759. Jeru the Damaja - The Sun Rises in the East (1994)

Track Listing

1. Intro (Life)
2. D. Original
3. Brooklyn Took It
4. Perverted Monks In Tha House
5. Mental Stamina
6. Da Bichez
7. You Can't Stop The Prophet
8. Perverted Monks In Tha House
9. Ain't The Devil Happy
10. My Mind Spray
11. Come Clean
12. Jungle Music
13. Statik

Review

Jeru the Damaja does something different in hip-hop! This album is a great antidote to g-funk style music, Jeru's samples are truly original ones, he uses them by simply sampling very small sounds which are then interestingly repeated throughout the track, it's pretty great.

Jeru's samples mainly come from Jazz but more of a free-jazz tradition than the more conventional Jazz used by groups like Tribe Called Quest. This makes his music sound pretty innovative while also being pretty accessible.

Jeru's beats are also great as are his lyrics, even if you have some problems with tracks like Da Bitchez, which might be construed as misogynist, at least Jeru qualifies what bitches are instead of being an anti-woman song... it is still misogynist, however. This is hip-hop, however, and you should be listening to anything else if words like bitch offend you. A great album which deserves more fame than it actually has.

Track Highlights

1. Brooklyn Took It
2. D-Original
3. Ain't The Devil Happy
4. Da Bitchez

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

The album also features fellow Gang Starr Foundation member Afu-Ra. Jeru's trademark delivery and vocabulary can be found throughout the project. It is highly significant and is said to have helped revive East Coast hip hop along with other albums such as Wu-Tang Clan's Enter the Wu-Tang, Nas' Illmatic and Black Moon's Enta Da Stage.
An interesting sidenote, the album cover depicts the World Trade Center on fire only one year after the 1993 bombing of the North Tower.

D-Original: