Jazz-Rap pioneer Guru, né Keith Elam, died at the age of 47 on Monday, April 19, following a yearlong battle with multiple myeloma.
MC Guru and producer DJ Premier crafted some of the jazziest and most memorable tracks during their longtime partnership as Gang Starr, the more well known among them being “Mass Appeal,” “Royalty,” and “Now You’re Mine.” Gang Starr split up about seven years ago; since then, Guru had been working almost exclusively with producer Solar, previously known to most Americans as “that French rapper guy” MC Solaar.
Guru started emceeing in 1983 after graduating from college and dropping out of graduate school. (Let that be a lesson to you all: there’s still ample time to pursue a hip-hop career.) In 1989, he met Premier, and the two enjoyed nine years of success until they split up in 1998. They reunited in 2003 to record the album “The Ownerz,” but in 2005 ended for good after a drama-filled European tour together.
Along with the six albums he recorded with Premier as Gang Starr, Guru released a four part series of more heavily jazz influenced records called “Jazzmatazz,” all of which are pretty accessible, even for the rapaphobic.
Guru’s condition had been uncertain as of February 20th, when he suffered from a heart attack and slipped into a coma. After the announcement of his heart attack and a press release from Solar which revealed no details concerning his partner’s condition, a video circulated the web of Guru’s nephew expressing discontent with how Solar had been dealing with the situation. Many people began questioning the truth behind Solar’s claim that Guru did not want to see or talk to anyone, but after his death, the murmurs and conspiracies quieted to make room for his mourning and remembrance.
You can be sure there will a significant shout-out on Floralia from Talib Kweli to this late musical icon.
To start, let me state that I fully appreciate the inclusion of this article in The College Voice. Guru is a rapper near and dear to my heart and is undoubtedly the best rapper to ever emerge from Boston, a city probably more well known for its hardcore scene than its hip hop culture. However, I do take issue with a couple points in your article and only look to correct them in the hope that Guru can be appropriately honored and commemorated by our college community.
Firstly, you seem to be a little confused about the people in your article. MC Solaar is assuredly “that French rapper guy,” but he is NOT the same person as Solar, a producer and New York native. Guru has worked with both of these individuals, and their names are admittedly extremely similar, so it is no wonder how you became confused. Guru collaborated with MC Solaar for the Jazzmatazz series, a collection I plan to revisit in the wake of Guru’s unfortunate passing. Solar, on the other hand, is a man that will have much controversy to deal with in the coming weeks. Solar produced for Guru after their friendship blossomed sometime around 2003, and they eventually created 7 Grand Records together.
The other problem with your article is your statement that “Many people began questioning the truth behind Solar’s claim that Guru did not want to see or talk to anyone, but after his death, the murmurs and conspiracies quieted to make room for his mourning and remembrance.” While it is definitely true that many people were questioning the validity of the statements that came out during the period surrounding Guru’s death, I do not believe it is accurate to state that the “murmurs and conspiracies” have gone away. Many people have been deeply concerned about Solar’s influence on Guru for quite a while, and some of the information that has come out recently has been especially disheartening. Premier himself has posited that the letter supposedly written by Guru, and released upon his passing, was in fact written entirely by Solar.
Guru is a rapper around whom many conspiracies have been centered, and I hope that the truth can be revealed at some point in the near future. If anyone is interested, HipHopDX has released an interview with Tasha Denham, a woman close to Guru, which explores much of this in far greater detail than I could ever hope to.
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/interviews/id.1535/title.tasha-denham-just-to-get-a-rep
Give the credit, y’all, where it is due!
Dave
Thanks Dave, you can probably tell I spent a little more time on that other thing than this, so I appreciate your better researched obit. Guru brought me into hip hop over a decade ago but I hadn’t known much about the Solar work.
I don’t think I’ve ever been more grateful for criticism in my life!