guru has said, in interviews after Gangstarr split, that he was never really friends with Primo and he was just a producer. so its possible that he could have indeed wrote that letter.
That interview is less than a year old. Read up on your read ups.
guru has said, in interviews after Gangstarr split, that he was never really friends with Primo and he was just a producer. so its possible that he could have indeed wrote that letter.
That interview is less than a year old. Read up on your read ups.
i know that, I'm just saying Guru has stated stuff in the past, all which have probably been influence by Solar.
And I just want to say, Gang Starr was the most influential rap group of my life. They helped shape me musically, and in some ways as a person as well. I highly recommend reading Cosmo's post on his blog. He said it better than I could.
I wish it wasn't timely for this reason, but I made a mix of Gang Starr favorites a few months ago. Enjoy.
Yeah dude Ive been playing this on the mp3 player non stop last few weeks and made me fall in love with Gangstarr all over again. Ive always been a huge fan of both Premo and GURU but hadnt bumped thier shit in ages...this mix is a great way to remind yourself of the depth of their talent and how many stellar songs they crafted 2gether. Fuck what Solar says or does...he can't touch that...
RIP GURU and I really feel for Premo...shit must be hard for him atm...
i just want to say, that letter is blatant bullshit. i can't believe anyone would try some shit like that. i mean, guru's father is a judge (yes?) and his brother is a professor and the fact he wrote intelligent, well worded rhymes, it would seem obvious that guru was a intelligent man. the chump who wrote that letter was not. that's the only kind of person who would think they could pull it off. besides, as someone already said, dude was in a coma and writing letters? come one.
Quick question on the Dj Krush track Most Wanted Man off Meiso Guru is credited but its only Big Shug right? or am i tripping ? Also anyone got an mp3 of B-boy mastermind ?
Keith Elam?s sister Patricia Elam got this to DJ Premier and would like it distributed to all media outlets?..
PRESS RELEASE
The Elam family wishes to thank the fans of our son/brother/father uncle/nephew/cousin Keith aka GURU for the outpouring of love, concern and support.
Our hearts are broken by the loss of someone we loved so much. GURU was devoted to his young son, who will most keenly feel his absence.
GURU suffered from multiple myeloma for over a year. Accrued complications from this illness led to respiratory failure and cardiac arrest. As a result, GURU was in a coma from mid February until his death and never regained consciousness. Early on the morning of April 19th, he became hypertensive due to low blood pressure. He again went into cardiac arrest and slipped away from us.
GURU died far too young but he was, and we are, proud of all his many legendary musical contributions.
The family is not aware of any foundations established by GURU. We know and understand that countless fans want to express their condolences and love and, to that end, we are planning a memorial event in the near future that will be all-inclusive. Please look for further details from the family as they become available.
There?s been some question in the internet era about Guru?s capabilities as a rapper. They should be dismissed. His is the greatest case against the modern, dogmatic definition of lyrical lyricism. Because Guru?s strength lied not in hot punchlines or clever multi-syllable rhymes but purely in his ability to instill wisdom. Maybe that particular brand of wisdom has aged poorly or maybe it?s just that the whole positive (and never negative) aspects of his raps don?t hold up under the cynicism of today?s new jacks, but to grow up listening to Gang Starr was to be schooled. Having a Gang Starr tape was like having a wise uncle. And yet Guru was never soft. NWA presented the idea of street knowledge only to quickly tip the scales too far to the streets. Many of Gang Starr?s successors only ever focused on one side of the coin. Guru was balance. And he will be missed.
Daily Operation's "Conspiracy" can on the iPod last night on the way home. I kind of was overwhelmed with how dope that song is, specifically regarding the lyrical content, particularly for 1992. And on that note:
Noz:
There?s been some question in the internet era about Guru?s capabilities as a rapper. They should be dismissed. His is the greatest case against the modern, dogmatic definition of lyrical lyricism. Because Guru?s strength lied not in hot punchlines or clever multi-syllable rhymes but purely in his ability to instill wisdom. Maybe that particular brand of wisdom has aged poorly or maybe it?s just that the whole positive (and never negative) aspects of his raps don?t hold up under the cynicism of today?s new jacks, but to grow up listening to Gang Starr was to be schooled. Having a Gang Starr tape was like having a wise uncle. And yet Guru was never soft. NWA presented the idea of street knowledge only to quickly tip the scales too far to the streets. Many of Gang Starr?s successors only ever focused on one side of the coin. Guru was balance. And he will be missed.
Noz for the motherfucking win with that one.
Also Oliver both you and Jon's obits are really good. Thanks my dude.
There?s been some question in the internet era about Guru?s capabilities as a rapper. They should be dismissed. His is the greatest case against the modern, dogmatic definition of lyrical lyricism. Because Guru?s strength lied not in hot punchlines or clever multi-syllable rhymes but purely in his ability to instill wisdom. Maybe that particular brand of wisdom has aged poorly or maybe it?s just that the whole positive (and never negative) aspects of his raps don?t hold up under the cynicism of today?s new jacks, but to grow up listening to Gang Starr was to be schooled. Having a Gang Starr tape was like having a wise uncle. And yet Guru was never soft. NWA presented the idea of street knowledge only to quickly tip the scales too far to the streets. Many of Gang Starr?s successors only ever focused on one side of the coin. Guru was balance. And he will be missed.
I didn?t post in this thread yesterday because I was too sad and shocked to say anything.
This is only the second time in my life that I feel like I have suffered a personal loss in the death of an artist. Lots of artists we all love have passed away in recent years but, for the most part, those were people a lot older than me, whose work I discovered years after they had recorded it. Tupac and Biggie were guys I came to appreciate much more after their deaths. I was too young to feel that personal connection with JMJ. But Gangstarr was a group whose music I copped the instant it became available and then listened to literally every day during parts of my life when I was becoming who I am. So losing Guru (and, previously, Pimp C) made me feel for the first time the way my parents probably felt when they heard John Lennon was dead.
I remember I dubbed Hard to Earn to cassette in order to listen to it in my walkman when I first got it. Because there was only 50 minutes on a side (and because the other side was taken up by Das EFX? second album; I don?t even know), ?F.A.L.A.? and ?Comin? for Datazz? got left off, and I somehow forgot about them. Listening to the CD a few weeks later and letting it play all the way through I was surprised to discover two additional tracks on an album that I had already pretty much memorized. In an era when rappers didn?t release every half-formed artistic hiccup to the public?when I would check for a dodgy soundtrack, just because it had a new Gangstarr track on it?this was some schitt that really made my day.
I remember...
I spent my senior year of high school enrolled at Georgia State University, and absolutely loved it. It was no tougher than high school, was right in the city, nobody made you go to class and, most importantly, there were a lot of interesting older people around. Learned a lot about music and about people from places very different from where I grew up during that time. My parents had different ideas and made me transfer to Emory the next year. I hated it. It felt exactly like being back in high school. For the first month, I don?t think I took off my headphones once when I wasn?t in class. And what I listened to the most was that same Gangstarr tape. The world inside my headphones seemed a lot more real than the new reality that I found myself in. Eventually I let my guard down and realized that I could get something out of this experience, too, but Gangstarr helped me get to that point.
I think Guru?s brand of consciousness has aged better than that of virtually any other rapper from his era. So many dudes? supposed ?consciousness? was rooted in Five-Percenter mumbo jumbo or cockeyed conspiracy theories. It seemed completely transparent to me even as a teenager. Like, just rap and stop trying to pretend that you know more than you know. But Guru?s consciousness was rooted in real life, in everyday experiences. No matter who you were, you could learn a lot about how to handle yourself and how to treat other people from listening to Guru and?despite what some on SoulStrut may think?I believe that I did.
Another thing that I haven?t heard anybody touch on was Guru?s personal style. In an era when I devoured all of the information available to me about rappers?when I read every microscopic word of the shoutouts/publishing credits/liner notes in the CD/cassette booklet, when I read even the ads in the Source?I was definitely checking for how rappers were dressing. Guru had a really smooth refined style. Maybe because he was a little older, he didn?t seem to be caught up in trends. Maybe it resonated with me because it seemed like his look was a good way for a white kid to cop some hip-hop style without looking like a clown.
