Reviews (page 5 of 7)
I really like the lyrics and beats. My problem with this album is that almost every song is ruined by some sampled sound that’s really annoying. An awful high pitched sound that barely hits the rhythm or a terrible piano riff that goes for the whole song. “Ain’t the Devil Happy” is damn good.
Hip hop
Interesting beats, fairly positive lyrics, not bad.
It would’ve been a two out of five okay but towards the end it started getting really good and I was actually grooving.
Solid, East Coast, vibe, rap, similar to Gang Starr, mixed with Wu-Tang, good lines and vibe but didn’t do anything special for me. Cool track you can’t stop the prophet where he’s going against his enemy, ignorance The bichez intro: Life is the result of the struggle between dynamic opposites, form and chaos, … and all the variations of yin yang, things always balance out
Some good beats on there. He's got flow.
Surprised about this one. Though I was going to absolutely hate this record but turns out I liked it. Great sampling with great production overall and the vocals on this is solid and doesn't have that 1990's cheesiness to it (which is a good thing)
Rap is usually not my cup of tea. This album, however, was very articulate and surprisingly eloquent for being quintessential rap of the 90's.
Love this type of rap. Consistent album but no huge hits or bangers. Need to delve into more Jeru the Damaja albums.
Gear: DCA ÆON 2 Noire Mische: Beats mit feinem Impact, oldschool Scratches über handverlesene Samples, Delivery gerade auf "Mental Stamina" und "Aint the Devil Happy" fantastisch Mugge: Wu-Tang des kleinen Mannes - im Vergleich zu modernem Hip-Hop kann man selbst dafür aber nicht dankbar genug sein... Wertung: 3/5
Vanaf de hoes kijkt een Heel Boze Meneer ons aan, achter hem een stad in vlammen. Heeft hij de brand aangestoken? Daagt de zon in het oosten? Wie zal het zeggen. Uiteindelijk beoordeel ik deze albums alleen maar op muzikaliteit, afwisseling en irritatiefactor, en als er een boodschap achter zit gaat die meestal langs me heen. Nu dus ook. Het constante gepraat is voor mij eerder een van de componenten van de muziek dan iets wat betekenis draagt. Hoe dan ook, als het maar een beetje aan te horen is luister ik zo'n plaat heus wel uit.
Typische beats van begin jaren '90. De teksten hebben weinig poetische waarde, maar het ontstijgt het kinderachtige materialistische geklets tenminste nog af en toe (af en toe ook niet). Er zit wel een aardige flow in en het duurt maar 40 minuten. Genoeg punten om het een degelijke 3 te geven.
Sind doch ein zwei gute Lieder dabei
This was good. I've always gravitated more to old school hip hop, everything seems to flow well. I definitely want to listen to it again.
Nett, aber bissl anstrengend
Are you telling me the fabled "90s hip-hop album that's shorter than an hour" is real? I couldn't believe my eyes, I thought half of the album was missing from Spotify or something! Kind of goofy, but not bad. Beats range from amazing to obnoxious.
It was fine lol
Great voice, some good stuff, some formula
Quite enjoyed some of the jazzy beats and the flow. Less misogyny than most hip-hop of it's era, but still more than is acceptable. 2.5 stars.
There is a lit of east coast boom bap mid 90s style to this, which I like. Lyrics not too complex. Good social message.
Man, am I a sucker for 90s east coast hip-hop. The music is fucking great (having DJ Premier doesn't hurt a bit), and the rapping has aged relatively well. This album suffers a bit from comparison to other albums from the same city in the same era (very few albums hold up well against 36 Chambers and Illmatic), but it's good overall. 3/5, but very close to a 4
Maybe a little ironic that the usual dividing line on whether I like a hiphop record or not is primarily based on the music. 808s and trap beats are almost always gonna deliver a quick 1 or 2, I just can't get into it so when we get a semi-old-school beat delivered like this one from Jeru it already has a step up. Good jazz or soulful feel to most of these tracks, good head bobbing music. For the most part I like his flow, although his voice gets a little repetitive/monotonous over the long haul. Even tho the album is relatively short at 39 minutes I'm not sure I'm an album fan of his - and there are a few real real embarrassing or terrible tracks (skits, the execrable "Da Bichez" come tf on) that bring this down. I'll take a few tracks or maybe half the album at a time and call this one right up the middle. 6/10 3 stars.
This was just kind of generic east coast 90s rap,will probably never revisit.
Bien, no es un género que escucho muy a menudo, pero estuvo disfrutable.
