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Keith Elam, Legendry rapper Guru has lost his battle against cancer aged 43 after being in a coma since a cardiac arrest in March this year.

His death was announced on the DJ Premier Blog site yesterday morning.

Best known for his work with DJ Premier as Gangstarr during Hip Hop’s ‘Golden Era’ of the early 90′s.

The duo became known for ‘conscious Hip Hop’ & went on to released six studio albums during 1989-2003, including the seminal ‘Step in the Arena’ (1991), ‘Daily Operation’ (1992), and ‘Hard to Earn’ (1994).

Guru also masterminded Hip Hop & Jazz crossover compliations ‘Jazzmatazz’. He collaborated with classic Jazz, Soul & Hip Hop artists including; Country Pine,Issac Hayes,Chaka Khan, Donald Byrd, N’Dea Davenport, Roy Ayers, Ramsey Lewis, Branford Marsalis & Jamiroquai to put out four compilations

REST IN PEACE GURU!

Sydney based Hip Hop radio with KweenG & Ran Dee on Alchemy radio every Tuesday @ 11pm, Check this GURU recorded 20th April 2009 (Listen Here)

Gang Starr | U Know My Steez| Moment of Truth
Gang Starr | Full Clip | FullClip
Gang Starr | Here Today GoneTomorrow | Step In the Arena
Gang Starr | Just To Get A Rep | Step…… In the Arena
Gang Starr | Take It Personal| Daily Operation
Nas | It Ain’t Hard To Tell |Illmatic
Gang Starr | Mass Appeal |Hard To Earn
Gang Starr ft. Nice & Smooth | Dwyck | Hard To Earn
Gang Starr ft. Jeru & Lil Dap | Speak Ya Clout |Hard To Earn
Gang Starr | Mostly The Voice| Hard To Earn
Gang Starr | Skills | TheOwnerz
GangStarr | Rite Where You Stand | The Ownerz
Guru ft. Damian Marley | Stand Up (Some Things Will Never Change) | Jazzmatazz 4
Guru ft. Common & Bob James | State of Clarity| Jazzmatazz 4
Gang Starr | Manifest | No More Mr Nice Guy
Gang Starr | In memory Of | Moment Of Truth

Here is a collection of our favourites musical moments & words of wisdom Guru has blessed us with..

Gang Starr-Mass Appeal

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Verse One: Guru
No way you’ll never make it
Come with the weak shit, I break kids
Step into my zone, mad rhymes will stifle ya
Lines like rifles go blast when I kick some ass
A lot of rappers be like one time wonders
Couldn’t say a fly rhyme if there was one right under
Their noses, I hate those motherfuckin posers
But I’m so real to them it’s scary
And with my unique skills nag you can’t compare me
And no we don’t make wack tracks
and all the suckers get pushed back when I’m kickin real facts
I represent set up shit like a tent boy
You’re paranoid cause you’re my son like Elroy
And you’d be happy as hell to get a record deal
Maybe your soul you’d sell to have mass appeal

Verse Two:
Oh yes I’m greater than all MC’s when I breeeze give me room please
I be like fascinatin when I be updatin
Cuttin off wack kids, pullin their trump cards
I thump hard, and mak eem say that I’m God
Niggaz be pretendin they hardcore
Never know the meaning of
But I get props like a slogan and no man
Could ever try to diss when I kicks my jam
Lyrically def and connecting complete mic wrecking
No double checking vocals kill like weapons
But if I have to I go all out with no mic
Yeah that’s right cause I survived mad fights
And for my peeps I truly care
Cause without some of them I wouldn’t be here
And they all know how I feel
Cause suckers be like playin themselves to have mass appeal

Verse Three:
I know I’m dope but don’t wet that
I’ve suffered setbacks but now I’m makin greenbacks
Just like baggy slacks I’m crazy hip-hop
Check one two and you don’t stop
Your head’ll bop when I drop my crop
of pure bomb, just like the seashore I’m calm
But wild, with my monotone style
Because I don’t need gimmicks
Gimme a fly beat and I’m all in it
Word is bond I go on and on
For you it’s tragic I got magic like wands
So I’ma end this lecture and I betcha
Those who kick dirt and do time I’m gonna get cha
Cause I be kickin the real
While they be losin the race tryin to chase mass appeal

Gang Starr-Moment Of Truth

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No matta wat we face
We mus face de moment of truth..

