Jeru the Damaja

East New York

Jeru the Damaja was born Kendrick Jeru Davis in Brooklyn, New York, on February 14. Sources give his birth year as 1971 or 1972. He grew up in East New York, where he began rhyming at block parties. He knew Guru and DJ Premier of Gang Starr from his high-school years, and he became part of the Gang Starr Foundation. His first wide exposure came on the Gang Starr posse cut "I'm the Man."

The Sun Rises in the East

His first single, "Come Clean," produced by DJ Premier, was released in October 1993 and became an underground hit. It was followed by "D. Original" in January 1994 and "You Can't Stop the Prophet" in April 1994, both also produced by Premier. The debut album, The Sun Rises in the East, came out on May 24, 1994, on Payday and FFRR. DJ Premier produced the whole album. It reached No. 36 on the Billboard 200 and No. 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. A contemporary review in the Indianapolis Star noted the album's theme of "promoting Brooklyn as the mecca of rap knowledge." The album has since appeared on lists of the greatest hip-hop albums, including About.com's list of the 100 greatest hip-hop albums and Rolling Stone's "200 Greatest Rap Albums" in 2022.

Wrath of the Math and After

His second album, Wrath of the Math (1996), again worked with DJ Premier and included "Ya Playin' Yaself." He had a brief feud with the Fugees over lyrics during this period. His later catalog includes Heroz4Hire (1999), Divine Design (2003), Still Rising (2007) and The Hammer EP (2014), with releases on labels including Know Savage and Ashenafi Records. He reconciled with Premier and Guru in 2002.

Later Work

His collaborators have included Group Home, the Beatnuts, Pete Rock, Large Professor, the Polish group Slums Attack and the French group Chinese Man. In 2019 he was featured on Gang Starr's track "From a Distance." He runs Know Savage Productions.