New Joint – Jeru The Damaja

Jeru The Damaja – “If (If Was)” (@JeruTheDamaja / 2020)

The Gang Starr Foundation member delivers a second video following the recent announcement of his plans to drop a new track every four weeks for the next fifteen months.

New Joint – Sam Krats / Edo.G / Jeru The Damaja / El Da Sensei / DJ Rogue

Sam Krats ft. Edo.G, Jeru The Damaja, El Da Sensei & DJ Rogue – “360” (RevorgRecords.BandCamp / 2020)

Bristol producer Sam Krats teams-up with a trio of East Coast legends and injects his unique musical sensibilities into this quality posse cut.

New Joint – Jeru The Damaja

Jeru The Damaja – “Power” (@JeruTheDamaja / 2020)

Encouraging us all to “help substance outperform ignorance”, the Gang Starr Foundation member delivers some lyrical food for thought on this new single.

New Joint – Jeru The Damaja

Jeru The Damaja – “Harriet Tubman” (@JeruTheDamaja / 2019)

On the 25th anniversary of his classic debut album release “The Sun Rises In The East”, Gang Starr Foundation legend Jeru The Damaja drops some thought-provoking social commentary.

New Joint – Planit Hank / Jeru The Damaja / Buckshot / AZ

Planit Hank ft. Jeru The Damaja, Buckshot, AZ & DJ Evil Dee – “Life In Crooklyn” (@HardTimesMusic / 2018)

Three legendary emcees pay homage to their BK stomping grounds on this mellow head-nodder off producer Planit Hank’s forthcoming EP “Night Before Purgatory”.

New Joint – Jeru The Damaja

Jeru The Damaja – “Monopoly” (@JeruTheDamaja / 2017)

Produced by Poland’s O.S.T.R.

Dirty Rotten Mixtape Stream – Chrome & Donnie Propa

Stalwarts of the UK Hip-Hop scene Chrome (of Def Tex fame) and Donnie Propa (Heavy Links) pay tribute to Brooklyn’s mighty Jeru The Damaja with this dope collection of “classics and hidden gems” from the Gang Starr Foundation member – available to purchase on cassette via Village Live here.

New Joint – Jeru The Damaja / Lil Dap

Jeru The Damaja ft. Lil Dap – “Truth Be Told” (@JeruTheDamaja / 2017)

The veteran Brooklyn emcee takes to the streets of London in this short video for his new single produced by Poland’s O.S.T.R.

New Joint – Jeru The Damaja

Jeru The Damaja – “Spontaneous” (@JeruTheDamaja / 2017)

Produced by Poland’s O.S.T.R.

New Joint – Jeru The Damaja / The Beatnuts

Jeru The Damaja ft. The Beatnuts – “A.R.M.E.D.” (@JeruTheDamaja / 2017)

New visuals for a Junkyard JuJu-produced cut off Jeru’s 2014 project “The Hammer”.

New Joint – Afu-Ra / Big Shug / Jeru The Damaja

Gangstarr Foundation ft. Afu-Ra, Big Shug & Jeru The Damaja – “Three Evil Masters” (@RealAfuRa / 2016)

RIP Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal!

New Joint – Jeru The Damaja

Jeru The Damaja – “Solar Flares” (@JeruTheDamaja / 2016)

Comic-book visuals accompany this Large Professor-produced head-nodder from the NY emcee’s 2014 EP “The Hammer”.

The Dirty Rotten Demos EP Stream – Jeru The Damaja

Brooklyn’s mighty Jeru The Damaja has teamed-up with Slice Of Spice for a vinyl-only release of his early-90s Guru-produced demo tape.

Just One Record – Jeru The Damaja

Jeru The Damaja explains why Slick Rick’s classic 1988 debut “The Great Adventures Of…” remains one of his all-time favourite albums.

The House That Primo Built / A Tribute To D&D Studios Mix Stream – Kil

Philly-raised deejay Kil pays homage to NYC’s legendary D&D Studios with this collection of 90s classics from the likes of Black Moon, Group Home, Blahzay Blahzay and more.

1994 Mix Stream – DJ Cutler

DJ Cutler of Buffalo, NY’s Pseudo Intellectuals takes a trip down memory lane to explore the breaks and samples behind music released during 1994 from the likes of Nas, Kurious, Odd Squad and many more.

