5 Dance Potential: 2/5 Listening Location: commute to/ from work Favourite Song: D. Original Made me feel: bad ass. Loved timing my walking pace to this old-school R&B rap album. Liked the drum and piano scattered in the album.
Een wat meer relaxte rapper, op zich toen al wat gedateerd. Maar toch prettig. Muzikaal iets minder relaxed, wat voor een fijne combi zorgt.
Listened Before? N This sounds like something that would've come out a few years before it actually came out. In a time when gangsta rap and g-funk style had taken over, this guy was still doing a late 80s - early 90s style. Probably the New York influence coming through. The samples are well done, and they lyrics are good. I enjoyed it. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: You Can't Stop The Prophet
Got a freaky, freaky, freaky, freaky, freaky, freaky, freaky, freaky, freaky, freaky, freaky, freaky, freaky, freaky, freaky, freaky, freaky, freaky flow
total hip hop gem
Love it - a talented MC and quintessential rappers in the NY 90s hip hop scene.
Nice rap album a few decent tunes
Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Ain’t the devil happy, You can’t stop the prophet
un gros classique du hip hop des 90s qui un peu mal vieilli aujourd’hui imo mais ça reste hood
J’aime le old school avec un 25% sample, 75% bars, mais comme l’album précédent sur la liste, j’ai du mal avec le côté rébarbatif.
Crisp and muscular East Coast rap of the Renaissance era, with strong flows and rhymes and real cool beats (which do feel supremely old school now, if not quite fully dated). Was well and truly outshone by quite a few other proximate records, through no fault of its own. And it's certaintly not hard to hear why this should be better known, and/or why it might be regarded as a forgotten/cult classic. One likes the balance of conscious observation/uplifting sentiment and slightly ominous gangsta vibes. "Da Bichez" shows Jeru can misogynate with the best of them. Best cuts = "Devil Happy," Can't Stop the Prophet," "Mind Spray," and "Jungle Music"
"The Sun Rises in the East" by Jeru the Damaja, released in 1994, is a landmark in East Coast hip-hop, and its solid beats are a driving force behind its success. Jeru's debut is characterized by gritty production and thoughtful lyricism that echoes the golden era of hip-hop. The album, produced by DJ Premier, features beats that are not just solid but iconic. Songs like "Come Clean" showcase the raw, minimalist production style that defined the era. Jeru's lyricism, combined with these beats, delivers a potent dose of street wisdom and social commentary. "The Sun Rises in the East" is a testament to the power of collaboration between a skilled lyricist and a masterful producer, earning a strong 4/5 for its influential beats and Jeru's insightful rhymes.
Favourite songs: You Can't Stop the Prophet, My Mind Spray, Ain't The Devil Happy, Come Clean - E New Y Radio, Jungle Music, Statik, Mental Stamina Least favourite songs: Intro (Life), Perverted Monks in Tha House (fuck skits) 4/5
Not much to talk about. Good rhymes / lyrics, nice flows and beats, and pretty good production. Also, it did not age that well, ouch… it’s good but not GOOD.
Good music to feel cool too, might listen to it agin from time to time.