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" from his debut album, The Sun Rises in the East, ranked as one of the 100 greatest hip-hop albums of all time by the editors of About.com. 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, The following year he released his first single "Come Clean" which was produced by DJ Premier and became an underground hit. 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 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."

Discography

;Studio albums and EPs

  • The Sun Rises in the East (1994)
  • Wrath of the Math (1996)
  • Heroz4Hire (1999)
  • Divine Design (2003)
  • Still Rising (2007)
  • The Hammer (2014)

References

  • Interview on Divine Design from thesituation.co.uk
  • "Interview with Neil Acharya" at Exclaim!