I am so sad that he?s gone. And so sad that his life ended in controversy. I was trying to explain what I know of the situation to wifey last night and got choked up. I don?t know if any of us will ever really know what happened, or if we should even want to. But I do know this. I?ve lost a number of people close to me in recent years and when somebody knows the end is coming, petty beefs are just not even part of their mindstate. There is no way he wrote that letter. I am certain that if Guru had any sort of consciousness that the end was near before he slipped into that coma, that one of his last thoughts was making things right with Premier. I am sorry that he never had the chance to do that.
I also don't know what the hell a "rap singer" is. I know copy desk editors have to find headlines to fit a certain space but that's just mad awkward.
Imo they're both very good obituaries - obviously both written by guys who were fans and thankfully both omitted solar.
DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,913 Posts
Noz:
There?s been some question in the internet era about Guru?s capabilities as a rapper. They should be dismissed. His is the greatest case against the modern, dogmatic definition of lyrical lyricism. Because Guru?s strength lied not in hot punchlines or clever multi-syllable rhymes but purely in his ability to instill wisdom. Maybe that particular brand of wisdom has aged poorly or maybe it?s just that the whole positive (and never negative) aspects of his raps don?t hold up under the cynicism of today?s new jacks, but to grow up listening to Gang Starr was to be schooled. Having a Gang Starr tape was like having a wise uncle. And yet Guru was never soft. NWA presented the idea of street knowledge only to quickly tip the scales too far to the streets. Many of Gang Starr?s successors only ever focused on one side of the coin. Guru was balance. And he will be missed.
^^^THIS
So, so right. I was going to blog about this, but that sentiment - about how they bridged the gap between rap's roots as street music and its position in a broader cultural context - is expressed so much more eloquently there.
"And they'd better dress him to the 9's for his home-going cause that man was one of the sharpest in the game. Style, taste and class"
I cant agree more.
DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,913 Posts
I didn?t post in this thread yesterday because I was too sad and shocked to say anything.
This is only the second time in my life that I feel like I have suffered a personal loss in the death of an artist. Lots of artists we all love have passed away in recent years but, for the most part, those were people a lot older than me, whose work I discovered years after they had recorded it. Tupac and Biggie were guys I came to appreciate much more after their deaths. I was too young to feel that personal connection with JMJ. But Gangstarr was a group whose music I copped the instant it became available and then listened to literally every day during parts of my life when I was becoming who I am. So losing Guru (and, previously, Pimp C) made me feel for the first time the way my parents probably felt when they heard John Lennon was dead.
I remember I dubbed Hard to Earn to cassette in order to listen to it in my walkman when I first got it. Because there was only 50 minutes on a side (and because the other side was taken up by Das EFX? second album; I don?t even know), ?F.A.L.A.? and ?Comin? for Datazz? got left off, and I somehow forgot about them. Listening to the CD a few weeks later and letting it play all the way through I was surprised to discover two additional tracks on an album that I had already pretty much memorized. In an era when rappers didn?t release every half-formed artistic hiccup to the public?when I would check for a dodgy soundtrack, just because it had a new Gangstarr track on it?this was some schitt that really made my day.
I remember...
I spent my senior year of high school enrolled at Georgia State University, and absolutely loved it. It was no tougher than high school, was right in the city, nobody made you go to class and, most importantly, there were a lot of interesting older people around. Learned a lot about music and about people from places very different from where I grew up during that time. My parents had different ideas and made me transfer to Emory the next year. I hated it. It felt exactly like being back in high school. For the first month, I don?t think I took off my headphones once when I wasn?t in class. And what I listened to the most was that same Gangstarr tape. The world inside my headphones seemed a lot more real than the new reality that I found myself in. Eventually I let my guard down and realized that I could get something out of this experience, too, but Gangstarr helped me get to that point.
