Gang Starr was an American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

duo, consisting of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

-born record producer

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He has been frequently lauded as one of hip hop's greatest producers by publications such as '' ...

and

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

-based rapper

Guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

. Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 2003, and is considered a widely influential MC-and-producer duo. They are recognized for being one of the pioneers of

jazz rap Jazz rap (also jazz hop or jazz hip hop) is a fusion of jazz and hip hop music, as well as an alternative hip-hop subgenre, that developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. AllMusic writes that the genre "was an attempt to fuse African-American ...

active during the

golden age of hip hop Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

. Some of their top hits include " Mass Appeal", "Take It Personal", "Moment of Truth", "Full Clip" and "Above The Clouds".

Career

Original & second group lineups

The original Gang Starr group was founded in

Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

by three friends from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

: Guru (then known as MC Keithy E.) who had planned to be a rapper/singer,

Big Shug Cary Guy (born December 13, 1961), better known as Big Shug, is an American rapper from Boston, Massachusetts, a co-founder of Gang Starr and a member of the Gang Starr Foundation collective. Biography Born in Boston, Cary spent much of his ea ...

as the main MC and DJ Suave D (Shug's younger brother Dana) as their DJ. After Shug was imprisoned, Suave D quit the group, leaving Guru to enlist the services of MC Damo D-Ski and DJ 1, 2 B-Down (also known as Mike Dee) with various

producers Producer(s), The Producer(s), or co-producer(s) may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *Producer, a stakeholder of economic production * Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes t ...

, such as

Donald D Donald Lamont, professionally known by his stage name Donald-D, is an American rapper and record producer from the Bronx, New York. He is a member of the Universal Zulu Nation, a member of the B-Boys, and is best known as a member of Ice-T's ...

, J.V. Johnson or

the 45 King Mark Howard James (October 16, 1961 – October 19, 2023), professionally known as The 45 King and also known as DJ Mark the 45 King, was an American hip hop producer and DJ from The Bronx, New York. He began DJing in the mid-1980s. His pseudon ...

helping out. Their earliest recordings were in 1986 where they made various demos. In 1987 and 1988, Gang Starr released three 12-inch vinyl singles on

Wild Pitch Records Wild Pitch Records was an American Golden age hip hop record label, started in 1987 by Stuart Fine, that was eventually distributed by EMI. Artists who released records on the label included Gang Starr, Chill Rob G, Lord Finesse & DJ Mike Smoot ...

Breakup and partnering with DJ Premier

In 1989, the group split for the second time and the only member willing to continue under the name was Guru. He got in touch with

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

native

(then known as Waxmaster C) who submitted a tape of beats to Wild Pitch records, which Guru liked. He invited DJ Premier to join Gang Starr, relocate with him to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and in that same year they released their first single "Words I Manifest" along with the album '' No More Mr. Nice Guy'' (1989). In 1990, the group was signed to the Chrysalis record label by then A&R director Duff Marlowe, a former DJ and ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' rap music critic. The label offered Guru and Premier unlimited artistic license and major-label distribution worldwide, a platform the group used to become one of the most influential hip hop acts of that decade. During their career Gang Starr helped pioneer the New York City

hardcore hip hop Hardcore hip-hop (also known as hardcore rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that developed through the East Coast hip hop scene in the 1980s. Pioneered by such artists as Run-DMC, Schoolly D, Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy, it is gen ...

sound. The Gang Starr catalog, especially ''

Step in the Arena ''Step in the Arena'' is the second studio album by hip hop duo Gang Starr, printed as a 1990 release, and commercially released on January 15, 1991. In 2007, it was named the greatest hip hop album of all time by ''IGN''. ''HipHopDX'' called it ...

'' (1991), ''

Daily Operation ''Daily Operation'' is the third studio album by American hip hop duo Gang Starr. It was released by Chrysalis Records on May 5, 1992. It peaked at number 65 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Critical reception Stanton Swihart of AllMusic wrot ...

'' (1992), ''

Hard to Earn ''Hard to Earn'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop duo Gang Starr. It was released on March 8, 1994, by Chrysalis and EMI Records in North America. The album featured the singles " Dwyck" (featuring Nice & Smooth), " Mass Appeal" (t ...

'' (1994) and '' Moment of Truth'' (1998) are well respected among underground rap fans and critics. Their track "Jazz Thing" was featured on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

's film ''

Mo' Better Blues ''Mo' Better Blues'' is a 1990 American musical comedy-drama film starring Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, and Spike Lee, who also wrote, produced, and directed. It follows a period in the life of fictional jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam (playe ...

''. Gang Starr provided a track, "Battle", for the

of the 2002 movie '' 8 Mile''. After several albums and tours, in late 2002 DJ Premier left Europe to go back to the United States. Once again Guru was faced with continuing alone and became involved in a European tour in 2003–04 with an alternate DJ. In 2006, Guru indicated in several interviews that Gang Starr had reached its end.

