RIP Guru: Beloved Music Pioneer Passes Away at 43

Rapper and music visionary Guru passed away on Monday at age 43, from complications due to cancer at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, NYC.

AKA Keith Elam, Guru was one half of Gang Starr, his fruitful collaboration with DJ Premier. Jazzmatazz project saw him working with a long list of music legends, including Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd, Chaka Khan, Isaac Hayes, Herbie Hancock, Branford Marsalis, Macy Gray, The Roots, Erykah Badu and Angie Stone.

RIP Guru

In recent years through a new partnership with Solar, Guru also collaborated with reggae artist Damian Marley, Aceyalone and Zion I from the West Coast, Blue Scholars from Seattle, Mr. Lif from Boston, Yungun from London, Lord Tariq from the Bronx, Nature from Queensbridge, C. Knowledge from Digable Planets, Tony Touch, and emerging artists from Guru’s label, 7 Grand Records, K. Born & Highpower, and Young Pablo.

Guru’s mantra for thriving as an artist were to “be honest with yourself, be original, be open to criticism and don’t be afraid to reinvent and recreate yourself.”

“I loved Guru’s music: It was very insightful, very intelligent,” says Will Roberson, founder of NYC entertainment company Diggin 4 Brown. “As the styles of hip hop changed over the years, he never strayed from his own vision. He always stayed true to who he was as an artist.”

For those of us at SonicScoop, Guru’s Jazzmatazz Vol. 1 stood as a uniquely inspirational album. From the first listen of “Loungin’”, Guru’s positive orchestrations of hip hop, rap and live jazz appeared to us as seminal developments in the landscape of modern music.

As well, our witnessing of a 1994 live showing of Jazzmatazz at the midtown venue The Supper Club ranks as one of our top 10 performances of all time. With Bernard Purdie on drums and an all-star lineup top to bottom, it was a concert holding the rare energy that transformed it into a true event.

A pioneering artist who broke so much ground right here in New York City, the work of Guru will always live on. – David Weiss

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