‘Just To Get A Rep’
‘Check The Technique’
‘Who’s Gonna Take The Weight?’
All you need to know about Guru from Gangstarr is that one night at Mars nightclub during a TRIP party a brawl breaks out in the rap room and Guru grabbed the mic to settle people down. He had an unmistakable voice that was raspy and rough. He instantly garnered the respect of an OG with his voice and his rhymes. The fact that his rhymes were about the truth is why he is a legend.
Gangstarr is iconic Hip-Hop because they represent the powerful sounds of the voice and the drum. Just like the Roots are at the essence of everything simply Black Thought and ?uestlove, Gangstarr was Guru and Premier.
God bless Guru’s soul and give peace to his Gangstarr family.
Everytime I hear this song I will have to spit Guru’s verse.
Gangstarr featuring Nice & Smooth – ‘DWYCK’
via Slang Rap Democracy: Guru + Gang Starr Videos
rest in peace.
lemonade was a popular drink, and it still is
Well said DP. Gangstarr=G.O.A.T. Hip-Hop Duo.
Rest In Power.
His musical legacy will be remembered.
I particularly appreciate when he stepped outside of Gangstarr with the Jazmatazz series.
“My dj name is Premiere and I’m the Guru.”
i represent set up shit like a tent boy\
you’re paranoid cause you’re my son like elroy\
R.I.P gifted unlimited rhymes universal.
“just to get a rep” plays as “dwyck.” Not hating, just stating. I really wanted to hear “just to get a rep” too. But no dice. Looks like I gotta go dig for it in the old CD collection. Anyways, can anyone really think of another soloist or group with more recognizable, “hit” joints, that you know all the words to? With an MC that is actually concerned with positive elevation? I thought not. I wonder if cats realize the magnitude of what we all just lost. This dude was pretty much at the apex of MC evolution. Everyone that came after him mostly went backwards and failed to properly carry on tradition and take MCing to the next level as hip-hop’s founding fathers envisioned it. In short, shit is fucked the fuck up. I remember my stepbro playing “No More Mr. Nice Guy” when it first debuted. He was 17, I was 8. He couldn’t stop playing it and I was always in his room, listening. It left a permanent impression on me. Even now, as most cats my age or a little younger are into the cookie-cutter bullshit, I just can’t get into it. Crazy, right? It’s supposed to be my generation’s shit but I cannot fuck with it. That’s how powerful Guru is to me. He’ll definitely be missed. Rest in power, homie.
I hope all this unnecessary backlash & controversy surrounding Solar doesn’t cloud his legacy.
RIP Keith Elam & God bless his family.
Tell you what..
Guru was never thought of as a top lyricist…but his style, lyrics, flow AGED better than most of the other rappers that were hot around the time gangstarr were making music.
timeless music.for real
also..
after dwyck
on the next nice and smooth album….I think they did another collabo
lightning didn’t strike twice….but the song is decent…
DivShare link fixed
I’m not in any way defending Solar, whom I don’t know from dick (II) but…
The many many folks vilifying him– perhaps rightly– don’t want to cop to obvious reality that Guru had demons and most of his “fans” have shit on or ignored him since “Ownerz”– myself included.
I don’t want to drop a dime on anyone but let’s say I know someone in BK who directed a very well known and much loved Gang Starr video. This person also became friends with Guru and remained so for years, not infrequently receiving late night ah, let’s say lubricated phone calls from Guru who, according to this person, was not too happy with his life or the music biz.
This has nothing to do with the fucking cancer, of course, and while the Solar relationship sure smells funny, fact is Guru has been on his own odd path for years and I’m not convinced his family’s version of his recent life is THAT much closer to the truth. I mean, does Solar really look like such a Svengali he was controlling dude? Maybe but…
That said– Speak Ya’ Clout!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4j-MCCujkQ
Right after Micheal Jackson passed away the mainstream news cycle became fixated on who his children would live with without first celebrating this immortal icon.
In that same way the internets have become fixated with Guru’s personal life. We should be celebrating dude’s gift to us thru his music and leave ALL this other bullshit to the people that it means something to.
This is why people began the saying rest in peace.
Without question; I just get irritated at all the armchair riders. How about some of these people calling foul on Solar quoting ONE Guru verse from the last five years? Maybe he fell off, maybe not and even if Gang Starr is damn near unstoppable… I’d like to hear more serious consideration of Guru’s body of work, assuming he’s the same not-genius but very talented, thoughtful, diligent dude who did lots of great stuff before.
By comparison, except for the ofay pop media which I do my best to ignore, most people who recognized Michael as an artist know he never fell off– “Invincible” is damn good album and “This Is It” the movie is practically a goddamn miracle.
p/s– it’s Charles Mingus’ birthday!!
RIP twice.
Rest in peace to Guru. This was a well written tribute and no matter what controversies lie in the aftermath of his passing, it’s really all about his legacy and the music.
dallas penn was a popular internets and he still is
DP gets more props and stunts than bruce willis
funny thing is, I never stopped celebrating Gangstarr………….
Guru was that dude, no he wasnt in my top 10, but dude was talented. I think he needed a little more diversity in flow.
Dude dropped an album last year and nobody listened, now every one has a theory….
Where were all these dudes last year? or the year before? Shit I don’t like Solaar, but like who the are we to judge?? Maybe dude felt alienated by the fans/industry?? I read a interview on him a while and he was already on that ‘this is about me not Primo’ shit. So maybe there skeletons we dont know about.
But thats neither here nor there…dude passed away, lets all respect his legacy.
Lets not start putting labels on dude that he didnt put on himself, or start creating images that never existed before.
Lets just enjoy his legacy and leave shit at that…..
When I heard about Guru I was at work hearing the garbage those kids listen to and wishing I could play Gangstarr for them.
“Did you come to see my show or to the stupid nigga playoffs”.
@Markus Respekt
EXACTLY!! I keep a MP3 CD with all the gangstarr bangas in the whip at all times.. Even the pleasure to meet & get a pic with both Guru and Preem at an album signing for “The ownerz” when i was 16