B.I.G.’s next album came out a year later in 1997. So what did Biggie do? To the mass public, it seemed like he just let it roll off his back, but to the trained eye/ear of any hip hop head, he got his shots in as well. Understand, in 1996, you did not, under any circumstances call out Suge Knight by name! If that’s too much of a reach for you, then Jeru cuts out all the guess work on “ One Day,” calling out B.I.G., Puff, Bad Boy, Foxy Brown, and Suge Knight all by name. He just so happened to have a beat from DJ Premier sampling the exact same New Birth record. In seemingly direct response, Jeru’s lead single for Wrath was “ Ya Playin’ Yaself,” a lyrical (and visual) tirade against all that glitters. Biggie was so on fire in 1995 that a major label let him put together a group of his childhood friends, most of whom weren’t even artists, and cut an album as “Junior M.A.F.I.A.” Their lead single was a tune called “ Player’s Anthem,” which featured a sample of “ You Are What I’m All About” by New Birth. Let’s examine a few key points in the altercation.
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was such a superior MC with a machine behind him, that nobody from the underground had the gall nor the means to mount an assault except Jeru.īecause this wasn’t a publicized “beef” splattered all over the front pages of the media at the time, it may sound like I’m reaching, or connecting dots where there is no connection, but this exchange between lyrical heavyweights was quite real. Between those who sipped Cristal and those who sipped Hennessy. This is commonly known as the “Shiny Suit Era.” This era was against everything that underground hip hop stood for, and so this schism was a division between the have’s and have-not’s. Sean “Puffy” Combs was dominating the radio with a seemingly endless string of glitzy hits, sampling lazy loops from your favorite pop hits of the 1980s. was the undisputed King of New York (and hip hop as a whole, by proxy). I just always thought historical schisms were funny to read about, so now I’m making up my own.
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So why was this album so important? Because of the great schism of 1997, that’s why. We (hip hop culture) did not heed Jeru’s previous warning, so now you (punk MC’s) must deal with his wrath, set to some of DJ Premier’s finest work.
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We know this because of so many cues back to the previous release - the interlude/skit music, the titles (“ Physical Stamina” is a direct link to the previous “ Mental Stamina“), and even explicit callbacks to previous songs like “ Da Bichez” on “ Me Or The Papes,” or “ Revenge Of The Prophet (Part 5).” Most importantly, we can tell from the lyrics. You see, Wrath is very much a sequel to Jeru’s classic debut The Sun Still Rises In The East. And that’s what Wrath Of The Math is all about: a prophet’s message ignored, and chickens coming home to roost. The rest of us bear the burden of the consequences later on.
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The problem with a prophet’s message is that it’s usually believed only by an ominous few. He was, as his own music will tell you, a prophet. This Week’s Selection Chosen By Kellen “J.