Throwback Thursday

  Today , I am going to be throwing it back to the '90's . A decade in which I believe some of the greatest content emerged in the hip-hop scene. The '93-'94 hip-hop season brought us some of said content, from Wu-Tang Clan's Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and Black Moon's Enta Da Stage in '93 to Nas' Illmatic and today's highlight , Jeru the Damaja's The Sun Rises in the East in '94.

  Kendrick Jeru Davis aka Jeru the Damaja is a Brooklyn-based hip hop artist. His album The Sun Rises in the East is dubbed one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. Produced by DJ Premier from Gang Starr, this album was Jeru's debut album and is also considered as one of his best works.

  The themes presented in this album coincide with many of the others portrayed in the other Brooklyn-based albums released in the same time frame. Crooklyn, Bucktown, whatever you want to call it, there is no doubt that Brooklyn has had a major effect on setting the foundation for the east-coast hip hop scene.

 Brooklyn Took It is the first song that begins to convey the aforementioned themes. A far-fetched piano-infused drum and bass beat , coupled with lyrics like "Drums numb your ears, rhymes swell up your lips" , this appropriately named track sends the right "Crooklyn" message while simultaneously indulging the listener in a musical masterpiece.

 Mental Stamina is another song that is worth highlighting. It goes to show how the roughest living conditions help foster the mental toughness that comes with being a rapper/poet. Not only does Jeru exhibit mental toughness, his lyrical genius is also on full display in this song. "Challenge my verbal gymnastics, vanacrobatics, vocabulary calisthenics, can't understand the mathematics are esoteric" , "Deviant monks attack the mic it's mental pandemonium" and " My mind, C3 H5 N3 O9 like Nitroglycerine", I mean , are you kidding me? The lyrics speak for themselves.

 Last and finally not least, Statik. A track that is also appropriately named, where Premiere perfectly intersperses static every so often, along with well-timed scratches and a simple main beat, the production on this is impeccable.

 There is a reason why this album is considered one of the best in its genre and it is definitely worth a listen. Thanks for reading, and as always , stay tuned for more awesome music!