Jeru the Damaja

Jeru the Damaja

Jeru the Damaja is the stage name of Kendrick Jeru Davis, a Brooklyn rapper born in 1972 and raised in East New York. He starts rapping at block parties in his early youth and becomes associated with East Coast hip hop and underground rap. He is a member of Gang Starr Foundation and Crooklyn Dodgers ’95, and his work is linked to Know Savage Productions.

Career

He first appears on Gang Starr’s 1992 album Daily Operation on the track “I’m the Man,” where he presents his hard-edged Brooklyn style to a wider audience. His first single, “Come Clean,” follows in 1993 and is produced by DJ Premier, becoming an underground hit.

In 1994 he releases his debut album, The Sun Rises in the East, which DJ Premier produces in full. The album becomes one of the most acclaimed hip hop releases of its period and establishes Jeru’s conscious lyrical style. Its cover includes the World Trade Center, appearing a year after the 1993 bombing of the North Tower. The album also draws criticism from The Fugees for its explicit content, particularly the track “Da Bichez.”

In 1996 he releases Wrath of the Math, again produced entirely by DJ Premier. It is also widely acclaimed, though not as strongly as the debut. On the concept track “One Day,” Jeru attacks commercial hip hop artists and labels including Death Row and Bad Boy.

After Wrath of the Math, Jeru falls out with DJ Premier and Guru and is absent from the scene until 1999, when he releases Heroz4hire with Mizmarvel. This album is the first he releases without DJ Premier’s production and the first on his then-new label, KnowSavage Records. It includes “99.9 Pa Cent,” a direct attack on his former Gang Starr associates. The album receives less critical praise than his earlier work.

His 2003 album Divine Design is the first release on Ashenafi Records. It receives mixed reviews and limited attention. An album titled Still Rising is released in 2007.

Notable themes and associations

Jeru’s music is associated with conscious lyrics, criticism of commercial rap, and conflict with former collaborators. He is also noted for response tracks and lyrical exchanges, including Pras’s line on “Zealots” from The Fugees’ 1996 album The Score, which refers to Jeru’s “You Can’t Stop the Prophet,” and Jeru’s reply in the intro to “Me or The Papes.”