The Strange Circumstances Surrounding the Death of Guru

Legendary rapper Guru, the emcee half of the duo Gang Starr died at the age of 43 after a battle with cancer.

For most of the 1990s Gang Starr used DJ Premier's dope beats and Guru's socially conscious lyrics to stand in stark contrast to other rappers of the day who rapped about money and hoes over samples from 80s pop songs.

In 2003 they split up suddenly and acrimoniously leading to Guru finding a new producer to work with, Solar.

And this is where things get strange. Upon his death a letter was released reportedly written by Guru saying all projects and tributes after his passing should be done with Solar. All money should be managed by Solar in a trust fund for Guru's son. The letter also throws in a final shot at Primo, not even referring to him by name, calling him "my ex-DJ." It also hints at a possible book that could reveal the true reason behind the break-up of Gang Starr, and suggests all proceeds from that book should go to Solar.

This is leading some to speculate the letter was written by Solar not Guru. Although Guru was in and out of a coma for the final two months of his life its possible he wrote the letter before that, knowing his death was inevitable. But whenever someone dies it seems money motivates the people close to him line up to fight over his money. I can't imagine any tribute album or anything of value could be done without the consent of Primo, whether the letter is authentic or not.



But forgetting all that nonsense and difficulty let's enjoy the man's music:

"You Know My Steez" - Juice's pick



"Betrayal" featuring Scarface - My pick



"DWYCK" featuring Nice & Smooth - Bill's pick



"Royalty" featuring K-Ci & JoJo



"Mass Appeal"



And one from Guru's post-Gang Starr Jazzmatazz work
"Plenty" featuring Erykah Badu