I think Guru?s brand of consciousness has aged better than that of virtually any other rapper from his era. So many dudes? supposed ?consciousness? was rooted in Five-Percenter mumbo jumbo or cockeyed conspiracy theories. It seemed completely transparent to me even as a teenager. Like, just rap and stop trying to pretend that you know more than you know. But Guru?s consciousness was rooted in real life, in everyday experiences. No matter who you were, you could learn a lot about how to handle yourself and how to treat other people from listening to Guru and?despite what some on SoulStrut may think?I believe that I did.
Another thing that I haven?t heard anybody touch on was Guru?s personal style. In an era when I devoured all of the information available to me about rappers?when I read every microscopic word of the shoutouts/publishing credits/liner notes in the CD/cassette booklet, when I read even the ads in the Source?I was definitely checking for how rappers were dressing. Guru had a really smooth refined style. Maybe because he was a little older, he didn?t seem to be caught up in trends. Maybe it resonated with me because it seemed like his look was a good way for a white kid to cop some hip-hop style without looking like a clown.
I am so sad that he?s gone. And so sad that his life ended in controversy. I was trying to explain what I know of the situation to wifey last night and got choked up. I don?t know if any of us will ever really know what happened, or if we should even want to. But I do know this. I?ve lost a number of people close to me in recent years and when somebody knows the end is coming, petty beefs are just not even part of their mindstate. There is no way he wrote that letter. I am certain that if Guru had any sort of consciousness that the end was near before he slipped into that coma, that one of his last thoughts was making things right with Premier. I am sorry that he never had the chance to do that.
Wow. Seriously, man, that is truly beautiful. Easily the most moving thing I've read amongst all the tributes and what-not of the last few days.
Comments
a damn shame about the whole solar thing. wish i hadnt read the interview bobtheorange posted.
That interview is less than a year old. Read up on your read ups.
daily operation is still my favorite, from the great intro every track is nice
Rest in Peace Keith "Guru" Elam.
Yeah dude Ive been playing this on the mp3 player non stop last few weeks and made me fall in love with Gangstarr all over again. Ive always been a huge fan of both Premo and GURU but hadnt bumped thier shit in ages...this mix is a great way to remind yourself of the depth of their talent and how many stellar songs they crafted 2gether. Fuck what Solar says or does...he can't touch that...
RIP GURU and I really feel for Premo...shit must be hard for him atm...
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-guru21-20100421,0,83820.story
Also anyone got an mp3 of B-boy mastermind ?
RIP
PRESS RELEASE
The Elam family wishes to thank the fans of our son/brother/father uncle/nephew/cousin Keith aka GURU for the outpouring of love, concern and support.
Our hearts are broken by the loss of someone we loved so much. GURU was devoted to his young son, who will most keenly feel his absence.
GURU suffered from multiple myeloma for over a year. Accrued complications from this illness led to respiratory failure and cardiac arrest. As a result, GURU was in a coma from mid February until his death and never regained consciousness. Early on the morning of April 19th, he became hypertensive due to low blood pressure. He again went into cardiac arrest and slipped away from us.
GURU died far too young but he was, and we are, proud of all his many legendary musical contributions.
The family is not aware of any foundations established by GURU. We know and understand that countless fans want to express their condolences and love and, to that end, we are planning a memorial event in the near future that will be all-inclusive. Please look for further details from the family as they become available.
from The Elam Family
Source : http://livefromheadqcourterz.wordpress.com/
massive cosignature.
i wish this were the only thing i read regarding the death of Guru.
Thanks guys. No false modesty but I actually think my friend Jon Caramanica wrote a better obit - better researched, more descriptive - for the NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/21/arts/music/21guru.html?scp=1&sq=keith%20elam&st=cse
I also don't know what the hell a "rap singer" is. I know copy desk editors have to find headlines to fit a certain space but that's just mad awkward.
http://www.slate.com/id/2251462/
SMFH
Ok, so that was clunky too. But seriously, what is rap singer? Slick Rick?
Noz for the motherfucking win with that one.
Also Oliver both you and Jon's obits are really good. Thanks my dude.
mos def?
