One of Hip Hop's best story tellers that they never mention. Jeru has been around and been one of the best in the competitive 90s, but things changed and maybe the change didn't fit his style.
Honestly my favorite consistent producer, hands down! Gang Starr and Group Home were my favorite groups by the end of the '90s since by then Tribe, Black Sheep and The Fugees had broken up and De La had disappeared for a while.
Last I knew, Jeru was living in Europe where they LOVE hip hop, specifically 90s Boom bap. He is still performing and promoting other 90s hip hop artists who tour over there often and do really well
He’s dope and I still got his first and second album but to be honest,he was going against some of the greats back then such as Nas,Wu-Tang Clan,OutKast,Tupac,Biggie,Big L,Brand Nubian,De La Soul,the Pharcyde,Craig Mack,Nine,A tribe called Quest,The Roots,Black Moon,Smif N Wesson,The Boot Camp Clik,Das Efx,Cypress Hill,The Fugees,Redman,Def Squad,The Lost Boyz,Busta Rhymes,Naughty by Nature.Etc.
Jeru the Damaja's song "Playing Ya'self" is one of the greatest songs ever penned. I loved that song as a kid not even knowing the powerful message for young men and women. Much love to Jeru. Shalom
Bad Boy ushered in the death of Hip Hop as far as I'm concerned. IMO, Hip Hop has been dead since the Black Eyed Peas got rid of the Black girl for Fergie. That was the "nail" on the coffin for me!!
Jeru is a MAN with integrity who never sold his soul for money & fame. He was for his people and had dope lyrics and flows with substance. It’s a shame he doesn’t get mentioned in the same breath as other 90’s greats, but his lyrical content puts him in a class of his own to those who can comprehend it.
One of my fav. Listen for yah mind I got the right nutriention. We keeps it hard like fat asses and cases of heniken. Here is Brooklyn...etc then near the end of verse. I melt emcees with mental telephapy .. that line.
I took my (then) 10 yr old son to an old school Hip Hop concert in Prospect Park one summer...Jeru performed that year and as we were leaving,he ran up to Jeru, startling him, and told him how much he enjoyed it...I apologized and explained it was his first time hearing about him and loved his set...Jeru was SO kind to him and thanked me for bringing him...My son is 27 now and still a big fan...
One of the rawest MC in the mid-90s. With Preemo beats, he never went wrong. Anti-flossing, no "Big Willie" style, unlike many other well known MCs in the 1990s. Pure hip hop. I would've loved to hear him and KRS-One on a track together back in the day!
They were both on the posse cut "1,2 Pass It" off of The D&D Project, Jeru was actually freestyling over a beat from that compilation ("Look Alive" by Big C)
Yo, I was standing in line at the grocery store not long ago while listening to this video -- and when he said that, I busted out laughing and people were looking at me. Lol That was hilarious.
His first 2 albums are CLASSICS!! I also like the song he came out with a few years ago called "Solar flares". Song goes HARD! I never really knew the full story of the song "Kick in the 🚪" came about. Now I know. I wonder if they had a chance to squash the misunderstanding before B.I.G passed? This was a good episode 👍! Keep them coming!
Hell yeah, mad props for doing this one. Jeru's one of my favorite MCs from that period and the fact that he got not one but TWO albums completely produced by DJ Premier shows how much they held his skill in high esteem.
Absolute banger first album, second is amazing too. Seen Jeru live 3 or 4 times and always incredible. Jungle Music first verse is one of the best verses ever.
All of these reasons are spot on! If you're too young to grasp what this video is explaining listen to the song "Mass Appeal" by Gang Starr", it captured the content war of that era.
I do respect Jeru's courage to compete with BIG. It's funny that BIG was all hot about Jeru's diss record but I'd bet he wished Pac had the level of civility that the damaja had. Nothing personal with Jeru, just a skillful challenge. We need more of that today. These rappers are getting hella weak and if someone mentions that the emperor has no clothes, they reach for their sword instead of the pen. Thanks for the vid and keep the content going, its remarkable.
I was just listening to "Come clean", that stays in rotation. "The sun rises in the East" is definitely a slept on classic. I put it up there with all the other great albums of that time.
One of the Best Storytellers in Hip Hop right up their With the Legends Ice Cube , Ice T , Eazy E , KRS One , Kool G Rap , Nas , Snoop , Biggie , .R.I.P Gangstarr ,R.I.P . 2Pac of the 90s era . Jeru has a art of storytelling that really draws you in like your really in a movie or live in real time as story unfolds as he's talking .His Album , The Sun rises in the East and the Wrath of Math are his Master Class Albums . His Best songs , Aint the Devil Happy , The Prophet Saga 1.2.3 , Scientifical Madness , Da Bitches , One Day , Invasion and the Runaway Slave these are classic songs in one of the best competitive era's of Hip in Hop that doesnt exist anymore the 90s was truly the Battle Arena Era you had to be the Best or get devoured by the Streets Lyrically or even Literally . Jeru was like a samurai in streets of Hip Hop Like most Top artists at the time and this man deserves , Respect and he deserves his Flowers now Salute to Jeru The Damaja one of the Best to ever do it .