Good
Hip hop is obviously a list unto itself; the selection on this list is a little heavy on this style. This is good for that style, though with the usual unwelcome doses of misogyny and hemophilia. I've had my fill of the style St the moment though.
Hip hop is not my thing but this was listenable
Meh Rating: 2.8
Classic rap/hip-hop! Not bad. It's fine.
This was pretty good!
Enjoyable. Some of the lyrics seemed a bit contrived, crammed in where they don't really fit.
Takes a couple of tracks to warm up. Quite enjoyed the second half.
Ganz okay aber auch nicht der absolute Wahnsinn
Less violently misogynistic than a lot of his contemporaries (and successors) but to paraphrase Mrs Doyle, it's wall to wall bitches in here. A shame because this is otherwise a likeable and solid album (which I'd never heard, or even heard of, before this list).
not bad, better than kendrick
Cool.
Loops are quirky and cool. Beats less so. Soulful sound.
Good beats. Solid 3/5
3.5, I really like some of the beats and lyrics. Some of the other lyrics are corny tho
Laadukas setti, hyvät biitit ja selkeesti artikuloitua räpäytystä
C+ Intro (Life) 3 D. Original 3 Brooklyn Took It 3 Perverted Monks in Tha House (Skit) 3 Mental Stamina (featuring Afu-Ra) 2 Da Bichez 3 You Can't Stop the Prophet 3 Perverted Monks in Tha House (Theme) 3 Ain't the Devil Happy 4 My Mind Spray 2 Come Clean 2 Jungle Music 3 Statik 2 I liked this better than the other rap albums we've gotten from this era.
This was alright. I can definitely hear the Wu-Tang influence. I think my favorite song ended up being "Da Bichez" but there are a few good ones on here. Didn't love it, but it was okay.
I can tell it is an amazing and influential album for fans of the genre, but it wasn't stand out enough for me to enjoy most of it beyond as pleasant background noise. I did check out some of the lyrics, and I find them very evocative. I Ain't the Devil Happy is the track I enjoyed most.
Un poco rollo, pero te hace mover la cabeza con ritmo.
Cool beats, interesting cover. Getting a bit tired of all the similar-sounding 90s hip hop albums.
Reminds me of when hip hop and rap had different flows and raps vs all mumble raps. Foundation of east coast rap - kung fu references, motivational speech and reminders of bitches aint shit
A nice hip hop album, I like the jazzy instrumentals
Decent
Great hip hop album, just dwarfed by some of the other monster albums that came out around the same time
6/10 some good stuff here, but idk fairly week rap album imo
I like his sound - Jungle Music was my favorite track - but there wasn't a lot of meat to the album, it didn't hold my attention beyond a song or two.
Never heard of this guy before. Gotta be honest I couldnt be bothered with this, but when it’s good it’s really very good. Love the production of this, sounds very analogue (if thats a thing). The beats are class too, and I love the off key parts (like the piano in D.Original). Dont often heat that in rap. It does often drift into the cliche, but that cant be helped I guess. Couple of songs passed me by, but overall its canny. Is that the twin towers on the album cover?… 3.5
This guy is pretty impressive, especially for the time. The first half was better than the second, things started to become increasingly samey but there was always a few decent bars per track. As usual the parts where he strayed away from bigging himself up were better. I'd put it a shade below Quest, so 3-3.5
Had never heard of Jeru before but thought he was pretty good. There are some nice simple beats and good flow. However parts haven't aged well and I probably wouldn't listen to it again. Highlights: D. Original You Can't Stop The Prophet Ain't The Devil Happy
Pretty decent, but I’ve heard better
I mean, it's alright. The flow, while primitive, is good for the time and the bears are solid. The problem is that all the beats and bars are essentially the SAME so, regardless of the actual lyrics, everything sounds pretty much the same. Which is a shame. The back half of the album is better that the first half, though, which earned it back a star that it had lost due to repetition.
This is great! It keeps driving, and the lyrics are delivered so well. I love the underlying rhythms and harmonies. All very well done.
I really enjoyed this album. I had never heard of it previously. I think East Coast rap has a lot of hidden gems and this is one Very high three I think
Weird old skool hip hop
Some cleverness and wit in the lyrics, overshadowed by the dated misogyny that grates and drags it down
I'd never heard of him, nor the album. It was alright, as far as mid-90s hip-hop go - good beats and raps.
2.5
I happened to catch this album in the middle of a 90s hip hop kick I'm currently on and this has been... disappointing? Maybe I don't get it but I felt like most of the beats and lyrics were subpar compared to the other popular albums being released around this time. Even the supposed best song in "Come Clean" fell flat. I went into this never having heard of Jeru the Damaya and now I know why... Anyway, I liked "Jungle Music" the most despite having a slightly dated style to it as it sounded very late 80s/very early 90s. 6/10.
fine. not really anything special overall. My Mind Spray was the one stand out song
Holy shit this album cover aged insanely poorly lmao; I wonder what Jeru thought of this 7 years later. Anyway, I think at this point I'm able to give my personal opinion of 90s rap/hip hop without totally qualifying everything I say with "it wasn't my thing" or "maybe I didn't get it" now that I've gotten enough of them on this list to hear a pretty diverse collection of the genre. I still don't have much of the historical contexts behind these albums but even so I don't really see it being alongside Illmatic and 36 chambers as one of the albums that revived east coast hip hop. This one I thought was just okay; it had some cool beats and perfectly fine lyrics but overall I just wasn't very impressed. However, that could be because I just got illmatic and I'm still fully in recency bias mode with that one.
The Sun Rises in the East is the debut album by American hip hop rapper Jeru the Damaja. Considered to be Jeru's best work, this album revitalized East Coast hip hop, and was well received by critics. Jeru has a unique, broken/disjointed poetic flow for his raps, and he paired that well with the hypnotic beats on this album. This was a cool piece of music history from around the golden age of hip hop. During the mid-90's, a listener could tell the difference between West Coast and East Coast hip hop which were both vying for dominance of the market. The rapping isn't as smooth as modern day's standards, but it brings a whole different vibe that was just as good when this album was released.
Great production is easily the highlight of this ‘90s staple.
Pretty decent. A little bit too much "noise" for me, but I think that's the intent. Prose above the noise.
13th July 2023 Listened during the day while working from home. Chilled evening. Caught up late with the rating so tough to remember but think it was solid 90s hip hop. 3.5 if I could.
enjoyed this one. 3.75
Ok hip hop album, only listened once, wasn’t for me. Rating a 3, might give a listen another time. Beat track wasn’t very engaging for me.
Ja kyllä, tiedän tapani kiertää aseen. Minulla on täysin varustettu AR-15, jonka ostin rahoilla, jonka äitipuoli aikoi käyttää kampaamon perustamiseen. Käytän sitä metsästämään monia suuria eläimiä, jotka eivät ymmärrä mitä ase on eivätkä siksi pelkää sitä. Sellaisen metsästäminen, joka on paljon suurempi kuin ihminen ja jolla ei ole pelkoa (kuten minä lol), on paljon vaikeampaa kuin taistella terroristia tai normaalia vastaan, tiedätkö mitä tarkoitan? Joskus nostan ruhoja kuvia varten ja ne painavat varmaan joka tapauksessa enemmän kuin painot. brooklyn took it
Not really my thing, it's not bad. Fave track Ain't The Devil Happy.
Eh, not a lot of enthusiasm for this - kinda interesting as a transitional link between old school and modern hip-hop I guess. Some of the production was alright. "Da Bitchez" was cringe AF. Fave track - "D Original", for the wonky piano backing...
It was fine. Honestly, nothing really stood out to me but it was good enough. Maybe it needs more listens?
Good music to clean to.
Not bad rap 3/5
Interesting Rap album
That certainly is a cover.
Overall like the sound but thematically doesn't propel things for me, there's better East Coast Rap out there for me.
Generic, average hip hop. Definitely not one of the best hip hop albums of all time?
Jeru has good rhymes and flow, but the album does sound dated compared to others from the same era. It’s good in patches, with ‘Da Bichez’ being a highlight and my favourite track, but I was hoping for more overall.
Definitely couldn't be made nowadays, I love the juxtaposition between 'I hate bitches' and using the f slur, and saying 'im not a racist or a sexist'. Also this made me remember that the etc was bombed well before 9/11, good luck getting that on an album cover nowadays
Forgettable
Most of what I know about hip hop I've learned on this project (namely that some of it is quite fantastic). Unfortunately my knowledge is not deep enough yet to enjoy this album for its place in history. Dated attitudes aside, there was nothing that really caught my ear. I appreciate the, I guess jazziness?, of the music, but overall it just feels too heavy. I don't love it but I certainly don't hate it. Middle of the road 2.5.
Decent. Not amazing, but decent. 3/5
Never heard of this guy. Good. Not great. Would definitely listen again, but not frequently. 1 - bad 2 - average 3 - good 4 - great 5 - outstanding
Was this album significant to the revival of the East Coast hip hop scene? So the Wikipedia tells me, but Jeru didn’t do much for me today. Not unlistenable, but not very appealing to me either.
