The Foundations: Gang Starr

The Foundations; an ongoing series highlighting legendary artists of the past with short breakdowns of their career and importance to contemporary hip-hop

Active: 1988-2006 (posthumous album 2019)

Guru Representing: Boston, Massachusetts

DJ Premier Representing: Houston, Texas

as Gang Starr: Brooklyn, New York City, New York

For Fans Of: Rakim, Mobb Deep, Black Thought, Killer Mike, J. Cole, Ab-Soul, Mach-Hommy, 21 Savage

    Beats blessed from God, the gruff monotone delivery of a cigar toting professor, and a multitude of righteous messages that only great poets hold. These were the first attributes of Guru that slapped me and every 90’s hip-hop purist in the face on first listen. The Boston born legend had a career centered around Gang Starr, though it took a rotating cast of early partners leaving the group for prison, traditional jobs or easier paths in other cities for the final lineup to be set with himself and DJ Premier. 

Premier was going by the name Waxmaster C producing for the Inner Circle Posse, a local rap crew in his hometown of Houston. When the lead MC decided to join the Army instead of pursuing music, Preemo was left without a vocalist for his beats. Through a mutual friend Preemo sent Guru a beat tape to his NY apartment which excited him, leading to the two linking up in Brooklyn where they would become roommates for most of their time as a duo. Over their multi-decade takeover the duo would create one of the most lauded discographies in hip-hop that still stand true to this day. The traditional “boom bap” sound that most people associate with 90’s New York was pioneered and perfected by the duo, along with an evolution of jazz rap that De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest had set the groundwork for a generation earlier. Modern artists like the Griselda crew, Evidence, Ab-Soul and The Alchemist have spoken about the influence the duo had on their own work from the beginning of their rap careers.

From album to album Premier worked to create different soundscapes for Guru to lay into. During their classic period from ‘91-’98 the duo created 4 albums that would shake the hip-hop universe at every release. Step In The Arena was the duo molding into their own style with traditional drum brakes laying the groundwork for Guru to give warnings of what the streets could lead to while never being too preachy while Preemo scratched vocals from records to double as hooks. Daily Operation is more experimental, playing with minimalism for Guru to be his most vivid, as he spent most of the record speaking of the ugly beauties of New York City. Hard To Earn is the speaker knocking, high flying flex of skill that only artists at the top of their game could perfect. Moment Of Truth was their big budget cinematic opus and dove harder than ever into themes of religion, repentance, and the bad side of the street as the duo was fearing their own demise. With Guru expecting heavy jail time for a gun charge on top of their already crumbling relationship fueled by Guru’s alcoholism, a stark ending seemed guaranteed. Moment Of Truth is the crown jewel of these albums with features that stretched across the music world, Guru experimenting with more consistent hook writing, and Premier pulling every trick out he could in fear he’d never be able to do them with his best friend again. Between these projects Guru would also act as a bandleader for his Jazzmatazz series bringing together classic jazz and R&B artists like Bob James, Ramsey Lewis, Chaka Khan and Roy Ayers among dozens of others.

Before Guru died of cancer in 2010 he was revered as one of the greatest MC’s of his time. He would bounce between street preacher, self help speaker, reformed gangster and your favorite uncle all in one verse with his deadpan delivery making each syllable hit your ears to be absorbed and processed. The stories were vivid, the records for clubs and women never came off as forced, and the aura he held never wavered whether it be on SP-12 chopped drums or live keys. His soul felt like it had peeped the lives of every living man and woman, taking their biggest lesson just to be translated back on record to those who needed it most. Every album they released came with at least a Gold Certification from the RIAA and music videos that stayed in rotation on every channel. The coldness 21 Savage’s delivery possesses, the bleeding heart J. Cole holds the affinity for, off the wall composition that ties together Westside Gunn and Mach-Hommy albums, Commons constant itch to progress and break new barriers, that’s all Guru. He’s the last man you’d want beef with and yet the first guy you’d call if trouble was knocking at your door. DJ Premier is the Ground Zero for nearly every producer that came after him, creating a sonic cosmos that the East Coast and nearly every one of it's legendary songwriters to exist within. Preem has worked with Nas, Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., Rakim, Ludacris, Joey Bada$$, KRS-One, Royce Da 5'9, and dozens of other legendary MC's and singers that came before and after to him, creating music that lives in the most hallowed halls of rap history.

Album To Check: Hard To Earn or Jazzmatazz Vol. 2: The New Reality

Best Songs: “Mass Appeal”, “Just To Get A Rep”, “Above The Clouds” and “The Place We Dwell”

Written By: Anthony Seaman (@soflogemstone on IG & Twitter)