I remember when Jerus first album came out. I was in high school on the West Coast I had my little Honda civic with some sounds in the trunk. People at school would clown me for bumping it instead of Dre or Snoop.
StuntedGrowthMusic, this is possibly the most important piece of content you ever did. This had to be told for many outside our era can understand how hip hop changed. This wasn't only a Stunted Growth for Jeru but he was also a causality to the change in shift that hip hop went through. His career died with that shift. Jeru was never gonna strive in the late 90s and early 2000s. This is why I say that Nas is the only man to ever blend conscious hip hop with street sensibility and commercial ability. Nas could have easily been Jeru if he didn't go that route he did with It Was Written
When I came back to Baltimore, I already had a flag planted in Brooklyn so I stayed buying alot of records and mixtapes bringing em back to my city. I literally remember the night I was in Brooklyn and stopped at BeatStreet Records. I bought a evil dee and Tony Touch mixtape and my homeboy gave me 2 white label records. Didn't know who it was. When I got to Baltimore, I hooked up my dj equipment. The first joint was Blackmoon How Many Mc's. I was already vibing off that so I decided to play the other one. It was Come Clean. When I tell you I damn near broke that record cause I played that shit over and over till I got sleepy. I had never heard anything like it. I listened to the lyrics and was blown. From then on, I was a Jeru fan for life
He was criminally underrated. He was 🔥🔥🔥. Some people said his flow was too old sounding. His records were dope to me! Still listen to his music to this day
I was just mixing records from the 90,s and I was stuck on Jeru’s ‘Me Or The Paper’ . The work he did with DJ Premier is legendary . He’s still touring overseas and doesn’t have to make any new music .
Thanks so much for doing this video on jeru. One of my favorite MCs and very underrated MC. If you listen to the lyrics on" Ya playing yourself", he was ahead of his time. The classic line he said was "never new hustlers confessed in stereo"
This shit made me sad... I remember that shift in Hip Hop, it was the start of the ending for me. There was still some great music after that, but '94? That was my favorite shit!
He deserves so much more respect, but this new school generation won't appreciate him and or the others that paved the way for them. This new generation is full of microwave people and microwave talent. Jeru will always been respected by us individuals who truly love and appreciate *real Hip Hop*
Remember meeting Ru outside of Franklin K Lane High School in ENY BK shortly after Wrath of the Math came out. The God was crazy cool. Them 1st 2 Jeru records are incredible!
Even though he wasn't a huge artist he was nice on the mic and he deserves credit in hip hop for being a lyricist in a era where everyone brought something different to the table in music. And on a side note I have a you tube channel type in Russell Mills May 22, 2017 to find me.
I think his lyrical skill level dropped, and the powers that be didn't want his message getting out. Very powerful message. P.E. also in 94 would slowly fade. Muse sick in our mess age would be their last charting album. But in their case P. E. was internationally known worldwide.
Back when "Come Clean" ummmm, came out (when I was in 11th grade), I didn't even know Premo produced it. I wasn't purchasing albums back then, just watching "Rap City" & "Yo! MTV Raps" as my primary barometer for what was hot. The song & video were so dope that it didn't matter to me at the time who produced it. Years later when I did buy the album and was deep into my knowledge and fandom of Premo, I appreciated the singles even more and realized some of the album tracks were even better. "Wrath Of The Math" was a cool album too. Jeru is stamped in Hip Hop history, plus he's the only other person back then who had beef with Biggie, Puff & the Fugees like Pac did. So there's that...
I really wish you would have said something about the Prophet Series... Those 4 songs are like a Hip-hop graphic novel!!! Some of the best storytelling in Hip-hop History.... Respect for highlighting the Damaja!!!!!
