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 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 active during the golden age of hip hop. 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 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, such as Donald D, J.V. Johnson or the 45 King 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.

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 DJ Premier (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 sound. The Gang Starr catalog, especially '' Step in the Arena'' (1991), '' Daily Operation'' (1992), '' Hard to Earn'' (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, 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 Big Shug,

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,

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, Freddie Foxxx (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., 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) *'' Step in the Arena'' (1991) *'' Daily Operation'' (1992) *'' Hard to Earn'' (1994) *'' Moment of Truth'' (1998) *'' The Ownerz'' (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