GURU: Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal
With a little Jazzmatazz, Gang Starr's MC slicker than most
URBAN GROOVE PREVIEW
GURU of GANG STARR
Wednesday, September 18
The Palace
Occupying a space normally reserved for those artists with much higher profiles, Guru and Gang Starr have crossed over from the underground into the pantheon of hip-hop royalty.
Guru is, perhaps, best known by mainstream audiences for one of his alternate musical incarnations, Jazzmatazz. Whether it was a matter of chance or by design, through Jazzmatazz he exposed hip-hop to many who normally wouldn’t have listened to the music. Fusing live elements of soul and jazz into the mix, his three Jazzmatazz albums perfected the formula for what is now a hip-hop standard – jazz rap.
Guru says that Gang Starr, which also includes DJ Premier, has always included those elements in their music.
"But Jazzmatazz is like the teacher of the two," he says. "It pays homage to the elements that so many were sampling. I wanted it to be something that made people listen and pay attention to (the fact that) hip-hop is something that could appeal to people on so many levels. That it wasn’t about just rapping – it is music."
Part of the substantial gain made by Jazzmatazz was that Guru was able to silence a generation of hip-hop critics who couldn’t see the soul and the art for the samples and rap. His music is about evolution, change-ups and innovation. While he developed Jazzmatazz as a soul-searching offshoot of Gang Starr, his latest solo incarnation as Baldhead Slick is what he describes as a more base approach to the music.
"Baldhead Slick is sort of for when I’m angry and I just gotta say it, when I got to get the truth out and a bit of my aggression," Guru says.
But when asked with persona he prefers, Guru admits that neither carries more weight than the other – each reflects elements he needs to express.
For fans, new and old alike, a new Gang Starr album will hit the shelves in the new year, and Guru says it will be another step in the group's development.
"You gotta keep movin’, I think. What happened to a lot of guys is that they got stuck in a particular sound or style and they stayed there – but the music didn’t.... If you think about it, we’ve been through four generations of hip-hop and we're still here. We survived gangsta rap and they don’t even call it that anymore. Premier and I, we’re like our own Wu, just trying to put out music that resembles us in all our facets, developing our own thing while still remaining relevant."
After nearly 20 years of rapping, producing, touring and earning respect from notable musical peers like Pete Rock and Ice-T and even from Hollywood stars (Laurence Fishburne once confided that he owns Guru's entire discography), Guru is far from sounding too fab or too famous.
One of Guru's most impressive qualities is his immense passion for the music and culture of which he is a cornerstone.
"I listen to everything. Premier and I call each other up all the time – 'You hear this?' or 'Man, you gotta hear this!' – just like when we were younger. It's crazy, I’ve never lost that."
As for the future, if Guru had his druthers, aside from making music, he’d like to start making films and expand on the culture. For now, though, he’s content to perform for appreciative fans, raise his two-year-old child and make more music for the fans.
"The greatest thing is that I’m able to be a part of somebody’s life," he says humbly. "Jazzmatazz's and Gang Starr’s music is a part of their world and that’s something that’s special – for that I’m grateful... that’s the best part of all of this." |
