Guru | |
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![]() Guru in 2006 | |
Born | Keith Edward Elam July 17, 1961 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Died | April 19, 2010 48) New York City, U.S. | (aged
Other names |
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Alma mater | Morehouse College (BS) |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1986–2010 |
Children | 1 |
Musical career | |
Genres | East Coast hip hop, jazz rap |
Discography | Guru discography |
Labels | |
Formerly of | |
Website | gurutributes |
Keith Edward Elam (July 17, 1961 [1] –April 19, 2010), better known by his stage name Guru (a backronym for Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal), was an American rapper, record producer and actor. He was a member of the hip hop duo Gang Starr, along with DJ Premier. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. [2]
In 2012, About.com placed him #49 on their list of Top 50 MCs of Our Time, [3] and The Source ranked him #30 on their list of Top 50 Lyricists of All Time, saying "Guru dropped some of the most thoughtful rhymes on wax". [4]
Elam was born in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. His father, Harry Justin Elam served both as a judge and a lawyer and he became the first African American judge appointed to the Boston Municipal Court of Massachusetts and he later also became Chief Justice of the same court and finally as a judge he was appointed as an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court. Prior to his judgeship years, between 1971 and 1988, he was a prominent lawyer in the city of Boston from 1952 to 1971 and his mother, Barbara, was the co-director of libraries in the Boston Public Schools system. He attended the Advent School on Beacon Hill in Boston, Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts, [6] and Cohasset High School in Cohasset, Massachusetts for high school. [7] Elam graduated with a degree in business administration from Morehouse College in Atlanta [8] and took graduate classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan.
Elam began his music career under the pseudonym MC Keithy E but later changed his stage name to Guru. [7] He founded Gang Starr in 1987. The group initially released three records, produced by The 45 King, on the Wild Pitch Records record label, but these records received little attention. [8] [9] After a change in lineup, the group consisted of rapper Guru and producer DJ Premier. Gang Starr released its first LP No More Mr. Nice Guy on Wild Pitch Records; the group achieved a sizable following and released six critically acclaimed and influential albums from 1989 to 2003. Two albums, Moment of Truth (1998) and compilation Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr (1999) were certified gold in the United States by the RIAA. Gang Starr made archetypal East Coast hip hop with Guru's rhyming described as sharp-eyed but anti-ostentatious. [8]
In 1993, Guru released the first in a series of four solo albums while still a member of Gang Starr. Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 featured collaborations with Donald Byrd, N'Dea Davenport, MC Solaar and Roy Ayers and received positive reviews. [10] His second solo LP, Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality , featured Chaka Khan, Ramsey Lewis, Branford Marsalis and Jamiroquai. The third installment, Jazzmatazz, Vol. 3: Streetsoul , was released in 2000, but it received less positive reviews. [11] In reference to the Jazzmatazz project, Guru told Pete Lewis of Blues & Soul : "Back around '93—when I first came up with the Jazzmatazz concept—I was noticing how a lot of cats were digging in the crates and sampling jazz breaks to make hip hop records. But while I thought that was cool, I wanted to take it to the next level and actually create a new genre by getting the actual dudes we were sampling into the studio to jam over hip hop beats with some of the top vocalists of the time. You know, the whole thing was experimental, but I knew it was an idea that would spawn some historic music." [12]
In 1994, Guru appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool . The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African American community, was heralded as the album of the year by Time magazine.[ citation needed ]
Guru's first solo album not a part the Jazzmatazz series, Baldhead Slick & da Click , was released in 2001 to poor reviews. [13] The album reached #22 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop album charts. Version 7.0: The Street Scriptures, was released in 2005 on Guru's own record label, 7 Grand Records. The album was produced by labelmate Solar. It reached #54 on the Billboard R&B albums charts and received mixed reviews. [14]
Guru's final releases were the fourth installment in the Jazzmatazz series, released in June 2007; and Guru 8.0: Lost And Found, released May 19, 2009 (also in collaboration with Solar). A final Gang Starr album, One of the Best Yet , was released in 2019.
