His music has been featured on popular video games such as Grand Theft Auto IV, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4, and True Crime: New York City, but Jeru the Damaja was first heard on wax with his feature on Gang Starr‘s “I’m the Man” in 1992.  It’s this relationship with DJ Premier and the late Guru that would help make the Brooklyn bred MC’s 1994 debut, The Sun Rises in the East, a major success. The album was soley produced by Premier and Afu-Ra would be the lone feature on the entire project. The result was a critically acclaimed album with a number five slot on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts, with rhyming that blends conscious rap and hardcore street talk. Singles off the album include “Come Clean“, “D. Original“, and “You Can’t Stop the Prophet.”

Jeru’s sophomore effort was Wrath of the Math in 1996. It followed the same formula as his first album with Premier handling all the production, and Afu-Ra as the sole guest artist. Though it was another triumphant moment, reaching number three this time on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts, there was some controversy over the song “One Day.” Jeru angrily recites, “We’ll see if Puff knows what’s up cuz he’s the one getting him drunk and fucking his mind up.” The song depicts a fictional situation where Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs is holding a man named Hip-Hop, the personification of the genre, for ransom along with Foxy Brown. Bad Boy Records was already under fire from other artists, and this attack from a fellow New York rapper made for even more bad publicity, eventually leading to several subliminal rhymes from Notorious B.I.G. in retalition. More trouble would follow Jeru after his second album as he stopped working with Gang Starr due to unknown reasons.

Jeru would go on to drop three more albums in 1999, 2003, and 2007, but none would return him to the same amount of U.S. acheivement he made commercially with his first two albums. Jeru would experience great success internationally though working with Italian producer Fabio Musta, Japanese disc jockey DJ Honda, and Polish duo Slums Attack. Today, Jeru the Damaja is working on new album. Since the two have reconciled their differences, DJ Premier is expected to make a production appearance on the album along with Large Professor, Pete Rock, and JuJu.

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A huskier Jeru The Damaja sat down with The Montreality to discuss his current status in the hip-hop game, his keys to success and what his childhood was like among many other things. The Damaja says he’s still touring around the world on a consistent basis and has an upcoming project involving some cats out in Poland. It’s always great to see D. Original still working on music and enjoying his craft.

The post Remember This Guy? Montreality Interviews Jeru The Damaja appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.