''The Sun Rises in the East'' is the debut album by American hip hop rapper

Jeru the Damaja Kendrick Jeru Davis (born February 14, 1972), known as Jeru the Damaja, 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 great ...

, released May 24, 1994 on

Payday Records Payday Records is a New York-based hiphop label that was launched in 1992 by Patrick Moxey. The label began in association with FFRR/London Records, and released in the UK and Europe via London/ PolyGram Records. Artists launched via Payday Record ...

. Production on the album was handled by

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop duo ...

. The album features fellow

Gang Starr Foundation Gang Starr Foundation is a collective of east coast rappers led by the hip hop group Gang Starr. It was co-founded by Boston legend Big Shug. It was established in 1993. Group members Current members *Big Shug * Jeru the Damaja * Group Hom ...

member

Afu-Ra Aaron Phillip (born January 31, 1974), better known by his stage name Afu-Ra, is an American underground rapper. A member of the Gang Starr Foundation, he has worked closely with its members, including Gang Starr, Jeru the Damaja, Big Shug an ...

. The album cover depicts the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

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. It is considerably significant in hip hop, as it contributed to the revival of the

East Coast hip hop East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in New York City during the 1970s. Hip hop is recognized to have originated and evolved first in the Bronx, New York City. In contrast to other styles, East Coast hip ...

scene, along with albums such as

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

's ''

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, released on November 9, 1993, by Loud Records. Recording sessions took place during late 1992 to early 1993 at Firehouse Studio in New York Cit ...

'' (1993),

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

's ''

Illmatic ''Illmatic'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Nas. It was released on April 19, 1994, by Columbia Records. After signing with the label with the help of MC Serch, Nas recorded the album in 1992 and 1993 at Chung King Studios, D&D Re ...

'' (1994),

Big L Lamont Coleman (May 30, 1974February 15, 1999), known professionally as Big L, was an American rapper and record executive. Emerging from Harlem in New York City in 1992, Coleman became known among underground hip-hop fans for his freestyling ...

's ''

Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous ''Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Big L, and the only to be released during his lifetime. It was released on March 28, 1995 by Columbia Records. Recording sessions took place primarily at Powerplay ...

'' (1995),

Notorious BIG Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

's ''

Ready to Die ''Ready to Die'' is the debut studio album by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released on September 13, 1994, by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. The album features productions by Bad Boy founder Sean "Puffy" Combs, Easy Mo Bee, Chuc ...

'' (1994),

Onyx Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The c ...

's ''

Bacdafucup ''Bacdafucup'' is the debut album by American hip hop group Onyx, released on March 30, 1993 by JMJ Records, Rush Associated Labels and Chaos Recordings. The album was produced by Chyskillz, Jam Master Jay and Kool Tee. ''Bacdafucup'' peaked at ...

'' (1993), Smif-N-Wessun's '' Dah Shinin'' (1995) and

Black Moon Black Moon may refer to: * Black moon, one of four astronomical events involving new or dark moons * Black Moon (person) (c. 1821–1893), Lakota (American Indian) headman * Black Moon or Lilith (hypothetical moon), a hypothetical natural satelli ...

's ''

Enta da Stage ''Enta da Stage'' is the debut album by American East Coast hip hop group Black Moon, released on October 19, 1993, through Nervous Records. The album was produced by Black Moon member DJ Evil Dee along with Mr. Walt of Da Beatminerz. ''Enta da S ...

'' (1993). The album has been considered by critics to be Jeru the Damaja's best work.

Reception

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' 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."Columnist.
Review: ''The Sun Rises in the East''
. ''

'': 33. August 13, 1994. ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' said that "Jeru is more original than most appers, while ''

The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

'' remarked that "the music both contrasts and complements his disjointed flow and deep poetical lyricism."

Track listing

*All songs produced by

Singles

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

In popular culture

"D. Original" is featured on the ''

GTA IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the e ...

'' Soundtrack and can be listened to on the radio station '' 104.1 The Classics'' hosted by

. Unlike the other stations featured in the game, "The Classics" has one continuous mix of all songs featuring smooth transitions from every song to the next and so a slightly different version, exclusive to the game, can be heard there. "You Can't Stop the Prophet" is featured on the soundtrack of the video game ''

NBA 2K16 ''NBA 2K16'' is a 2015 basketball simulation video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It is the 17th installment in the ''NBA 2K'' franchise and the successor to ''NBA 2K15''. It was released on September 29, 2015 fo ...

''. The soundtrack was partially curated by

.Nunneley, Stephany. (July 24, 2015)
"Get your groove on with the official NBA 2K16 soundtrack"
''

VG247 ''VG247'' is a video game blog published in the United Kingdom, founded in February 2008 by industry veteran Patrick Garratt. In 2009, CNET ranked it as the third best gaming blog in the world. History Founded in collaboration on 1 February 2 ...

''. Retrieved October 17, 2015.

References

External links

*
The Sun Rises in the East
' at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Retrospect for Hip-Hop: A Golden Age on Record?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun Rises In The East, The 1994 debut albums Jeru the Damaja albums Albums produced by DJ Premier FFRR Records albums