On February 28, 2010, Guru went into cardiac arrest and, following surgery, fell into a coma. [15] [16] It was claimed that Guru had briefly awakened from his coma [17] but died on April 19, 2010, at the age of 48, from multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. [18] [19] [20] Guru was survived by his parents, three siblings, and a son named Keith Casim. [7] His production partner, Solar, claimed that Guru had momentarily awakened from his coma to compose a letter to the public, [21] although DJ Premier and members of Guru's family stated that he never regained consciousness. [22] Guru's family claimed that Solar had prevented them from having contact with Guru during his illness just before his death; [23] the validity of the deathbed letter was consequently challenged by Guru's family. [24] In an interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio, Solar claimed that he was protective of Guru, and everything he had said was true. This interview was met by extreme emotion from the hip hop community and did little to clear the controversy surrounding his actions.[ citation needed ]
DJ Premier produced a tribute mix to Guru [25] and has released a public letter [26] along with Guru's sister Patricia Elam. [27] Harry J. Elam, an older brother, wrote a personal memoir in remembrance published in The Boston Globe on April 23, 2010. [6] The Elam family had a Guru tribute website set up where visitors were able to view tributes and sign a memorial page. [28] Guru's nephew Justin Nicholas-Elam Ruff made a 16-minute documentary in which he narrated the story of his late uncle. [29]
At the 2011 Grammy Awards, Guru's name was not mentioned in the annual retrospective of musicians who had died since the 2010 awards. On April 21, 2011, Revive Da Live Big Band held a tribute show for Guru at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City. [30] The show paid homage to Guru's Jazzmatazz series and featured a full jazz band tribute, with all proceeds going towards the Elam family. During the concert, Babygrande Records donated $5000 to Guru's son, K.C. Elam. [31]
The French city of Montpellier named a small street "Allée Guru" after the rapper, citing his influence on both hip hop and jazz. [32]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1993 | Who's the Man? | Lorenzo Martin | |
1998 | The Substitute 2: School's Out | Little B. | |
2000 | Train Ride | Jay | |
2001 | 3 A.M. | Hook-Off | |
2002 | Urban Massacre | Cereal Killah |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1994 | In Living Color | Closing performance, 'Trust Me', featuring N'Dea Davenport | |
1997 | NYPD Blue | Willits | |
2003 | Kung Faux | Various | Voice Over |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2001 | Grand Theft Auto III | 8-Ball | |
2005 | Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories | ||
2021 | Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition | Archival recordings Remaster of Grand Theft Auto III only. |
Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Houston-born record producer DJ Premier and Boston, Massachusetts rapper Guru.
Jazz rap is a fusion of jazz and hip hop music, as well as an alternative hip hop subgenre, that developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. AllMusic writes that the genre "was an attempt to fuse African-American music of the past with a newly dominant form of the present, paying tribute to and reinvigorating the former while expanding the horizons of the latter." The rhythm was rooted in hip hop over which were placed repetitive phrases of jazz instrumentation: trumpet, double bass, etc. Groups involved in the formation of jazz rap included A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, De La Soul, Gang Starr, The Roots, Jungle Brothers, and Dream Warriors.
No More Mr. Nice Guy is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Gang Starr. The album was released on April 22, 1989. It peaked at #83 on the Billboard R&B chart. The song "Positivity" peaked at #19 on the Billboard rap chart.
Jazzmatazz, Volume 1: An Experimental Fusion of Hip-Hop and Jazz, is the debut solo studio album by American hip hop recording artist Guru. It was released on May 18, 1993, by Chrysalis Records. The recording sessions took place at D&D Studios, in New York. The album was produced by Guru, who also served as executive producer with Duff Marlowe and Patrick Moxey.
Christopher Edward Martin, known professionally as DJ Premier, is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr—alongside the rapper Guru—and presently forms half of the hip hop duo PRhyme, together with Royce da 5'9".
7L & Esoteric (7LES) are an American underground hip hop duo from Boston, Massachusetts, known for battle rhymes and boom bap production. 7L is the duo's DJ/producer and Esoteric is the MC. 7L & Esoteric are both prominent members of underground hip-hop collectives Army of the Pharaohs and Demigodz, as well as being 2/3 of Czarface along with Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck.
Kendrick Jeru Davis, known as Jeru the Damaja, is an American rapper and record producer. He is known for his 1993 single "Come Clean" from his debut album, The Sun Rises in the East, ranked as one of the 100 greatest hip-hop albums of all time by the editors of About.com. He has worked extensively with Guru and DJ Premier of Gang Starr, whom he has known since he was in high school.
Jazzmatazz, Volume II is the second solo studio album by American hip hop musician Guru. It was released on July 18, 1995, through Chrysalis Records as the second installment of the rapper's Jazzmatazz album series.
Guru's Jazzmatazz: Streetsoul is the third solo studio album by American hip hop musician Guru. It was released on October 3, 2000, via Virgin Records as the third installment of Guru's Jazzmatazz album series. Production was handled by Gang Starr, The Neptunes, Agallah, DJ Scratch, Erykah Badu, J Dilla, The Roots and Victor Flowers.
