Someone is always battling for the “soul” of hip-hop. Since the first rap was recorded, there have always been those who fought to keep the musical art form “pure” in the face of the corrupting influence of big money and the record industry. The tenets remain the same throughout the years. Don’t compromise artistic integrity for the sake of record sales. These cries were perhaps the loudest in the mid-’90s, as the larger record labels were figuring out just how much money they could make selling hip-hop music. For all intents and purposes, there were two “faces” of hip-hop music during this period: the New York-based Bad Boy Records and the Los Angeles based Death Row Records. Bad Boy, following the lead of its founder Puff Daddy, essentially created the “shiny suit rap” genre: lyrical bottle-popping over easily recognizable samples from past pop records.

Death Row Records, ruled by Suge Knight, was synonymous with gangsta-ism on wax.ĭuring this era, Soundscan numbers were king. MTV and daytime radio were beginning to welcome rappers into the fold. Hip-hop music looked like it was becoming an unstoppable force, but with the combination of rampant materialism and bloodshed on record, was it happening at the cost of its soul? Rap music was on its way to becoming the highest selling musical genre. In 1996, Kendrick “Jeru the Damaja” Davis waded into the fray.

Jeru had already made himself known during the early ’90s as an affiliate of Gan g S tarr, the legendary duo comprised of Keith “Guru” Elam and Chris “DJ Premier” Martin. Jeru had appeared on Gang Starr’s 1992 album Daily Operation and 1994’s Hard to Earn. Label: Payday, FFRR Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Album Country: US Released: 1996 Vinyl Condition. He also had released a classic solo joint on his own, his 1994 debut The Sun Rises in the East, which boasts hip-hop anthems like “Come Clean,” “D. Original,” and “You Can’t Stop the Prophet.” He’d positioned himself as a self-styled protector of the people, ever ready to safeguard them from the rampant ignorance and materialism that was becoming so prominent. On his sophomore album Wrath of the Math, Jeru takes aim at those he perceives as the enemies of hip-hop, including the Bad Boys and Death Rows of the world. Also central targets are New York City’s Hot 97 and commercial radio, and the record labels that he believes are complicit in degrading the culture. Wrath is at its best when Jeru is bent on defending the honor of hip-hop music. Much of the commentary is on the nose and not particularly subtle, but his strength of conviction behind the rhymes sells it. The album reflects the deep frustration and anger many felt toward what hip-hop was becoming, with Jeru playing the role of the angry prophet, looking to cast the thieves out of the temple.ĭJ Premier accompanies Jeru on this holy quest, handling all of the production duties for the album.

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