THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE LEGEND

“The same sheisty cats that you hang with, and do your thang with/ could set you up/ and wet you up/ nigga peep the language/ it's universal, you play with fire it may hurt you/ or burn you/ lessons are blessings you should learn through/ let's face facts/ although mc's lace tracks/ it doesn't mean behind the scenes there ain't no dirt to trace back/ that goes for all of us, there ain't nobody to trust/ it's like sabotage, it's got me ready to bust/ but I can't jeapordize, what I have done up to this point/ so i'ma get more guys, to help me run the whole joint/” – those are the opening lines to Guru Jazmatazz’s first verse on his “Moment of Truth” song. Now you can imagine the wisdom and power of an emcee to positively influence and conscientize the masses.

Guru’s birth name is Keith Edward Elam. He was an African American rapper, producer and actor and a member of the hip-hop duo Gang Starr, along with DJ Premier. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The name Guru is a backronym that stands for Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal and the less-often used God is Universal; he is the Ruler Universal, which are both references to the teachings of the Nation of Gods and Earths.

He was born in Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Roxbury, Massachusetts on the 17^th of July 1961. His father, Harry Elam, was a judge and his mother, Barbara Elam, was the co-director of libraries in the Boston public school system. He attended Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts and Cohasset High School in Cohasset, Massachusetts for high school. He graduated with a degree in business administration from Morehouse College in Atlanta and took graduate classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. He later dropped out to pursue a hip hop career. Guru worked briefly in social services.

He began his rap career under the nom de plume MC Keithy E but later changed name to Guru. He founded Gang Starr in 1987. The group initially released three records, produced by DJ Mark the 45 King, on the Wild Pitch Records record label, but these records received little attention. After a change in line-up, the group consisted of rapper Guru and beat maker DJ Premier. Gang Starr released its first LP No More Mr. Nice Guy on Wild Pitch Records; the group achieved a sizable following and released six critically acclaimed and influential albums from 1989 to 2003. Two albums, Moment of Truth (1998) and compilation Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr (1999) were certified gold in the United States by the RIAA. Gang Starr made archetypal East Coast hip hop with Guru's rhyming described as sharp-eyed but anti-ostentatious.

In 1993, Guru released the first in a series of four solo albums while still a member of Gang Starr. Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 featured collaborations with Donald Byrd, N'Dea Davenport, MC Solar, and Roy Ayers and received positive reviews. His second solo LP, Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality, featured Chaka Khan, Ramsey Lewis, Branford Marsalis, and Jamiroquai. The third installment was released in 2000, but it received less positive reviews.

Guru’s first solo album that doesn’t form part of the Jazzmatazz series, with the appellation “Baldhead Slick & da Click,” was released in 2001 to poor reviews. The album reached number 22 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop album charts. The seventh chapter in the book of Guru, Version 7.0: The Street Scriptures, was released in 2005 on Guru’s own record label, 7 Grand Records. The album was produced entirely by label mate Solar. It reached number 54 on the Billboard R&B albums charts and received mixed reviews.

Guru’s final releases were the fourth installment in the Jazzmatazz series, released in June 2007; and Guru 8.0: Lost And Found, released May 19, 2009 (also in collaboration with Solar). A Gang Starr reunion album was planned but will never be released because of Guru's death.

On February 28, 2010, Elam went into cardiac arrest and, following surgery, fell into a coma. It was claimed that Guru had briefly awakened from his coma but died on April 19, 2010, at the age of 48, from cancer. Guru was survived by his parents, three siblings, and a son named Keith Casim.

Discography: Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 (1993), Guru Presents Ill Kid Records (1995), Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality (1995), Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 3: Streetsoul (2000), Baldhead Slick & da Click (2001), Version 7.0: The Street Scriptures (2005), Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 4: The Hip Hop Jazz Messenger: Back to the Future  (2007), The Timebomb: Back To The Future Mixtape (2007), The Best of Guru's Jazzmatazz (2008), Guru 8.0: Lost and Found (2009).

Filmography:

• Main Source music video "Watch Roger Do His Thing" (1990) (Cameo)
• Who's the Man? (1993) as Martin Lorenzo
• The Substitute 2: School's Out (1998) as Little B.
• Train Ride (2000) as Jay
• Grand Theft Auto III (2001) as 8-Ball
• 3 A.M. (2001) as Hook-Off
• Urban Massacre (2002) as Cereal Killah
• Kung Faux (2003) as Voice Over/Various
• Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2005) as 8-Ball

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_(rapper)  

Written by

Amalahle Ashushu

Ndatenda