^^^THIS
This is only the second time in my life that I feel like I have suffered a personal loss in the death of an artist. Lots of artists we all love have passed away in recent years but, for the most part, those were people a lot older than me, whose work I discovered years after they had recorded it. Tupac and Biggie were guys I came to appreciate much more after their deaths. I was too young to feel that personal connection with JMJ. But Gangstarr was a group whose music I copped the instant it became available and then listened to literally every day during parts of my life when I was becoming who I am. So losing Guru (and, previously, Pimp C) made me feel for the first time the way my parents probably felt when they heard John Lennon was dead.
I remember I dubbed Hard to Earn to cassette in order to listen to it in my walkman when I first got it. Because there was only 50 minutes on a side (and because the other side was taken up by Das EFX? second album; I don?t even know), ?F.A.L.A.? and ?Comin? for Datazz? got left off, and I somehow forgot about them. Listening to the CD a few weeks later and letting it play all the way through I was surprised to discover two additional tracks on an album that I had already pretty much memorized. In an era when rappers didn?t release every half-formed artistic hiccup to the public?when I would check for a dodgy soundtrack, just because it had a new Gangstarr track on it?this was some schitt that really made my day.
I remember...
I spent my senior year of high school enrolled at Georgia State University, and absolutely loved it. It was no tougher than high school, was right in the city, nobody made you go to class and, most importantly, there were a lot of interesting older people around. Learned a lot about music and about people from places very different from where I grew up during that time. My parents had different ideas and made me transfer to Emory the next year. I hated it. It felt exactly like being back in high school. For the first month, I don?t think I took off my headphones once when I wasn?t in class. And what I listened to the most was that same Gangstarr tape. The world inside my headphones seemed a lot more real than the new reality that I found myself in. Eventually I let my guard down and realized that I could get something out of this experience, too, but Gangstarr helped me get to that point.
I think Guru?s brand of consciousness has aged better than that of virtually any other rapper from his era. So many dudes? supposed ?consciousness? was rooted in Five-Percenter mumbo jumbo or cockeyed conspiracy theories. It seemed completely transparent to me even as a teenager. Like, just rap and stop trying to pretend that you know more than you know. But Guru?s consciousness was rooted in real life, in everyday experiences. No matter who you were, you could learn a lot about how to handle yourself and how to treat other people from listening to Guru and?despite what some on SoulStrut may think?I believe that I did.
Another thing that I haven?t heard anybody touch on was Guru?s personal style. In an era when I devoured all of the information available to me about rappers?when I read every microscopic word of the shoutouts/publishing credits/liner notes in the CD/cassette booklet, when I read even the ads in the Source?I was definitely checking for how rappers were dressing. Guru had a really smooth refined style. Maybe because he was a little older, he didn?t seem to be caught up in trends. Maybe it resonated with me because it seemed like his look was a good way for a white kid to cop some hip-hop style without looking like a clown.
I am so sad that he?s gone. And so sad that his life ended in controversy. I was trying to explain what I know of the situation to wifey last night and got choked up. I don?t know if any of us will ever really know what happened, or if we should even want to. But I do know this. I?ve lost a number of people close to me in recent years and when somebody knows the end is coming, petty beefs are just not even part of their mindstate. There is no way he wrote that letter. I am certain that if Guru had any sort of consciousness that the end was near before he slipped into that coma, that one of his last thoughts was making things right with Premier. I am sorry that he never had the chance to do that.
Oh, man. That is bad!
File under subheads better left unsaid: "His hip-hop was so pure, it was almost Puritan."
Imo they're both very good obituaries - obviously both written by guys who were fans and thankfully both omitted solar.
So, so right. I was going to blog about this, but that sentiment - about how they bridged the gap between rap's roots as street music and its position in a broader cultural context - is expressed so much more eloquently there.
"And they'd better dress him to the 9's for his home-going cause that man was one of the sharpest in the game. Style, taste and class"
I cant agree more.
Wow. Seriously, man, that is truly beautiful. Easily the most moving thing I've read amongst all the tributes and what-not of the last few days.