Jeru the Damaja

Underground, Brooklyn, Hip Hop legend Jeru the Damaja's live show is extremely entertaining. Instead of just performing his hit songs like most artist, he instead engages the audience by making jokes with the crowd and also having them chant specific lines to add to the songs that he performed. It was refreshing to see that Jeru the Damaja has a good sense of humor and is down to earth. His demeanor made the crowd and I feel more at ease and gave the concert a party vibe. It also made me feel like I was participant in the show in a small, as opposed to an observer.

The venue was extremely intimate with probably less than 500 seats, but the club was full. The intimate environment seemed to give Jeru the ability to connect to each of the audience members in a personal way.

Jeru the Damaja started his set with the classic track "Come Clean" from his breakthrough album The Sun Rises in the East and then transitioned to his most popular track "Ya Playin' Yaself" from the album Wrath of the Math. Jeru the Damaja was on point with each lyrical verse that spewed from his mouth, even when he decided to freestyle a few verses over an acapella.

Blue & Exile have made quite a name for themselves, especially in the underground hip-hop scene but also in the wider world of hip-hop music with their songs appealing to people with a wide range of musical tastes! They are a duo made up of the rapper Blu and the hip-hop producer Exile and seeing them live combines the best qualities of the two – great rap vocals with a strong musical undercurrent and beat. Their London performance in 2012 was a great experience: walking in, the room was very smoky and the atmosphere buzzing as everyone got more and more excited to see the duo. Their performance of the song ‘No Greater Love’ was particularly memorable: such a laidback, cool song but the energy in the room was electric – everyone was cheering them on and singing along to the chorus and the hard-core fans were chiming in for the whole thing.
Luckily for fans, or budding fans, Blu & Exile have two albums out: ‘Below the Heavens’ was released in 2007 and ‘Give Me My Flowers While I Can Smell Them’ was released in 2012. Unfortunately, as of this moment there are no upcoming tour dates but there are plenty of songs available online and live gig recordings on youtube to tide you over. So get watching and preparing for the next time they are visiting your city!