The Sun Rises in the East is the debut album by American rapper Jeru the Damaja, released May 24, 1994, on Payday Records. It was produced by DJ Premier. The album features fellow Gang Starr Foundation member Afu-Ra. The album cover depicts the World Trade Center on fire only one year after the 1993 bombing of the North Tower.

The Sun Rises in the East was well received by most music critics upon its release. The album has been considered by critics to be Jeru the Damaja's best work.

Critical reception

Melody Maker named The Sun Rises in the East "bloody essential", calling it "hypnotic and chilling as a blues party on Pluto" and "another step forward for hip hop." NME said that "Jeru is more original than most [rappers]",

Track listing

  • <small>All songs produced by DJ Premier </small>

<!--this section is for album credits only-->

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! style="width:20px;" |#

! style="width:150px;"|Title

! style="width:20px;" |Length

! style="width:150px;"|Songwriters

|-

|1

|"Intro (Life)"

|0:50

|K.J. Davis, C. Martin

|-

|2

|"D. Original"

|3:36

|K.J. Davis, C. Martin

|-

|3

|"Brooklyn Took It"

|3:24

|K.J. Davis, C. Martin

|-

|4

|"Perverted Monks in tha House (Skit)"

|1:15

|K.J. Davis, C. Martin, A. Phillip, W. Garfield, C. Clay

|-

|5

|"Mental Stamina"

|2:21

|K.J. Davis, C. Martin

|-

|6

|"Da Bichez"

|3:52

|*Uncredited*

|-

|7

|"You Can't Stop the Prophet"

|3:53

|K.J. Davis, C. Martin

|-

|8

|"Perverted Monks in tha House (Theme)"

|1:02

|*Uncredited*

|-

|9

|"Ain't the Devil Happy"

|3:45

|K.J. Davis, C. Martin

|-

|10

|"My Mind Spray"

|3:45

|K.J. Davis, C. Martin, B. James

|-

|11

|"Come Clean"

|4:57

|K.J. Davis, C. Martin, C. Parker, F. Scruggs, K. Jones, T. Taylor

|-

|12

|"Jungle Music"

|3:51

|*Uncredited*

|-

|13

|"Statik"

|3:07

|K.J. Davis, C. Martin

|}

Singles

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Single information

|-

|"Come Clean"

  • Released: October 21, 1993
  • B-side:

|-

|"D. Original"

  • Released: January 29, 1994
  • B-side:

|-

|"You Can't Stop the Prophet"

  • Released: April 6, 1994
  • B-side:

|}

Charts

Weekly charts

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"

|-

!scope="col"|Chart (1994)

!scope="col"|Peak<br/>position

|-

!scope="row"

|-

!scope="row"

|}

Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|-

!scope="col"|Chart (1994)

!scope="col"|Position

|-

!scope="row"|US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)

|84

|}

Singles

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!rowspan="2"| Year

!rowspan="2"| Song

!colspan="4"| Chart positions

|-

! Billboard Hot 100

! Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks

! Hot Rap Singles

! Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales

|-

| 1993

| Come Clean

| style="text-align:center;"|88

| style="text-align:center;"|53

| style="text-align:center;"|10

| style="text-align:center;"|6

|-

|rowspan="2"| 1994

| D. Original

| style="text-align:center;"| -

| style="text-align:center;"|74

| style="text-align:center;"|22

| style="text-align:center;"|6

|-

| You Can't Stop the Prophet

| style="text-align:center;"| -

| style="text-align:center;"| -

| style="text-align:center;"|45

| style="text-align:center;"|19

|}

References

  • The Sun Rises in the East at Discogs
  • Retrospect for Hip-Hop: A Golden Age on Record?