New Joint – Jeru The Damaja / Large Professor

Jeru The Damaja – “Solar Flares” (@JeruTheDamaja / 2013)

Extra P-produced lyrical kung-fu from the timeless emcee’s upcoming EP “The Hammer” featuring The Beatnuts, PF Cuttin and more.

Throwback Flavour – DJ Doo Wop / Sadat X / Jeru The Damaja / Keith Murray

Footage of Keith Murray joining Doo Wop, Sadat X and Jeru The Damaja onstage in Germany as part of the “Live Mixtape European Tour”.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrel – Jeru The Damaja

1994 interview with Brooklyn’s Jeru The Damaja on “Yo! MTV Raps” discussing the importance of lyrical substance and problems with Hip-Hop journalists.

Live Review – DJ Doo Wop / Sadat X / Jeru The Damaja

Venue: Jazz Cafe, London  Date: 17 October 2012

London has seen its fair share of performances from golden-era artists in recent months, with this particular event being one of the most anticipated, promising appearances from not one, but two iconic emcees backed-up by one of the greatest mixtape deejays of all-time.

Between them, Brand Nubian’s Sadat X and former Gang Starr Foundation member Jeru The Damaja share a hefty catalogue of classics, all of which have aged well and still stand as musical monuments to the lyrical brilliance and sonic creativity that the best of 90s Hip-Hop had to offer.

After the Bounce Master himself DJ Doo Wop had warmed the crowd up with a selection of real rap staples, a lively Sadat X bounded onstage to the sound of the Brand Nubian favourite “Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down”, leading the crowd as they chanted the hook in unison before launching into the timeless “All For One”.

Pausing to remind everyone that he reps “New York City, Brand Nubian, D.I.T.C. and Lo-Lifes”, the emcee with one of the most recognisable voices in Hip-Hop proceeded to drop his verse from the late-90s Rawkus banger “1-9-9-9” and also delivered a rousing rendition of his “Ready To Die”-era collaboration with Biggie Smalls, “Come On Motherf**kers”, with Sadat reminiscing on the time he spent in the studio writing the track with the BK giant as they both got drunk on champagne.

Promising to return later, X left the stage, leaving the audience in the capable hands of Doo Wop once again. Dropping some rhymes of his own, the Bounce Squad leader took the opportunity to dedicate the segment to his fallen friend Guru (complete with a “F**k Solar!” moment), going back-to-back on the turntables with some Gang Starr classics, including “Take It Personal”, which was Jeru’s signal to make his first appearance.

Reciting Guru’s rhymes in his own inimitable Brooklyn baritone, the NY emcee, decked in jeans, hoodie and Timberlands, smiled widely as he was greeted with roars of approval. Working his way through a number of DJ Premier-produced cuts, including “D. Original” and “Tha Bulls**t”, the gritty wordsmith mixed some humour into his performance, engaging in light-hearted exchanges with various audience members and playfully chastising the crowd for apparently not making enough noise.

Something that was apparent from looking around the venue was the number of younger heads in attendance, some of whom looked like they would barely have been born when both Sadat and Jeru were first making their respective marks on the Hip-Hop landscape. Encouragingly, the majority of the more youthful faces around the Jazz Cafe definitely didn’t appear to be fairweather fans, rhyming along word-for-word to twenty-year-old joints as if they were the soundtrack of the present day. A situation which can only be viewed as a positive thing as, judging from the lack of old-school heads at this and other recent gigs, it will be those younger fans who keep artists such as Sadat and Jeru touring for years to come, as long as their interest in classic Hip-Hop isn’t just a passing phase based on the music’s potential retro-cool appeal.

With Sadat and Jeru each performing a second individual set, which included anthems such as “Love Me Or Leave Me Alone” and “Come Clean”, the show closed with an impromptu freestyle session. As Jeru stepped behind the turntables to spin some familiar breaks, Sadat and Doo Wop invited any emcees in the house to approach the stage, with UK talent such as Oliver Sudden and Chima Anya taking the opportunity to rock with the three Rotten Apple representatives.

Ending a seamless night of classic material by mingling with fans to graciously sign autographs and take photos, Sadat, Jeru and Doo Wop left having ensured those older fans in the crowd were able to relive some of their Hip-Hop memories, whilst helping the younger heads in the audience create some new ones of their own.

Ryan Proctor

Footage of Sadat X performing “Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down” at the Jazz Cafe.