We Need to Talk About Gang Starr More, and Here’s Why
Gang Starr. Unless you were a part of the East Coast rap scene in the ‘90s rap you probably would not have heard of them, but I’m here to change that.
Before I delve into the magic that is Gang Starr, I want to set the stage of the musical climate I grew up in. I am the youngest of 5 girls and the child of the coolest people I know, my mom and dad. Although no one in my family plays music themselves, we were fully immersed in my world of music for the entirety of my childhood and adolescence, all thanks to my father.
My father’s hobby since my sisters and I could barely walk was to condition each and every one of us to listen to, and appreciate good music. It started with him playing “Harm of Will” by Björk for me all throughout my first year of life and later developed into more complex sounds, such as “What’s in it for Me” by The Walkmen when I was 5 years old (which, by the way, is a song you must listen to if you’re a fan of Beach House).
As soon as my older sisters grew up, I was brought along to live concerts at least every month starting around the age of 7. All of these musical experiences that my father began exposing me to from the day I was born refined my ear so I could fully understand, and appreciate, the greatest artists of our time as a “musically matured” adult.
One of the artists my father taught me to not only love but marvel over, is Gang Starr, a ‘90s rap group from the suburbs of Boston.
“Too much weak talk, and not enough real hip hop”
Gang Starr is the brain-child of two of the most influential rappers in the ‘90s rap scene: DJ Premier and Guru. These friends grew up in areas different from where all rap music was emerging at the time. With DJ Premier growing up in Texas and Guru growing up in Boston, Gang Starr challenged the idea that in order to be a successful rapper in the 1990s you needed to hail from Compton, Los Angeles, or Brooklyn, New York to make incredible music. Both Guru and DJ Premier grew up in stable middle-class families, and Guru himself holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Morehouse College in Atlanta. He completed two years of graduate courses at FIT and believed he wanted to pursue fashion as his career before deciding on music.
This upbringing is reflected in the music of Gang Starr, making them one of the most innovative rap groups in history. In the ‘90s, rap groups would play tracks and beats then rap over them, but Gang Starr produced all their sounds live. The words of Guru and DJ Premier also broke the mold for rappers at the time; Gang Starr’s lyrics, differently from other artists at the time, strayed away from the glorification of violence. Additionally, when you listen to Gang Starr’s music, you’re greeted by Guru’s pronounced, sleepy, almost dream-like voice alongside the smooth, multi-layered beats of DJ Premier. In other words, Gang Starr did many things rap groups at the time weren’t doing, and what came out of it is spectacularly beautiful.
“Don’t even feel like drinking, or even gettin’ high
Cause all that’s gonna do really, is accelerate
The anxieties that I wish I could alleviate
But wait, I’ve been through a whole lot of other s***, before
So I oughta be able, to withstand some more
But I’m sweating though, my eyes are turning red and yo
I’m ready to lose my mind but instead I use my mind
I put down the knife, and take the bullets out my nine
My only crime, was that I’m too damn kind
And now some scandalous mother******* wanna take what’s mine”
Guru was the man behind the lyrics while DJ Premier worked behind the beat, both working closely together as a duo for many years. At the beginning of their careers, Guru and DJ Premier were set up through Wild Pitch Records, but due to physical distance, they built their first music together over the phone and by sending tapes back and forth through the mail. DJ Premier and Guru officially released “Jazz Music” together on their first album No More Mr. Nice Guy 1989; the song acted as a mission statement for their music going forward.
“Dizzy Bird and Miles, they were all playin’
They brought it to the people of the foreign lands
Back across the oceans and the desert sands
Where it echoes in the distant sounds of drums
And it rises with the sun on days begun
This is the music that we give tribute to
They gave it to us, that’s why we give it to you
The jazz music, the jazz music”
On April 19, 2010, almost exactly 11 years ago, Guru passed away from a rare form of cancer. Guru’s death shook the music industry, with critically acclaimed artists across the globe speaking out in honor of Guru.
Guru’s death rocked the Gang Starr fan base in more ways than one. In 2003, DJ Premier and Guru split up after an ongoing feud and never ended up making music together again. Guru instead focused on solo work, putting out several volumes of his music project, Jazzmatazz. While working solo, Guru partnered with a virtually unknown producer dubbed “DJ Solar”. In some ways, as a loyal Gang Starr fan, I believe DJ Solar killed Guru—not cancer—and here’s why.
After their split, DJ Premier and Guru did not speak for the six years leading up to his death. During this time, Guru apparently developed a dependence on alcohol and was completely estranged from his family, friends, and overall livelihood. DJ Solar had full control over Guru at this time. There are even were multiple accounts of Solar physically abusing Guru, beating him to the point of other band members having to intervene out of fear for Guru’s life. DJ Solar also had full control over Guru’s email and estranged him from his family, his son included. Unfortunately, DJ Solar’s grip on Guru only tightened when Guru was diagnosed with cancer. After an anonymous hacker leaked DJ Solar’s emails, it was revealed that despite listening to the doctors about being able to treat Guru’s cancer in less than three months, Solar forced him on a tour, which prolonged his cancer and eventually, lead to his death.
After falling into a coma, DJ Solar barred any friends and family from seeing Guru before his death. DJ Premier, who hadn’t spoken to Guru in 6 years, even broke into the hospital and visited Guru on his deathbed, taking off the Gang Starr t-shirt Premier was wearing and rubbing it over Guru’s heart in honor of the magic they made together.
Guru did not wake up from the coma and was pronounced dead on April 20, 2010. Mysteriously, a letter appeared claiming to be written by Guru moments before his death. Of course, this letter was released by DJ Solar, the only person who was around Guru while he was in a coma. In this note he completely separates himself from DJ Premier, stating “I do not wish my ex-DJ to have anything to do with my name likeness, events, tributes, etc. connected in any way to my situation including any use of my name or circumstance for any reason and I have instructed my lawyers to enforce this. I had nothing to do with him in life for over seven years and want nothing to do with him in death.”
To really hammer home this idea, Guru also hands the entirety of his life’s work and intellectual property over to DJ Solar. It doesn’t take a Gang Starr fan to realize that “miraculously waking up from a coma to hand-write an angry rant about a past friend as your last words” is weird. The letter did not sound like Guru.
Like all good hero and villain stories, after Guru’s death, DJ Premier fought a legal battle against DJ Solar and succeeded in the end. DJ Premier and Guru’s family immediately knew the message could not have been written by Guru because to the extent of their knowledge Guru never woke up from his coma. In fact, they claimed Guru was in a coma for two full months before his death. Guru’s family and friends had no doubt about the love Guru had for his son—who was 9 years old at the time—so it made no sense why he would give his whole life to DJ Solar, not his son Keith Casim Elam.
And so, the family and former best friend of Guru took Solar to court where his oncologist testified that there was no possible way Guru could have written that letter himself. Ruling in his family’s favor, all of Guru’s life was taken from Solar and given to the family as well as DJ Premier. DJ Premier worked closely with Keith Casim in 2019 and released an album with several of Guru’s unreleased tracks as a continuation of his former-partner’s legacy.
When I am sad, I listen to Guru. When I am happy, I listen to Guru. When I am tired... well I’m sure you can guess the rest. Despite the disputes, lying, stealing, everything that was associated Guru’s death, his message still holds true to today:
Be kind. Love all. Stay wise.
“In the midst of war, I find peace within
Run, lock your doors, don’t let the beast get in
The mind is a terrible thing to waste
I show love ‘cause it’s a terrible thing to hate”
That is the “Guru” way. May he rest in peace and power.
Keith Edward Elam
“Guru”
July 17, 1961-April 19, 2010