The hip-hop community is in mourning over the untimely death of their beloved hip-hop icon Keith “Guru” Elam of Gang Starr. The 48-year-old rapper passed away on Monday (April 19) after a one-year battle with cancer. According to his brother, Harry Elam Jr., doctors diagnosed Guru with multiple myeloma last summer and in February, he was hospitalized with respiratory problems. Soon afterward, Guru had a heart attack and fell into a coma, from which he did not recover.
“The Elam family wishes to thank the fans of our son/brother/father uncle/nephew/cousin Keith aka GURU for the outpouring of love, concern and support,” said Guru’s sister, Patricia Elam, via a statement. “Our hearts are broken by the loss of someone we loved so much. GURU was devoted to his young son, who will most keenly feel his absence. GURU died far too young but he was, and we are, proud of all his many legendary musical contributions.”
Guru’s longtime friend and Gang Starr co-hort DJ Premier also released statement remembering his departed comrade.
“I will celebrate Guru’s life, I will honor his memory [and] I will grieve with the Elam Family over his untimely death. I’m gonna miss hearing his signature monotone voice when we walks in the room, but the songs will always bring it back to me. His rhyme flows were insane, and I will never remove him from my heart and soul. Rest in peace to the man who felt “Satisfaction from the street crowd reaction.” I love you [GUU].”
If you want to leave your condolences to Guru and his family, click HERE.
The Mixpak Records Family would like to send their condolences to Guru’s family.
In honor of Guru, we are going to celebrate his life through music.
Before we go down memory lane, here is a song you should listen to first. It’s called “The Planet” (from 1994’s Hard to Earn LP), and it sums up how Guru — a then-aspiring rapper from Boston — decided to move to New York and achieve his dreams of becoming a rapper. In the end, he would become one of hip-hop’s most respected lyricists.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwa8nqKfONk
Here’s Gang Starr first single, “Manifest,” from their 1989 debut album No More Mr. Nice Guy.
Guru wasn’t afraid to tackle issues regarding the dangers of the streets. As rapper who had a major influence on the youth, Guru felt it was important to send a message to kids that the street life leads to a dead end.
“Rap is art, you can’t own no loops, it’s how you hook them up and your rhyme style troop.” – Guru
There’s no doubt that Guru and Gang Starr had “Mass Appeal.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMRUHbUSNJ4
Guru wasn’t afraid to musically experiment with hip-hop. In 1993, Guru started the Jazzamatazz series, which incorporated jazz and R&B artists performing over smoothed-out hip-hop beats. His musical hybrid created a new genre of music called Jazz-Rap.
R.I.P. Guru. You will be sorely missed.
