One of the meanest and the cleanest has died. Over the past few months since his cardiac episode, amidst conflicting reports about his health, and vandalism to Wikipedia’s entry on Gang Starr and, well, the general confusion that so often surrounds artists’ final days, I always held out hope. As one half of the great Gang Starr, which put Wild Pitch Records on the map in a big way, and as the mastermind of Jazzmatazz series, which incorporated Jazz in a manner that has influenced so many cats, from NOLA bands (NOLA’s TBC said in the pages of URB’s three 2006 Hurricane Katrina editions which I edited NOLA coverage in: “When we heard that, it was like, oh man,that sounds like real Jazz with Rap on top of it. That’s something we would really like to do”) through three generations of MCs, Guru is firmly ensconced in Hip-Hop’s Hall of Fame.
After Gang Starr, Guru then went on his own, and while some negativity has surrounded the separation between him and DJ Premier, the truth is that no matter what these two gentleman thought or said after their split, what they created together is timeless, and set them up for their respective post-Gang Starr careers, and this is a bond that no petty differences can ever sever. The last few years found Guru working with a new creative partner, the producer Solar, with whom he toured the world, living another beautiful chapter of a Hip-Hop dream-come-true career, and in the process bringing legendary American Hip-Hop live and direct to more than a few remote countries, traveling from the former Iron Curtain to the Asian pacific, and throughout Europe, finding LOVE everywhere hey went. For many of the heads in those audiences, especially for those who’d maybe first heard him during different, brutally repressive times in their nation’s history (especially nations which were part of the former Soviet Union) seeing the man and his hearing his words live and direct were life highlights, which served as testaments to their own — and the music’s – will to persevere.
For the musicians he sourced from all paths of life and brought on tour with him in his last years he was a kind of musical father figure, the leader of a gang touring the world, and having the times of their lives; he’d made their hard work payoff, and their dreams as struggling musicians come true. His most recent output saw scathing indictments of the music biz, and had he not left us at this time, I’d like to think that he would have finally synthesized his past, present, and future — and now, in one fell swoop, as his heart hit its final beat on Earth, the cosmos has now done that for him, and all he loved, and who loved him. This task to do so is now incumbent upon us, in our own lives, to make reckonings. Life is short, and the love you’ve shared and given to others is what matters.
Here are the lyrics to my favorite piece by him, it’s “Royalty” by Gang Star…It’s funny because at the time, I always detested the use of R&B in Hip-Hop (mostly still totally do), as I found the inclusion of choruses to get in the way of the magic of the narrative and the beats, which is what I find best in Hip-Hop. But just as his work did with Jazz, this piece works to beautiful effect; when K Ci & JoJo hit this, it just feels right, especially at the end when they’re simply wailin’. Coming from where I come from — the South Bronx — and knowing how lucky I am compared to so many others who were born into circumstances just like mine (my Mom kept me in the library), I always marvel whenever I hear him say to our sisters, in that laid-back Zen flow, how “the best way/it ain’t always the best way” and when, in speaking to young men, he makes the words “block all day”, “back hallway”, and “library” somehow, rhyme, I just start to cry.
“Whether you kids be holdin/on the block all day/Or you be puffing lah, out in the back hallway/Or whether you being schooled, or in the library/Wherever you are Baby Pah, realize that your essence/is divine son, and let it shine son”.
Thanks for your words, Brother. Rest In Peace.
“Royalty”
[Featuring K Ci & JoJo]
“Gangstarr has gots to be the sure shot” > Greg Nice
“and it’s like dat” (Primo scratching)
“GangStarr” “Represent”
[K Ci and JoJo] Ohhh yeah
[Guru]
One of the meanest and the cleanest
And still I’m kind of feindish when I’m at this
Been doin this for eons peons best to catch this
vision of excellence precise rappin ability
Bout to make some dead presidents macking a million G
The money though, it’s got people actin funny yo
As soon as some niggaz get some light, they be like dummies yo
Products and puppets and pawns, gettin played out
When authentic niggaz step up, respect be layed out
Major effect to your sector, I’m the corrector
Live and direct, waving my mic like a sceptor
Supreme exalted, universal leader
Descendent of the kings and queens, the overseer
The overlord, cream of the crop, creme de la creme
Spent years buildin with cats in the streets, so they my men
Again, GangStarr has done it
Remember too much jewels back in the days? You’d have to run it
Check it, the ground be hot under our feet
So we be listening to beats to keep the cypher complete
Wether you kids be holdin, on the block all day
Or you be puffing lah, out in the back hallway
Or whether you being schooled, or in the library
Wherever you are Baby Pah, realize that your essence
is divine son, and let it shine son
As we refine son, aiyyo, this shit’ll blow your mind son
We’re royalty
Chorus: K-Ci and JoJo
Wherever I go
I want to take nothin less than the best
Whatever I choose, I choose to do
I have to stand out from all the rest
Whatever I do, wherever I go
I want to take nothin less than the best
Whatever I choose, I choose to do
I just wanna stand out from all the rest
[Guru]
And all the girls they want to spoil me
My honey annoits me with oils G
After work she greets me, and treats me like royalty
Works with me, giving herself, by my side
She don’t sweat me for loot, my fame, or my ride
A lot of ladies out there, be lookin lovely
But they don’t got no control of the their life, inside they’re ugly
Word to Bugsy, and to Red Alert
Sway and Tech, and Funkmaster Flex to make your head jerk
Chicks go beserk when they see us in the spot
K-Ci, JoJo and Primo, creepin to the top
And to the sweethearts out there breaking hearts
While we’re takin part of this hip-hop art
Listen yo, the best way, it ain’t always the fast way
And yes the best way, it ain’t always to act nasty
I’ll open up the door always before you pass me
Baby Doll, because you’re royalty
Chorus: K-Ci and JoJo
Whatever I do, Wherever I go
I want to take nothin less than the best
Whatever I choose, I choose to do
I have to stand out from all the rest
Whatever I do, wherever I go
I want to take nothin less than the best
Whatever I choose, I choose to do
I just wanna stand out from all the rest
“GangStarr has to gots to be the sure shot” –> Greg Nice
“and it’s like dat” (Primo scratching)
(repeat 4X)
[K-Ci and JoJo freestyle singing]
[...] GURU was, or want the details of his life and death, there’s an excellent piece on that at URB, or TheNew York Times. This is a marketing blog, and as much as we at Rebel were fans of GURU and [...]