Guru's death

In February 2010, Guru suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

, went into a coma, and died on April 19, 2010. DJ Solar, a long-time collaborator of Guru, said Guru chose not to go public with the diagnosis of

myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, a ...

that was made in 2000. Guru appeared to have fallen out with DJ Premier seven years prior to his death and did "not wish my ex-DJ to have anything to do with my name, likeness, events, tributes, etc." There is speculation that the letter was not written by Guru, but was composed by Solar. The validity of the statement was questioned by Guru's family and his contemporaries.

Post Guru

Soon after DJ Premier stated that there was a "posthumous Gang Starr CD/DVD project in the works," and most likely to have been released in 2014,DJ Premier: New Gang Starr Album And DVD In The Works
. Retrieved 2010-12-11. but nothing was released. DJ Premier confirmed in late 2015 that he was working on a Gang Starr biopic with the cooperation of Guru's sister, Patricia Elam.After 'Compton' Succsess, DJ Premier Eyes Gang Starr Biopic
Retrieved 2015-08-28. In 2019, DJ Premier released a new single under the Gang Starr name entitled "Family and Loyalty" featuring

J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born in a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained attention as a rapper following the release of his d ...

, to be followed with a new album titled '' One of the Best Yet'', which was released on November 1 that year.

Gang Starr Foundation

The Gang Starr Foundation was a loose collective of various people who have worked closely with the group, through either Guru's now defunct Ill Kid label, DJ Premier's production work or the management company that Gang Starr was represented by, Empire Management. Members of the foundation included

Afu-Ra Aaron Ocosice Phillip (born January 31, 1974), known professionally as Afu-Ra, is an American rapper. A member of the Gang Starr Foundation, he has worked closely with its members, including Gang Starr, Jeru the Damaja, Big Shug and Group H ...

Jeru the Damaja Kendrick Jeru Davis (born February 14, 1971), known as Jeru the Damaja (/'jeiru: ðə ˈdæmɪʤə ''JAY''-roo thuh ''DAM''- ''ih''-juh), is an American rapper and record producer. He is known for his 1993 single " Come Clean" from his debut al ...

Bahamadia Antonia D. Reed (born April 22, 1966), known professionally as Bahamadia, is an American Hip hop music, hip hop artist and singer. Bahamadia released her debut album, ''Kollage (album), Kollage'', in 1996, followed by the independently released ...

, Krumbsnatcha,

True Master Derrick Harris (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name True Master, is an American hip-hop record producer and rapper, known for his affiliation with the Wu-Tang Clan. Production credits 1995 *Guru ''presents: Ill Kid Records'' ...

Freddie Foxxx James Campbell (born March 27, 1969), is an American rapper and record producer, better known by his stage names Freddie Foxxx and Bumpy Knuckles. Biography Foxxx started rapping in the early 1980s. In 1986, he recorded "You Gotta Come Out Fre ...

(AKA Bumpy Knuckles),

Group Home A group home, congregate living facility, care home (the latter especially in British English and Australian English), adult family home, etc., is a structured and supervised residence model that provides assisted living as well as medical car ...

M.O.P. M.O.P. (short for Mash Out Posse) is an American hip-hop duo composed of rappers Billy Danze and Lil' Fame, best known for their song " Ante Up." The group has frequently collaborated with DJ Premier. The group is part of the Gang Starr Fou ...

, Hannibal Stax, NYG'z (Panchi, Shiggy Sha), Absaloot, and Squala Orphan. It was established in 1993.

Legacy

Each episode title of the first season of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''

Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...

'', based on the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

character, was named after a Gang Starr song.

Discography

;Studio albums *'' No More Mr. Nice Guy'' (1989) *''

'' (1991) *''

'' (1992) *''

'' (1994) *'' Moment of Truth'' (1998) *''

The Ownerz ''The Ownerz'' is the sixth studio album by the hip-hop duo Gang Starr, and the last released during Guru's lifetime. It was released in June 24, 2003, by Virgin. It was well-received critically and boasts four singles, "Skills", "Rite Where U S ...

'' (2003) *'' One of the Best Yet'' (2019) ;Compilation albums *'' Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr'' (1999) *'' Mass Appeal: the Best of Gang Starr'' (2006)

References

External links

Year Round Records
DJ Premier's label site
"Jazz and Hip-Hop"
by Jared Pauley,
Jazz.com

DJ-Premier-Interviewinterview
{{Authority control Chrysalis Records artists DJ Premier American hip-hop duos Five percenters Musical groups established in 1985 Musical groups disestablished in 2003 Musical groups reestablished in 2019 Musical groups from Boston Musical groups from Brooklyn Musical duos from New York (state) Wild Pitch Records artists Virgin Records artists 1985 establishments in Massachusetts Gang Starr Foundation members