Rest In Peace : GURU (Gang Starr)

今年に入ってから、本当に訃報が続きます。
ご存知の方も多いでしょうが、昨日、
Guru (Gang Starr)が43歳の若さで他界しました。

既に癌で闘病を続けていたことや、今回の件であまりよくない話題が
絶えず、その点でも話題になっていることもありますが、ここで
敢えて取り上げることはしません。調べればすぐにわかることだし。

何より、自分がヒップホップを聞き始めてから現在に至るまで、
下手したら、一番耳にしてきたかもしれない声の主が亡くなった
ショックはやはり大き過ぎる。今夜は至る所でGang Starrの楽曲を
聞いたけど、現時点ではまだ実感が沸いてこない。

これからも変わらず聞き続けるだろうし、かけ続けるだろうし…
上手く纏められませんが、最後にXXL Magのスタッフが捧げた
Gang Starrの曲名を鏤めた愛に溢れる素晴らしい記事と
個人的にフェイバリットだった2枚のアルバム「Daily Operation」と
「Hard To Earn」からの幾つかの楽曲を張り付けて締めとします。

Rest In Peace: Keith "Guru" Elam (1966 - 2010).

Text From XXL Mag：：：：：：：：：：：：：：：：
When news first broke about Gang Starr’s Guru suffering from a heart attack and slipping into a coma, my first thought was damn, “No More Mr. Nice Guy?” I couldn’t imagine a world without “Premier & the Guru” together, so I let my “Conscious Be Free” and focused on “Positivity.”

Over the years, I’ve gained a lot of “Knowledge” listening to Gang Starr. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned is that life is about “Cause and Effect.” If you focus on the negative you can some times make those things “Manifest.” So I just put on some “Jazz Music” and pretended I was “DJ Premier in Deep Concentration.”

Still, I couldn’t help but think about the worst because so many times people are “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow.” If that was the case, I wondered to myself: “Who’s Gonna Take the Weight?” A lot of MCs today don’t have any “Form of Intellect,” and say shit “Just to Get a Rep.”

Guru, on the other hand, was always someone with “Precisely the Right Rhymes.” You could just “Check the Technique” and see that a lot of what he said was “Beyond Comprehension.” Every time he “Step in the Arena” Guru always had a “Game Plan” for the “Execution of a Chump.”

It just sucks that so many kids ask me “The Meaning of the Name” and I have to explain that Guru stands for Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal. I know some cats are too young to know of his “Street Ministry,” but “As I Read My S-A” I just hope that you think of Guru tonight when you “Say Your Prayers.”

It’s hard for me not to “Take It Personal” when tragedy befalls “The Illest Brother.” I remember when I first heard “Ex Girl to Next Girl,” I just loved the way Guru “Flip the Script,” like fuck what ya heard, “I’m the Man.”

There’s “No Shame in My Game,” hip-hop is my “Daily Operation” and I live this “24-7-365.” Guru is just such a “Hardcore Composer,” and it’s “Much Too Much” for me to deal with the “Conspiracy” and people spreading rumors about his passing. I don’t even smoke but I want to “Take Two and Pass” but instead retreat to “The Place Where We Dwell” and just “Stay Tuned.”

“Aiight Chill…” I just caught a few “Words From the Nutcracker” and he said Guru’s doing well but he still has “ALONGWAYTOGO.” That’s what’s up, good to hear he took “The First Step.”

Earlier someone asked me what I liked about Guru and told them to listen to “DWYCK,” but they still didn’t get it so I told them it’s “Mostly Tha Voice.” Whenever he was on the mic it sounded like he was “Comin’ for Datazz” like, “Now You’re Mine.” I guess that’s why he started “Blowin’ Up the Spot” by saying “Suckas Need Bodyguards.”

See, Guru always managed to “Speak Ya Clout” without “Tonz ‘o’ Gunz.” He just abided by the “Code of the Streets” and proved why respect in this game is so Hard to Earn.
Even though Guru was from Boston he always spit that “New York Strait Talk.” The brother put in “Work” from “JFK 2 LAX” and that’s what made him hip-hop “Royalty.” I mean, if you’ve ever listened to “Above the Clouds” you’ll see why “The Rep Grows Bigga.”

Another track that helped Guru reach his “Moment of Truth” was “Robbin Hood Theory.” If you call yourself a Gang Starr fan, “My Advice 2 You” is to listen to that so you can learn about “The Militia” and the difference between “B.I. vs. Friendship.” It’s like real fans don’t download albums, they respect good music, so “Next Time” you go to “The Mall” be sure to cop a couple Gang Starr classic. Bring a few friends, too, and “Make Em Pay.”

See, true fans respect “Skills” and either “Put Up or Shut Up.” Downloading is cool but it can lead to “Deadly Habitz” that just “Sabotage” the game “Rite Where U Stand.” It’s like dealing with a “Nice Girl, Wrong Place.”

“In This Life…” Gang Starr are “The Ownerz” and they always “Playtawin.” So don’t think of this as a premature “Eulogy.” I just been “Zonin’” ever since I heard about Guru’s heart attack, and going through his catalog with you just gave me “Peace of Mine.”

Sincerely yours,
Anslem Samuel