"Leavin' The Bodega, I Say Suave..." R.I.P. Guru

Guru, the lyricist for the influential 90's hip hop group Gangstarr, has passed away due to complications from cancer. He was 47 years old. Growing up a teen in NYC during the 90's meant you had to respect Gangstarr for the way they made music. Their style was hard enough to rep NY, yet the lyrics had a level of inteligence to them that made you clearly envision what Guru was trying to say... and the beats... oh, wow were the beats fire!!! That was courtesy of DJ Premier, the other half of the duo. They released at total of 6 studio albums together, as well as Full Clip: A Decade of Gangstarr, which was a double cd packed with their greatest hits as well as some new material. It is by far one of my favorite albums to listen to ever... every track is a heater.

 Like all people in Hip Hop, Guru and Premier's star burned bright for a bit, and then they fell off the main rap radar. But Guru had a love for jazz music and he created the Jazzmataz series of cd's, 4 volumes of collaborations with jazz greatest like Bradford Marsalis and Roy Ayers. This showed another side of the talent that Guru had, and he will truly be missed. I had the pleasure of meeting him back in 1996 at Club Boca in Florida (Thats a 16 year old Mr. Mike D in the grey shirt behind the girl with the crazy eyes!!!) . The cat was mad cool and posed for pictures with us after the show. He was friends with my boy DJ Skribble and we had a really cool conversation about Florida... a short time after that I saw him on the South Beach Strip and he told me he had moved there for awhile. Anytime I seen him out he always said whatup and knew my name... that made me realize that he wasn't another one of these famous dickheads out there. He might not of been in his prime, but he was still a titan in my eyes. That gave me so much respect for him. He will be missed.

I would like to send condolences to his family from the whole CCD staff and from myself especially. A legend of NY hip hop died, and he will never be replaced. Words I Manifest, Just To Get A Rep, Who's Gonna Take The Weight, Step In The Arena, Take It Personal, Ex Girl to Next Girl, Code of the Streets, Dwyck, Mass Appeal, Royalty, You Know My Steez... Wow!!! So many hits... just remember: "Gangstarr has got to be the sure shot!!!"