I listened twice but nothing much grabbed my attention.
cool just not for me!
This varies for me from really good to not enjoyable. Overall though .. solid.
This surprised me, the lyrics are kind of awesome! Ain’t The Devil Happy and Statik are on the top for me.
Flamme
Waaaaay better than I was expecting. Very enjoyable old school sound. 3/5
Never heard this before and it’s got some pep. Good listening
This is a pretty solid 3. Nothing really spectacular but I definitely enjoyed it. A very good sound - well produced.
Missed this first time around. Can appreciate it is good for the genre.
Not bad.
2/10, 20%
I like the beats but it’s not my style.
Very good record. Flows are a little dated at times but the beats are simple and solid, lyricism is good, production on point.
On ne félicite jamais assez les rappeurs qui sortent des albums de moins de quarante minutes. Merci Jeru.
Fijn om weer even een hiphop album te hebben maar ik ben niet echt omvergeblazen. De beats vond ik goed! Prima album maar er zijn zeker betere rap albums.
Best nice! Vond het niet zo tijdloos als dat The Roots bijvoorbeeld, maar vond de beats als nog wel echt nice. Weet niet of ik het nog een keer op zou zetten in z’n geheel maar vond Da Bichez en Jungle music bangersss. Eigenlijk 3,5!!
Good
Beats are great. Lyrics are mostly nonsense. Flow is alright. Not a great record.
It’s sounds of it’s time and while that isn’t always a bad thing you can hear a better version of this style from the previous years Wu-Tang release. Still it plays up the decades New York sounds very well.
Quien rapea no tiene esa cualidad especial, necesaria para elevar un álbum de rap. Pero el álbum sí tiene algunos temas muy buenos, como Mental Stamina y You Can't Stop the Prophet. Por otro lado, qué increíble cómo el rap de los 90 tenía una energía tan alegre, que creo que se ha perdido mayormente.
Definitely good and can clearly see the influence. The beats and flow really steal the show here, as the rhymes really have not aged well, especially compared to the contemporaries at the time.
He likes to have dissonant sounds in his samples. He has a nice flow that pairs well with it though.
I enjoyed this on the whole. On the positive side: Beats were good throughout, there was some clever wordplay, and some humor, which is a nice touch. The posturing in rap is always difficult for me to take seriously, and to announce that you're not a misogynist a minute from a repeated chorus of "bitch!" is ridiculous, on its face. A bit too repetitive and sample-heavy for my taste, which may sum up why rap is not my go-to jam.
Huh. Never heard of this guy before. I kind of dug it. Good rhymes, interesting flow. I might return to this one to give it a better listen. One point off for Da Bitches, though. Do better, hip-hop.
I gotta say that album cover is wild. This album is wild. Jeru has some wild flow. I thought this album was solid. Jeru feels like a lost member of Wu tang. The early 90s east coast rap style was so crisp and fun to listen to. It required strong lyrics and smooth beats. This album impressed me and o would listen again. 7.4/10
Honestly p good
A few cool bits of production.
Never heard of this guy but he sounds, to my uninitiated ears, like an appealing middle-ground between East Coast gangsta rap and the chilled out, playful flow of a De La Soul or some such. It only gets 2.5 stars because ultimately I don’t think any of it will live long in the memory. But I’ll round up because I feel like I’ve given other 90s rap albums that are probably no better than this higher marks based on name/reputation, and as we all know, two wrongs make a right.
It's ok had some good rhymes
I've never heard of this album or the artist. I was pleasantly surprised.
3.5/5
I listened to this twice to try and get a real feel for it. Some I really enjoyed and others sort of passed me by. It didn't stand out to me like other rap albums but I liked it enough
Just an average hip hop album. Some good storytelling and fairly high proficiency in rapping, but the similarities between the beats on each song made it hard for anyone track to stand out
Decent, barebones hip hop from the early 90s with no real highlights or anything to make it stand out
pretty good!
Didn’t get to listen to this album a ton, but I love it! Definitely going to be listening to this again. My rating: 6/10
i think i’ve been spoiled by the legendary 90s albums because even though this was great for the time, it fell flat to me.
Nice one. I don't think I've ever listened to this one.
