Jeru The Damaja: Tiny Desk Home Concert

The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music's Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It's the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space.

April 30, 2020 | Abby O'Neill -- Jeru the Damaja, the emcee who broke out in 1992 on Gang Starr's classic album Daily Operation, jumped at the opportunity to contribute to the Tiny Desk home concert series. He used the concert to share his inspiring philosophy of self-knowledge. Jeru drops lyrics about what it takes to achieve self-actualization in tough conditions for not just himself, but for the culture.

Jeru shares a medley of his classics including "Can't Stop the Prophet" and "My Mind Spray," His prescient lyrics remain as relevant as ever as he addresses the deepening fissures of socioeconomic inequalities exposed by the coronavirus crisis. He closes his set from his home in Berlin with a new song, "The Power," and offers up a message we all need: "No matter who you are, the power resides in you...We can overcome anything if you put your mind to it, you just can't get in your mind too much." The prophet cannot be stopped.

Want more? Feel free to visit Jeru at www.jeruthedamaja.com.

SET LIST
"Can't Stop the Prophet"
"Ain't The Devil Happy"
"Scientifical Madness"
"So Raw"
"My Mind Spray"
"IF"
"The Power"