Keith Elam (aka Guru) died Monday night, after falling into a cancer related coma last month. Guru was known for being ½ of the iconic Hip Hop duo Gang Starr. Gang Starr consisted of Guru rhyming over DJ Premier Beats (classic beats!!). He was also an accomplished solo artist. As a solo artist, he was known for blending hip hop and jazz on the Jazzmatazz Albums. Guru was 43 years old.Keith Elam, thanks for my personal memories -
The Moment of Truth
Hard to Earn
Daily Operation
Step in the Arena
Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr
Jazzmatazz vol. 1 and 2
I remember pre-Freshmen summer orientation at my undergrad. My homeboy was playing “Dwyck” the whole time. He had the “Horny Horn” Remix that you rarely hear people play. That song was a classic. In my humble opinion, Guru had the best verse out of all the MC’s on that song. They don’t make Hip Hop like they use to. If I drank, I would pour out some liquor for this dude. I don’t so instead I’ll poor out some Gatorade.
4 comments:
I wonder if Hip Hop died when Islam lost it's influence?
uglyblackjohn - Hip Hop died shortly after Biggie and Pac died. After that a new era of music was ushered in. Mase (Puff Daddy Creation) was the harbinger of things to come. Hip Hop went from materialistic to "Hood". Now that part happened so fast I even missed it. But I am curious about your thoughts on Islam and it's influence on Hip Hop.
I agree Ojo. When Biggie died, thats when the recession for hip hop started. Guru was genius when it came to migrating jazz with hip hop and it was a head banging experience.... "I Manifest" is a classic...RIP GURU!!
NCCU Alumni - How about this - If a rapper did "I Manifest" now, they would run him or her off the stage. Different Time Different Place..The classics aren't for everyone...RIP.
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