An enjoyable album that flows well together. It really felt like something I would hear in something like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater or something similarly 90s. A lot of the lyrics still accurate today, but sadly a lot of lyrics are also questionable, like the entirety of "Da Bichez", but at least somewhat enjoyable to listen to. Like one ear and out the other sort of deal here, can't see myself listening again, but we'll see.
Great 90s East Coast Hip Hop
I don’t usually listen to music like this so I’m not sure how to rate it, but I liked it. Will probably listen again.
6/10. Liked it alright, didn't love it.
I can see why this is good, but it's really not for me.
bueno
Decent album, some interesting lyrics.
Meh
90s rap has a very unique feel to it I can't place my finger on, whenever I hear it, I KNOW its from that era of rap. That goes for this album aswell Some of the lyrics are very over the top I especially love Mental Stamina. Great feature from Afu-Ra and I enjoyed this album a lot overall. 6/10
A solid, back-to-basics hip-hop album. Appreciate that this one doesn't have too large an ego about it, only a good sense of solid shittalk. A bit long in places, but solid beats and bars are hard to beat.
Really don’t like the beat in the first song but do like a lot of the others, especially in Da Bitchez and Ain’t the Devil Happy. All the beats on here are DJ Premiere, one of the best producers of all time, but he grew a lot as a producer since this project. Even his beats only a couple years later on reasonable doubt are much stronger. I generally find hip hop beats made before vocal samples were used in the beats to be pretty boring. The lyrics were fine but nothing special at all. I genuinely feel that almost every rap album from 1988-1994 sounds exactly the same. Jungle music was my favorite song. And a Big shoutout to Hoyt Schermerhorn though!!!
I tried to get into it but I couldn't. I can respect the creativity and the flow, but it doesn't get beyond that for me.
This is a decent rapper who I'd never heard of, but like many 90's hip-hop albums it has not aged well and I would not listen to it again. I did like the line about meeting at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn stop. This is my subway stop so I could really relate to that line alone.
fck it up !
Pretty good. It's obviously dated, but almost in a good way.
It is unusual that I have never heard of the artist or album for a must-hear record. Better than average early 90s NY rap. It does not fall into most of the usual traps of gansta rap (which I cannot abide). I enjoyed the singles, and the production is crunchy and discordant in a way that really appeals to me. "Da bichez", however, I could live without.
I don’t know about this one. It sounds kind of generic and sexist to me. But hey, there are some solid beats, and it’s pretty brisk for a rap album. C-
C’est intéressant. Je ne connaissais pas. J’aime que ce ne sois pas que de la violence du sex et de l’argent. La prod est l’fun. J’ai beaucoup aimé le piano joué avec les mitaines (J’imagine).
J'aime beaucoup DJ Premier. Ses beats souvent construits à partir de vieux enregistrement jazz sont très minimaux et ont toute une groove. Les éléments de scratch aussi sont très intéressant. C'est bien d'entendre cette collaboration de cette époque, mais son travail au sein de Gang Starr avec Guru reste supérieur. Le flow de Jeru est tout même bien. Pas un essentiel pour moi, mais une écoute agréable.
Eeeh
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
3, boom Bawp
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.
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.
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.
Interesting for a one time listen, not my style.
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!
Cool and good
Love the flow, the delivery. Agree with the review that said parts didn’t age well, but good stuff.
Brash hip hop, musically very good but some fairly misogynistic lyrical stylings make this a tough listen
Its good for what it is, but its all a bit childish really
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
Filthy beats, filthy lyrics. Good example of non violent gangster rap from the 90s but prefer lyrics that are more thoughtful
few interesting beats and not bad flow, typical black old school hip hop; 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...
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.
Jo keine Überraschungen hier, ein 90er Rap-Album was gut durchfließt. Nichts besonderes, aber schon wohl interessant genug. Sehr in Ordnung halt. 6/10
definitiv hip hop definitiv ganz ok definitiv ich werde es nicht nochmal anhören
kA nicht ganz gehört aber die ersten paar tracks waren ganz cool
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!
Hip-hop. Ni fu ni fa.
Un poco rollo, pero te hace mover la cabeza con ritmo.
Ca sonne bien, bon rap, bon beat, bonne realisation classique de brook’yn. Dj premier 3.65
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.
Leuke eenmalige listen
Great driving music!
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.
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.
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
inte lika bra som ganstarr, men ändå bra
fine. very repetitive 90s rap to me.
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.
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.
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
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.
Very interesting album. Hip hop is the genre that has continued to surprise with consistently fine albums. 3.5 🌟
This bounces along in the usual style. No stand out.
adequate.
The sound of a jug of thick cream lashing against the pert behind of an Argentinian tango dancer...probably.