Edward Anderson is a hip-hop artist from Boston, Massachusetts, better known by his stage name Edo G. Edo is the seniormost hip-hop artist from Boston, in the sense that he was the first to gain recognition in New York City and in the wider United States of America, and remains one of the best-known Boston rap artist internationally, having collaborated with large numbers of independent rap artists all over the globe. He is additionally known by the name Ed O.G., which was initially a misspelling by a record label but has endured.
Step in the Arena is the second studio album by hip hop duo Gang Starr, printed as a 1990 release, and commercially released on January 15, 1991. In 2007, it was named the greatest hip hop album of all time by IGN. HipHopDX called it "the album that cemented Gang Starr as a timeless tag team."
Hard to Earn is the fourth studio album by American hip hop duo Gang Starr. It was released on March 8, 1994, by Chrysalis and EMI Records in North America. The album featured the singles "Dwyck", "Mass Appeal", and "Code of the Streets". Guest appearances on the album include Group Home, Jeru the Damaja, and Big Shug. At the time, all were part of the Gang Starr Foundation, which made the album a stepping-stone for future DJ Premier-helmed projects by Group Home and Jeru. Hard to Earn received acclaim and commercial success upon release.
Aaron Ocosice Phillip, better known by his stage name Afu-Ra, is an American underground rapper. A member of the Gang Starr Foundation, he has worked closely with its members, including Gang Starr, Jeru the Damaja, Big Shug and Group Home.
Gang Starr Foundation is a collective of East Coast hip-hop artists led by the hip hop group Gang Starr. It was co-founded by Boston legend Big Shug. It was established in 1993.
Baldhead Slick & da Click is the fourth solo studio album by American hip hop musician Guru. It was released on September 25, 2001 via Ill Kid/Landspeed Records, marking Guru's first solo recording outside his Jazzmatazz series. Production was handled by Alchemist, Adam West, Agallah, Ayatollah, Biggest Gord, Divine, DJ Roach, DJ Spinna, DJ Yutaka, E-Boogie, Gang Starr, G-Flexx, J-Love, Pete Rock, P.F. Cuttin', Smitty, Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind and The Committee. It features guest appearances from Big Shug, Kaeson, Kreem.com, Lae D-Trigga, Mendoughza, New Child, Black Jesus, Bless, Blick Street, Don Parmazhane, Ed O.G., Gold D, Hannibal Stax, Hussein Fatal, Ice-T, James Gotti, Kapital Gainz, Killa Kaine, Killah Priest, Krumbsnatcha, Mr. Moe, Pete Powers, Smitty, Squala Orphan, Suspectz, Tef, Timbo King and Treach. The album peaked at number 122 on the Billboard 200, number 22 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, number 5 on the Independent Albums and topped the Heatseekers Albums in the United States.
Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 4: The Hip Hop Jazz Messenger: Back to the Future is the sixth solo studio album by American hip hop musician Guru. It was released on July 31, 2007 via 7 Grand Records, making it the fourth and final installment in the rapper's Jazzmatazz series. Production was handled entirely by Solar, who also served as executive producer together with Guru. It features guest appearances from Blackalicious, Bobby Valentino, Bob James, Caron Wheeler, Common, Damian Marley, David Sanborn, Dionne Farris, Kem, Brownman Ali, Omar, Raheem DeVaughn, Ronnie Laws, Shelley Harland and Vivian Green.
Cary Guy, better known as Big Shug, is an American rapper from Boston, Massachusetts, a co-founder of Gang Starr and a member of the Gang Starr Foundation collective.
"Mass Appeal" is a song by American hip hop group Gang Starr, released on February 8, 1994 as the second single from their fourth studio album Hard to Earn. The song reached #67 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #42 on the Billboard R&B chart. It was also featured on the soundtrack of the video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4.
One of the Best Yet is the seventh and final studio album by American hip hop duo Gang Starr, released on November 1, 2019. The album features previously unreleased and posthumous vocals from Guru, who died nine years prior to the album's release. The album features guest appearances from J. Cole, Royce da 5'9", Talib Kweli, M.O.P., and Q-Tip, among others.
"Dwyck" is a song by American hip hop duo Gang Starr, released in 1992 as the lead single from their fourth studio album Hard to Earn (1994). It features American hip hop duo Nice & Smooth. The song samples "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss, "Funky for You" and "No Bones in Ice Cream" by Nice & Smooth, and "Step in the Arena" by Gang Starr.