Jeru the Damaja

Biography

Kendrick Jeru Davis (born February 14, 1971), known as Jeru the Damaja (/'jeiru: ðə ˈdæmɪʤə/ JAY-roo thuh DAM-ih-juh), is an American rapper and record producer. He is known for his 1993 single "Come Clean×Come Clean1993 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracksA1Come Clean (Dirty Rotten Scoundrel mix)4:59A2Come Clean (instrumental)4:59BCome Clean (E New Y radio)4:59" from his debut album, The Sun Rises in the East×The Sun Rises in the East24 May 1994 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Intro (Life)0:502D. Original3:363Brooklyn Took It3:244Perverted Monks in tha House (skit)1:135Mental Stamina2:216Da Bitchez3:527You Can’t Stop the Prophet3:558Perverted Monks in tha House (theme)1:029Ain’t the Devil Happy3:4510My Mind Spray3:4611Come Clean4:5712Jungle Music3:5113Statik3:07, ranked as one of the 100 greatest hip-hop albums of all time. He has worked extensively with Guru and DJ Premier of Gang Starr, whom he has known since he was in high school.

Early life

Jeru the Damaja was born February 14, 1971, in Brooklyn, New York, and spent his early years in the borough's East New York neighborhood, where he began rhyming at block parties as a youth.

Career

Davis first showcased his unique style to audiences on "I'm the Man", a track from Gang Starr's 1992 album Daily Operation and also "Speak ya Clout" from Hard to Earn. The following year he released his first single "Come Clean×Come Clean1993 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracksA1Come Clean (Dirty Rotten Scoundrel mix)4:59A2Come Clean (instrumental)4:59BCome Clean (E New Y radio)4:59" which was produced by DJ Premier and became an underground hit.
Davis's first album, The Sun Rises in the East×The Sun Rises in the East24 May 1994 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Intro (Life)0:502D. Original3:363Brooklyn Took It3:244Perverted Monks in tha House (skit)1:135Mental Stamina2:216Da Bitchez3:527You Can’t Stop the Prophet3:558Perverted Monks in tha House (theme)1:029Ain’t the Devil Happy3:4510My Mind Spray3:4611Come Clean4:5712Jungle Music3:5113Statik3:07, was released in 1994 and produced entirely by DJ Premier. The album was well-received but was criticized by the Fugees for its lyrics, particularly for the song "Da Bichez×Da Bichez1995 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksADa Bichez3:51BDa Bichez (instrumental)3:51". Fugees member Pras lightly mentioned Jeru on the track "Zealots", from the group's landmark 1996 album The Score, with the line "No matter who you damage, you're still a false prophet", referencing Jeru's single "You Can't Stop the Prophet". Jeru responded lightly in the intro of the track "Me or the Papes×Me or the Papes1997 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1Me or the Papes (LP version)4:052Me, Not the Paper (remix dirty)4:003Tha Bullshit (LP version)2:044Ya Playin' Yaself (LP version)4:095Me or the Papes (LP instrumental)4:096Tha Bullshit (LP instrumental)1:44" and also on the track "Black Cowboys".
Davis followed up in 1996 with his second album, Wrath of the Math×Wrath of the Math1 October 1996 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Wrath of the Math0:572Tha Frustrated Nigga3:113Black Cowboys3:444Tha Bullshit2:015Whatever3:166Physical Stamina3:057One Day2:158Revenge of the Prophet, Part 54:059Scientifical Madness4:1510Not the Average4:2311Me or the Papes4:2612How I'm Livin'4:2313Too Perverted3:2114Ya Playin' Yaself3:4715Invasion4:40, again produced solely by DJ Premier. The album was also widely acclaimed, although not on the same level as his debut. As on his first album, Jeru was critical of commercial hip-hop artists and the record labels that produced them such as Death Row Records and Bad Boy Entertainment; the latter he criticized on the concept track "One Day". After the release of Math, Jeru reportedly had a falling-out with DJ Premier and Guru. Jeru, however, has dismissed this and claimed that they wanted to go in different directions. Nonetheless, in 2002 Jeru would make up with both Premier & Guru following the passing of shared friend Kenneth "HeadQCourterz" Walker.
Davis appeared semi-retired until 1999, when he released his third album, Heroz4Hire, released together with Mizmarvel, which was his first album under his then-newly created Know Savage Records. It featured the single "99.9%". His next album, Divine Design×Divine Design2003 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Intro0:332Logical3:273True Skillz3:184Murda 13:135Baby Rappa1:106Da Game3:257War2:418Praise the Lord2:479Rasta Powers2:5510Zilch the Pimp2:3611Queens3:5212Dirty3:5713Rap Wars2:2114Rize1:4515Whatyagonnado3:3416Divine Design3:50, released in 2003, was the first album under his new record label, Ashenafi Records. The album received little attention and mixed reviews. On April 2, 2007, during a La Coka Nostra concert at the Gramercy Theatre in New York, Jeru the Damaja came out for a surprise appearance to perform his song "D. Original×D. Original1994 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1D. Original (Clean)3:332D. Original (Instrumental)3:33". His album Still Rising×Still Rising16 October 2007 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Intro0:452The Crack2:163The Prophet4:074Ghetto3:175Murdera4:116Quantum Leap3:497History 1014:228How Ill3:329Will Grow (interlude)1:0810Dirty Bomb3:5511NY2:5712Juss Buggn’3:2613Airplay3:5114Kick Rocks4:1815Hold Tight4:3816Streets5:22 was released on October 16, 2007.
In 2009, Jeru started to collaborate with drum and bass producers. In 2009, he is featured on Kabuki's track "Watch Your Step", produced by Mainframe and also on "Open Up Their Eyes" by Italian producer Fabio Musta. He also collaborated with Group Home in 2010 for a song, "Guru" dedicated to the late rapper Guru. The next year, Jeru announced that he would be releasing a new record with production by JuJu from the Beatnuts, Pete Rock, Large Professor and old collaborator DJ Premier, but the album was not released. The same year he featured in the song "Oddałbym" on the album Reedukacja of Polish hip-hop group Slums Attack (Peja, Dj Decks). Polish rap star OSTR also featured on it, and the album was a great success in Poland, selling out in the first couple of days. In 2012 Jeru featured in the song "The Mourning Son" on the album Remix with the Sun of French trip hop group Chinese Man.
In July 2013, Jeru promised to soon release a new EP with production from Large Professor, PF Cuttin, Junkyard Ju, and Sabor. On June 17, 2014, Jeru released an EP through Hedspinn Records entitled The Hammer×The Hammer17 June 2014 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Intro0:312Point Blank1:583So Raw3:554Attack the Wack (skit)0:435A.R.M.E.D.2:316Solar Flares3:567The Hammer3:408Dr. Freedman (outro)1:31 for digital download.
In 2019, he reunited with Premier to feature on Gang Starr's “From a Distance” off their final album One Of The Best Yet.
He has a home in Berlin.

Legacy

In 2013 The Sun Rises in the East was ranked as one of the 100 greatest hip-hop albums of all time by the editors of About.com, who called it "one of the quintessential '90s hip-hop albums."
In 2022, The Sun Rises in the East was named as one of the '200 Greatest Rap Albums Of All Time' by Rolling Stone magazine.