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).
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
Another hip hop album that I quite enjoyed. Good music, rhythmic vocals. Usual questionable lyrics - Da Bitchez!
Blijft nog altijd niet mijn genre, maar ik had niet de drang om het af te zetten
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
Not quite my style.
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
Solid album. Some of the songs didn't age super well. But we are talking an almost 30 year old album.
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.
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"
I've never listened to much hip-hop. This was alright.
I'll never be a fan of rap. This has great production value, but it's not my thang.
(Swap with The Healer): Chill country
It was fine. Old school rap. Jungle Music was a good song
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"
Classic hip-hop with the added bonus of referencing being a scientist.
Listened while working and it was pleasant from start to finish.
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?
Moeilijk begin, daarna ben ik er ingekomen
Again, no trouble. Quite enjoyed this.
Not too much to say for me here. Enjoyed the album. Some awesome sampling and rhythm favorite track: Mental Stamina
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.
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.
good, short, new
A nice slow, stay-in-your-head, ear jam. Juts out in some tracks more than others
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.
it was good
Solid old school hip hop
Enjoyed it more than I thought. Pretty chill
Best wel lekker old school hip hop album
Solid rapper.
Some good old classic 90s hip hop to start off the week. Jeru the Damaja sounds nice and indie too… loved this record
Likeable but not mind blowing. 3.5 stars. Mental Stamina and Bichez stand out
Quality boom bap but a degree under the classics from that era
slipped through my radar somehow but I’m okay with that. it’s fine
01) Intro (Life) - 5,0 02) D. Original - 6,0 03) Brooklyn Took It - 5,5 04) Perverted Monks in tha House (Skit) - 5,0 05) Mental Stamina - 5,5 06) Da Bichez - 6,5 07) You Can't Stop the Prophet - 5,5 08) Perverted Monks in tha House (Theme) - 5,0 09) Ain't the Devil Happy - 6,0 10) My Mind Spray - 5,5 11) Come Clean - 6,5 12) Jungle Music - 5,5 13) Statik - 6,0 TOTAL: 5,65 (57/100) Current ranking: 818/967
Triple blind here… As a white boy who was 5 years old in Wyoming when this album came out I am DEFINITELY not the target demographic here. That being said… this album didn’t really have a distinct sound to me. The loop tracks felt generic and I’m not convinced that the lyrics were more meaningful than any other rapper of that generation. Again, it was a triple blind, so I may get more out of it with further scrutiny, but right now I’m left wanting more
was fine, not my thing though
Sometimes decent raps that are brought down by the lyrics and production
I found the album a waste of time overall. Beats AB’s samples weren’t very interesting and apart from a couple tracks the lyrical content didn’t help my impression.
Not spectacular at all. Sort of annoying. Typical mid 90s hip hop, but nothing really stood out.
Misogynistic lyrics. Check. Unnecessary skit tracks. Check. Dated production. Check. An album I need to hear before dying. Uncheck. There were some moments musically here and there that I actually liked. But this album no doubt fails most likely due to being overshadowed and outshined by others at the time like WuTang, etc. The sun should probably not rise anymore for this one.
2.7 la misma canción (con flow) repetida 13 veces
Musically great, lyrically questionable and sexist
The beat was good, the lyrics not so.
It’s fine just not the sort of music I enjoy
Not great. The beats are simple and boring. Some tracks try to convey a message but mostly it's just a lot of word salad that doesn't go anywhere.
Was alright though the music wasn’t that memorable and kinda became background noise, a few good tracks other just sound too alike.
Mediocre album. A couple okay tracks with some good production. Lots of better boom-bap '90s hip hop that clears this so I don't know why this was included on the list.
Most of the beats are pretty good, but the forced rhymes and mispronunciations just took me out of it. Has all the normal "I'm hard" bullshit that comes along with most rap.
i don’t like this very much unfortunately.
It’s fine hip hop is just not my favourite genre
Musically it doesn’t do anything for me, but there are some interesting lyrics on this. I’m no expert on rap, but there’s definitely some that I enjoy more than this one.
I'm not sure I'm the demographic for this one.
Du rap
Pas convaincu
Seems like a bridge album for hip hop.
Ok fun! Just not a huge fan of hip-hop
One thing hip-hop does often that I can’t stand is when there’s a very repetitive high pitched sound (like a piano or some sort of synth noise, often atonal) that sticks out above everything else. It catches like a fishhook in my head and I can’t hear the lyrics or the beat or anything else, just that sound. So far every track has had a sound like that. I’m hating this so much.
not entirely my style, but it is okay
3/10 Best songs: Ain't The Devil Happy Early 90s rap/hiphop representative of the east/west coast battle from the time. Honestly, I couldn't care less about it. The album frustrates me because he writes some really great lines ("I'm not a sexist, don't have the power to be a racist"; "My style survived slave ships, whips, and chains, hardships / still through all this, the praise roll off my lips"), but then he writes tremendously problematic BS - Da Bichez is peak misogyny, and he uses slurs in various songs, for example. The music is generally what you'd expect from hip hop of the time, and the occasionally excellent writing never quite makes up for the problematic BS and the mediocrity/forgettable nature of the rest the album.
I thought this was one of the Wu Tang guys
I just don’t get this type of thing
Still not into this genre, the language, and demeaning tones.
I still don’t like east west rap rivalry
just when I was thinking the lyrics didn't demean women too much.....I got to Da Bichez
let them bitches alone dude, omg
Haven't heard of the guy. This is probably the first rap album on the list that is less than an hour long, thanks. Looking at his Wiki page I was surprised to find out he featured on a track by a Polish rap group once? Very random. Anyway, back to the album. The beats are nice but damn are the lyrics dumb and the rhymes are off 2/5
I thought Da Bichez and You Can't Stop The Prophet were both pretty funny, and I feel like that's the most I have to say about this album. Most rap albums I get why they're on this list, but I just didn't feel this one at all. I kinda saw what Ain't The Devil Happy was trying to do, but it felt like a weird morality message that someone said had to quickly be added in. Nothing else really stood out.
Standard 90's hip-hop album, bought it back in the day after hearing "Come Clean" on a pirate radio station. As per many albums of the time I paid c£20 (£43.28 it todays money, apparently) on American import only to find THERE WERE LITERALLY 2 GOOD TRACKS NOT THAT I AM BITTER ABOUT THIS. Also I'd argue "Wrath of the Math" is better. The album selector is definitely, as Jeru would say, playing himself.......
Unfortunately nothing spectacular. Not bad by any means just nothing really to grab onto
Yeah this is okay… just every beat is so slow that it ends up feeling pretty monotonous. Maybe the worst 90s rap we’ve gotten so far, but not bad by any means. High 2
I hear the talent but it’s kind drowned out by the misogynoir
90s East Coast rap plagued with tropes. Victim mentality about gold diggas on Da Bitches, yet talks about how many honeys they attract. Please.
Interessante + produção maneira, mas misógino, especialmente a terrível "da bichez"
Ikke helt elendigt at lytte til, men rap bliver nok ikke min kop te.
I’ve definitely heard better hip-hop albums than this. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘯 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵 has a clear style and some solid production, but it never really grabs me. The beats feel a bit one-note over time, and while there’s a strong sense of direction, it doesn’t translate into something I’d come back to. Not bad, just not that interesting to me.
(2.5)
This was fine, but I would say not especially memorable. I'm writing this two days after listening and struggling to remember anything on the album. I think that gives it a two, even though I didn't dislike it.
I'm not a fan of hip-hop, but I have to say I found this one particularly boring.
I knew nothing about Jeru. He has pretty good delivery. The backing tracks are ok. But there's no particular hook for me.
not my vibes but I respect it
Not that bad
It was an amazing experience, but I don't see myself listening to this on my own TODAY'S BIRD: Ruff
Overall, just alright. I enjoyed Da Bichez and Perverted Monks In Tha House
There’s a bit to like here but I think there are albums from this time period that have aged better. Calling this a 2 feels harsh but I don’t think it’s earned the 3 either. Since I felt bad about it, I listened to wrath of the math and feel that’s a better album. Make something of that if you want!
The chemical formula for nitroglycerin in Mental Stamina threw me.
2.0
Two days in a row of hip hop I feel fairly indifferent towards. This album was fine, but nothing I would seek out again. Favorite track: "Ain't the Devil Happy"
Not my favorite. Good production and good beats but WAY too much of my least favorite hip-hop trope: the sexualized lyrics. I don’t want to hear anyone rap about body parts and what they want to do with them. Save that for the singers, man.
Bitch bitch bitch pussy cock bitch bitch
#bernwoche Am Anfang dachte ich noch kurz dass das irgendwie avant-garde und interessant ist mit den nervigstens Sounds einzusteigen, aber es passt einfach alles irgendwie nicht zusammen. Lyrics blöd und uff, kein echter Flow.
