GANG STARR's Guru Dies at 43

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Originally uploaded by DJJAMAL

Wow, it's hard to believe another Hip Hop Veteran is gone. Keith Elam better known as "Guru" and one half of the Hip Hop group Gang Starr, has died at age 43. According to sources, Keith had a stroke last year, went into a coma, came out of that coma, and then die from a battle with cancer. Undoubtedly, Guru will be missed.

Gang Starr were pioneers in the Hip Hop scene dropping their first album in 1989 called "No More Mr. Nice Guy." The lead off single "I Manifest" was an instant hit among hip hop heads in the underground scene. They went on to drop other dope classics like "Ex Girl To The Next Girl," "Dwyck," and "Daily Operation" just to name a few. It was rumored that the group had broken up but it was never clearly confirmed by either member.

I actually had the pleasure of meeting the brotha (Guru) some years ago during the Bad Boy/Death Row beef. It was at a club called Greenlight that was started by David Faustino of "Married With Children" fame. My boy, Marcus, who was then apart of the rap group The Little Rascals, introduced me to Guru, whom just had to be chillin by the bar with two beautiful lady friends. He actually introduced himself as "Guru, gifted unlimited rhyme universal." It was kind of comical at the moment, but I noticed he had a few drinks as well. Though we didn't start up a mind-boggling conversation about hop hip, he turned out to be a real cool and down-to-earth type of guy despite the West Coast/East Coast beef and his fame. He was and still is a stand up kind of guy. You will be missed my brotha.

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