*** Jeru the Damaja

HEROZ4HIRE

(KnowSavage)

Brooklyn-bred rapper Jeru the Damaja jumped on the scene some seven years ago on Gangstarr's classic cipher joint "I'm the Man," alongside big guns Guru and Group Home's Little Dap. And Jeru snagged the spotlight in the process. What followed was one of the better hip-hop albums of the '90s, his debut, The Sun Rises in the East, which offered the Brooklyn bounce of "D Original" as well as one of the most sinister beats DJ Premier ever concocted -- the Chinese-water-torture rhythms of "Come Clean."

The 1997 follow-up, Wrath of the Math, was one to file under "sophomore slump": Jeru went a little overboard with his lyrics and tried to cram too much into too many tracks. But heroz4hire finds him bouncing back with less math and more wrath. Samples and scratches abound on tracks bolstered by neck-throbbing beats, with Jeru overseeing every aspect of the production (and releasing the album on his own KnowSavage label). A few tracks suffer from blahzay hooks and wordy verses ("Bitchez wit Dikz," "Presha") and from the addition of Miz Marvel (who receives co-billing on the front cover) -- she holds her own at times, but she's no Rah Digga. Nonetheless, "Great Solar Stance" and the closing "99.9 Pacent" stand out as two of the best this rapper has delivered since his debut.

-- Chris Conti