Nervt. Beats: nerven. Lyrics: nerven. Flow: nervt. Nervt.
Am I my old man? This is crap, not rap.
nah
not for me
Meh, I guess it wasn't terrible, but I am probably never going to just throw on an album that spends an entire track talking about bitches.
One star granted for acknowledging Shaq is an aphrodisiac. I don't think I would listen to this again, but nothing about it was objectionable to me aside from the misogyny (am I woke because of the times, or because I'm 50?). As usual, surprised in the strong reactions on both sides to an album like this. 2.5
3 - BAD
Some good rap, but the same problem as I have with other early hip hop. It's basic talking on a simple beat with little to no variation. You could put any of the vocals on any of the beats, or even just run all the vocals one after the other on the same beat, and there would be no real difference. You Can't Stop The Prophet had a nice story at least. The best line in the whole album though? *'Cause I blow up spots like the World Trade Center* This song came out in 1994. Best song: You Can't Stop The Prophet
"Mental Stamina" sounds like that one Nathan For You episode when he gathers a band and makes the guitarist abandon his instrument to become the fire-alarm player. It's not the worst thing ever but at the same it is idk lowkey 1.5. I'll give it 2 cause it makes me laugh giving it the same rating as Rumours.
From the Vault #3 (January 22, 2026) We're back, and we are once again listening to Black (people). These 90s hip-hop album covers are impossible to take seriously, Imma be real widju. I'm not expecting anything radically different from the norm here. What would the style of hip-hop from this time be? Boom bap? Despite the hardcore cover photo, I'm not expecting gangsta rap from a guy called Jeru the Damaja. At best, he'll smash my car window and steal all of my CDs. This isn't Jeru the Frachura. This isn't Jeru the Pockmarka. Only then would I be intimidated, you see. Thirty-nine minutes. That runtime is fucking glorious. These hip-hop albums became bloated up the ass with the advent of the 90s, so I'm glad to have something which is manageable and doesn't cause my eyes to roll to the back of my skull from sheer disinterest. Anyways, this album wasn't very good. The instrumentals are stuck in a permanent purgatory that alternates between being shitty or tolerable. The more atmospheric aspects of the production are alright, but the leading instrumentation sucks a lotta dick. It's difficult for me to articulate why, but it just sounds tacky to me. The bass is flimsy on a lot of these tracks, which keeps them from having any depth. The instruments are also slightly compressed in a way that makes them sound unappealing rather than engaging. Book time. "...outstanding production values" - I'd venture to disagree. "...one of the best hip-hop albums of the mid-1990s." The cover of this album predicted friggen 9/11, yo. Wikipedia says that this album attracted some attention from critics, but that's about it. Jeru doesn't seem to be much of a critic act as far as his remaining albums are concerned, so snubbly snipping time. In place of this album, I humbly submit "The Dismemberment Plan Is Terrified" by The Dismemberment Plan for inclusion on the list.
Nothing special. The lyrics haven’t aged well, the music is no better than other stuff you have heard 1001 times before. Meh. There is a reason most of us have never heard of this guy.
Strange one to include. Maybe it was influential but it feels like it’s been lapped and left in the dust by other east coast stuff. Also, state of your cover art mate.
90’s Rap ⭐️Ain’t The Devil Happy
There's nothing offensive or off about this album at all, it just lacks any cut-through or noticeable high points to peak my interest. There's no doubting there is some quality to the delivery & production, but overall it felt like a very average listen.
Some top tier beat production and great flow. I feel like jay z too inspo from his flow. However, a little problematic in some of the misogyny.
Nothing much to love about it
r a p D.original instrumental PTDR instrumentals really are peculiar speaking like a noble
This is basically what most hip hop sounded like during this era.
OK
Meh. Rapping all about how he’s a good rapper and bitches and money and crime. Where is the substance? Not even that good of a lyricist. And I bet they don’t even have Project Pat or DJ Quik on this list.
More than 30 years post-release, and I’m not seeing what’s so special here. Sure Jeru has some clever, (sometimes) conscious lyrics and interesting moments of off-centered flow that are supported by DJ Premier’s beats that occasionally get wonky and discordant (those are the best moments). Otherwise there’s a few songs I dug, a few were fine, and a few I didn’t love. This one won’t leave a lasting impression.
Homophobic and sexist. So you have two stars removed already, and it would never be a perfect album. It feels a bit bloated which for a 35 minute record is not ok.
Never listened. Expectations: None - Verdict: Alright - It's definitely good, and there are some bangers but it doesn't quite hit the same way as some other albums from the era.