East Coast hip-hop legend DJ Guru dies of cancer at 47

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From Cathal Kelly, The Toronto Star:

Pioneering hip-hop MC Guru, who moved rap toward a more musical place in the early ‘90s with his work in Gang Starr, has died of cancer. He was 47.

His long-time musical partner under the Gang Starr banner, DJ Premier, announced the death Tuesday on his blog.

Guru, whose given name was Keith Elam, hailed from Boston. Nonetheless, he helped define the dense, lyrically complex, sample-heavy sound of New York and East Coast hip-hop. He also added jazz into the mix, pre-figuring the likes of the The Roots and Erykah Badu.

DJ Premier published a letter on behalf of his former partner that seems to maintain the estrangement that had developed between them over the last 7 years. The letter also establishes Guru’s continuing partnership with music partner-producer Solar.

From MC Guru’s letter to fans:

“As the sole founder of GangStarr, I am very proud of what GangStarr has meant to the music world and fans. I equally am proud of my Jazzmatazz series and as the father of Hip-Hop/Jazz. I am most proud of my leadership and pioneering efforts on Jazzmatazz 4 for reinvigorating the Hip-Hop/Jazz genre in a time when music quality has reached an all time low.”

Continue to the full article at The Toronto Star.