Chorus:

They say it’s lonely at the top in whatever you do
You always gotta watch motherfuckers around you
Nobody’s invincible no plan is foolproof
We all must meet our moment of truth

Verse One: Guru
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
Cultivate, multiply, motivate, or else we’ll die
You know I be the masterof the who what where and why
See when you’re shinin, some chumps’ll wanna dull ya
Always selfish jealous punks, will wanna pull ya
down, just like some shellfish in a bucket
cause they love it, to see your ass squirm like a worm
But just as you’ll receive what is comin to you
Everybody else is gonna get theirs too
I ain’t no saint, therefore I cannot dispute
That everyone must meet their moment of truth

Chorus: Guru
Actions have reactions, don’t be quick to judge
You may not know the harships people don’t speak of
It’s best to step back, and observe with couth
For we all must meet our moment of truth

Verse Two: Guru
Sometimes you gotta dig deep, when problems come near
Don’t fear things get severe for everybody everywhere
Why do bad things happen, to good people?
Seems that life is just a constant war between good and evil
The situation that I’m facin, is mad amazin
to think such problems can arise from minor confrontations
Now I’m contemplatin in my bedroom pacin
Dark clouds over my head, my heart’s racin
Suicide? Nah, I’m not a foolish guy
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 shit, before
So I oughta be able, to withstand some more
But I’m sweatin though, my eyes are turnin 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 motherfuckers wanna take what’s mine
But they can’t take the respect, that I’ve earned in my lifetime
And you know they’ll never stop the furious force of my rhymes
So like they say, every dog has it’s day
And like they say, God works in a mysterious way
So I pray, remembering the days of my youth
As I prepare to meet my moment of truth
(“You should know the truth
And the truth shall set you free” — from _Who’s Gonna Take the
Weight?_)

Verse Three: Guru
Yo I got one lyric pointed at your head for start
Another one, is pointed at your weak ass heart
Now if I pull the trigger, on these fully loaded lines
You’re gonna wish I woulda pulled a black nine, I mack dimes
Crack the spines of the fake gangsters
Yeah the bitin triflin niggaz, and the studio pranksters
Yo lookin at the situation plainly: will you remain G?
Or will you be looked upon strangely?
I reign as the articulator, with the greater data
Revolvin on the TASCAM much doper than my last jam
While others struggle to juggle, tricky metaphots
I explore more, to expose the core
A lot of MC’s, act stupid to me
And we have yet to see, if they can match our longevity
But anyway it’s just another day
Another fake jack I slay with my spectac’ rap display
Styles, smooth but rugged — you can’t push or shove it
You dig it and you dug it cause like money you love it
The king of monotone, with my own throne
Righteously violent prone my words bring winds like cyclones
Stormin your hideout, blockin out your sunlight
Your image and your business, were truly not done right
Throw up your he-Allah-I now, divine saviors
You got no hand skills there’s no security to save ya
No pager, no celly, no drop top Benz-y
I came to bring your phone hip-hop, to an ending
My art of war will leave you sore from the abuse
Cause you must meet your moment of truth

Chorus: Guru
They say it’s lonely at the top in whatever you do
You always gotta watch motherfuckers around you
Nobody’s invincible no plan is foolproof
We all must meet our moment of truth

Gang Starr Royalty(Featuring K Ci & JoJo)

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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 lye, 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

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

Artist: Gangstarr w/ K-Ci and JoJo
Album:  Moment Of Truth
Song:   Royalty
Typed by: OHHLA Webmaster DJ Flash (revised version)

"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 lye, 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]