Jeru The Damaj, still left us with Perfection. Now, please let's talk my favorite M.C.: Black 🌝 and/or anybody from BCC. their bodies of work we're spectacular. Come fellos and ladies stop hating 90 hip hop era rules.🍾🍾🍾🙏🙏🤝👍👍
I still have Jeru the Damaga albums The Sun rises in the East & Wrath of the Math. But both were overshadowed by These classic albums from NY.....Nas - Illmatic, Gravediggaz - 6 Feet Deep, Shyheim - The Rugged Child, O.C.- Word Life, Notorious BIG - Ready to Die, Method Man - Tical, Redman - Dare iz a Darkside, Smif n Wesson - Da Shinin, Mobb Deep - The Infamous, Ol' Dirty Bastard - Return to the 36 Chambers The Dirty Version, Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Big L - Lifestyles ov da Poor & Dangerous, Fat Joe - Jealous Ones Envy, Naughty by Nature - Poverty's Paradise, Onyx - All We Got iz Us, LL Cool J - Mr Smith, KRS One self titled album, GZA - Liquid Swords, Kool G Rap - 456, Fugees - The Score, Busta Rhymes - The Coming, Shyheim - The Lost Generation, Lost Boyz - Legal Drug Money, Nas - It Was Written, Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt, A Tribe Called Quest - Beats Rhymes and Life, Heltah Skeltah - Nocturnal, Mobb Deep - Hell on Earth, Ghostface Killah - Ironman, Redman - Muddy Waters, De La Soul - Stakes is High.
Conscious rap never died. YOU have to make the Music YOU wanna hear. The venues YOU must create, to promote YOUR style of music, and those whom follow and like it as well. This is how subcultures and ideas are passed around. Record companies our powered by consumers. Produce.
ANOTHER LEGEND MC IN OLD SCHOOL HIP HOP THAT'S IN A CLASS OF HIS OWN LIKE MANY OTHER'S BEFORE HIM AS WELL ARE FORGOTTEN BUT WE ALL KNOW THE ONE'S ✌️💯🇺🇲
Great video. He deserves a lot more respect and attention to his music. Could please do Bone Thugs-n-Harmony next. Their growth wasn't stunted but they didn't reach their full potential. Here's why: 1. Their style was fresh but they only started with EP. E1999. Eternal was ready in August, 94 but wasn't out till July, 95 which was a big marketing mistake cause the rap was flooded by artists with similar styles(both biters and non-biters) 2. Their double-album 'The Art of War' contained few singles and music videos. It was a bad idea to give a song 'Batman and Robin' soundtrack cause the film appeared to be trash. Meanwhile, Bizzy would sabotage videos and concert tours. You can also mention his feud with Tomica. 3. Flesh-n-Bone was imprisoned in 2000. 4. More problems with Bizzy in 2002-03 resulting in a weak group album. 5. Rather weak solo careers. Bizzy cut some songs in his debut solo album because of sample clearance issues. His second album had little promotion and only one music video. Krayzie's first two solos weren't too strong commercially. Krayzie also caught Dr.Dre's 'Detox syndrome' and not used the momentum given by the Grammy-winning duo with Chamillionaire. 'Chasing the Devil' coulda caused more impact having been released back in 07-08
I don't think they fully count. They made it to the top. The problem was everything else. Example: Industry change killing Bone's Infrastructure metaphorically speaking, Tomica Wright, issues with Bizzy etc. But despite that Bone Thugs-N-Harmony constantly had hits after the 90s. For example that T.W.O album still went gold. The Art of War was quadruple platinum, i do agree that AoW should have had more music videos. Bone's situation is very unique, and multifaceted. But I don't think their growth was so much as stunted as it was.... hobbled.
@@aaronneville5650 I'ma take the high road on your comment bro and I'ma clarify my comment. Maybe using the term "bite" is too strong because it gives a negative connotation to what I meant. Biggie was such a lyrical phenomenon that changed the taste of buds of a significant portion heads who enjoyed New York style conscience hip hop. Biggie incorporated various elements (cadence, tone, story structure, word play, vocabulary intellect, etc.) of Jeru and similar artist, and took their audience away from them. Biggie reduced the size of the audience for an entire genre (accept for Wu) and brought them in the flashy/rugged/gangster new York style hip hop. Jeru's style used to run hip hop, them Biggie took his audience, Jay z then built off of it( using Biggie lyrics), then they went down south.
Rap became a mainstream quickly evolving genre of music in 1991 after the Rodney King video emerged,I think, as Teddy Riley’s New Jack Swing with his production of Michael Jackson’s Dangerous Album and collaboration with Dr Dre and rappers developing as a new style of music within rap & other genres as a new music and the massive cultural & musical creativity that ensued worldwide thereafter is incredible to me & now in 2023 i love looking back at the early greats like Jeru thru these lenses and seeing what became of their early contributions to the craft…
Bad Boy ushered in the death of Hip Hop as far as I'm concerned. IMO, Hip Hop has been dead since the Black Eyed Peas got rid of the Black girl for Fergie. That was the "nail" on the coffin for me!! True Hip Hop has been dead since 2005.
@@juniorjames7076 hip hop aint die.. its 2 generations in.. it just evolved. Game different now. No more CD's or mp3s. Streams and tiktok determine your success rn..
Saw Jeru live in Philly. 99, 00ish... With like 25 other people and he DESTROYED it. Really put on a show as a live lyricist. Mic play is insane, and everybody knows you can't stop the prophet.