Hip-Hop fans, we’re sad to report that we’ve lost another legend as Gangstarr’s Keith “Guru” Elam lost his fight with cancer on Monday.
The veteran MC was 43-years old.
His production and business partner Solar released a statement saying:
“The world has lost one of the best MCs and Hip-Hop icons of all-time — my loyal best friend, partner, and brother, Guru. Guru has been battling cancer for well over a year and has lost his battle!
This is a matter that Guru wanted private until he could beat it, but tragically, this did not happen. The cancer took him. Now the world has lost a great man and a true genius.”
[More On The Fallen Legend After The Jump] [More]
Guru first made his presence felt as part of the group Gangstarr with DJ Premier in 1989 with the release of their first album No More Mr. Nice Guy. The pairing of the Boston MC and the Texas producer yielded the smash “Manifest” as Guru spit enlightening lyrics.
Several more classics followed that consisted of Step In The Arena, Daily Operation, Hard To Earn, Moment Of Truth and The Ownerz.
Numerous hits from those releases included “Just To Get A Rep”, “Take It Personal”, “DWYCK”, “Mass Appeal” and “Royalty.”
After Gangstarr called it quits around 2004 after their final release The Ownerz, Guru headed out on a solo expedition with producer Solar and released his last effort Guru 8.0: Lost & Found in 2009.
Throughout his career, Guru was an avid jazz fan and released several Jazzmatazz projects that blended the Hip-Hop MC over instrumentals from jazz musicians.
Our condolences go out to the Elam, Gangstarr and 7 Grand families respectively and Hip-Hop Wired will continue to keep you informed as more news about this tragic situation unfolds.
R.I.P. Guru
Gangstarr- Royalty
Gangstarr & Nice & Smooth – “Dwyck”
Gangstarr – Just To Get A Rep
Gangstarr – “Suckas Need Bodyguards”
