The Sun Sets In The West Tour

By iQ aka Gujubhai

Apr 19 2012

News

Are you an underground Hip-Hop head? Do you recall the “Golden Era” of Hip-Hop from the early to mid 90s? Then you definitely know about the Dirty Rotten Scoundrel, thats right, aka Jeru The Damaja! Jeru has been on tour on the West Coast with two of the illest hip-hop crews out there, Rebels to Grain and Zoolay, and Desi Hip-Hop is bringing you exclusive footage from the show. The “Sun Sets in the West Tour” has been going on since April 11 and will end in San Francisco on the 21st of April.

DesiHipHop.com’s doc bLAdez caught up with the touring trio at their opening show in Riverside, Ca on the 11th of April (and even dropped some scratches for the Rebels while he was there). Zoolay kicked off the night. Composed of emcee’s Don Ron and IllzOne, Zoolay is a rap duo with a golden era sound- buried beneath a refreshing taste of the new school. This fiery duo originally started as a trio in late 2006, but the 3rd member was quickly left behind due to his poor work habits and unsatisfactory business game. “If we are trying to make it in this music industry, then we need to take our business very serious as well, Otherwise we are just making music as a hobby” – Don Ron. The duo debuted in the L.A. underground scene with a song entitled “Zoology”. The duo set the stage on fire with some of their classic tracks as well as new material, including the track Lava Hot, produced by Psycho Les of the Beatnuts.

Next on stage were the Hip-Hop sensations Rebels to the Grain, composed by emcee and producer Cheddy and emcee MP. The Rebels are a Los Angeles based hip-hop duo that hot the critically acclaimed, “Breakbeats and Rhyme Radio” on 90.7 FM (KPFK). Their 2008 debut, “There’s Something In the Seeds” gained recognition throught the HipHop community, which gave them loyal listenership worldwide. With the arrival of the their 2nd album “Harvest Season,” the Rebels continue right where they left off. Hard hitting beats, melodic vocals and energtic stage presense, make this combination of MP & Cheddy a lethal combination. Make sure you check them out in Desi Hip-Hop’s artist section. Also, catch our very own doc bLAdez on “Breakbeats and Rhymes Radio” next month! Stay tuned for more info.

The night finished off with the one and only Jeru the Damaja. If you don’t know about Jeru, then you don’t know about classic boombap Hip-Hop. Period. Jeru the Damaja aka D. Original Dirty Rotten Scoundrel hails from Brooklyn, New York where he was born and raised. Jeru was first introduced to hip-hop in the local parks of his neighborhood at age seven and started writing his own lyrics at age ten. Hip-hop has been a part of his life for as long as he can remember. Jeru created and took on the persona of “the Damaja” (because he damages the mic) that is part conscious truth teller and part true to the streets Brooklyn hard rock. Jeru the Damaja then hooked up with DJ Premiere and Guru, collectively known as Gangstarr, shortly after they moved to New York on the late 1980’s. Jeru first introduced his unique “hardcore conscious” style to hip-hop audiences on “I’m the Man” a track on Gangstarr’s 1992 Daily Operations album. The East New York native then cemented his place in the hip-hop world by releasing the 1993 classic single “Come Clean” from his legendary album, The Sun Rises in the East. After a two year hiatus, Jeru released The Wrath of the Math that included the hit singles “Ya Playin’ Yaself” and “Me or the Papes” and was proclaimed the savior of hip-hop due to his honest and straight forward critique of the state of hip-hop music.