Guru
Background information
Birth name	Keith Edward Elam
Born	(1961-07-17)July 17, 1961 Roxbury, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	April 19, 2010(2010-04-19) (aged 48) New York City, New York, U.S.
Genres	Hip-hop, jazz rap
Occupations	Rapper, producer, actor
Years active	1985–2010
Labels	Wild Pitch/EMI Records (1987–1990) Chrysalis/EMI Records (1990–1995) Virgin/EMI Records (1995–2003) Ill Kid Records (1995–2005) 7 Grand (2003–2010)
Associated acts	DJ Premier, Gang Starr, Nujabes, Gang Starr Foundation, Krumbsnatcha, Jeru the Damaja, Group Home, M.O.P.

Keith Edward Elam (July 17, 1961^[1] – April 19, 2010),^[2][3] better known by his stage name Guru, was an American emcee and member of the hip-hop duo Gang Starr, along with DJ Premier. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts.^[4] The name Guru is a backronym that stands for Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal and the less-often used God is Universal; he is the Ruler Universal, which are both references to the teachings of the Nation of Gods and Earths. He was also known for lending his voice for 8-Ball in Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Elam was born in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. His father, Harry, was a judge and his mother, Barbara, was the co-director of libraries in the Boston public school system. He attended Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts and Cohasset High School in Cohasset, Massachusetts for high school.^[5] Elam graduated with a degree in business administration from Morehouse College in Atlanta^[6] and took graduate classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. He later dropped out to pursue a hip hop career. Elam worked briefly in social services.^[5]

Musical career[link]

Elam began his rap career under the pseudonym MC Keithy E but later changed name to Guru.^[5] He founded Gang Starr in 1987. The group initially released three records, produced by DJ Mark the 45 King, on the Wild Pitch Records record label, but these records received little attention.^[6][7] After a change in line-up, the group consisted of rapper Elam and beat maker DJ Premier. Gang Starr released its first LP No More Mr. Nice Guy on Wild Pitch Records; the group achieved a sizable following and released six critically acclaimed and influential albums from 1989 to 2003.^[5] Two albums, Moment of Truth (1998) and compilation Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr (1999) were certified gold in the United States by the RIAA.^[5] Gang Starr made archetypal East Coast hip hop with Guru's rhyming described as sharp-eyed but anti-ostentatious.^[5][6]

In 1993, Guru released the first in a series of four solo albums while still a member of Gang Starr. Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 featured collaborations with Donald Byrd, N'Dea Davenport, MC Solaar, and Roy Ayers and received positive reviews.^[8] His second solo LP, Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality, featured Chaka Khan, Ramsey Lewis, Branford Marsalis, and Jamiroquai. The third installment was released in 2000, but it received less positive reviews.^[9]

In 1994, Guru appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African American community, was heralded as the album of the year by Time Magazine.

In reference to the above mentioned Jazzmatazz project, Elam told Pete Lewis of Blues & Soul: "Back around ’93—when I first came up with the Jazzmatazz concept—I was noticing how a lot of cats were digging in the crates and sampling jazz breaks to make hip hop records. But while I thought that was cool, I wanted to take it to the next level and actually create a new genre by getting the actual dudes we were sampling into the studio to jam over hip hop beats with some of the top vocalists of the time. You know, the whole thing was experimental, but I knew it was an idea that would spawn some historic music."^[10]

Elam's first solo album not a part the Jazzmatazz series, Baldhead Slick & da Click, was released in 2001 to poor reviews.^[11] The album reached #22 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop album charts. The seventh chapter in the book of Guru, Version 7.0: The Street Scriptures, was released in 2005 on Elam's own record label, 7 Grand Records. The album was produced entirely by labelmate Solar. It reached #54 on the Billboard R&B albums charts and received mixed reviews.^[12]

Elam's final releases were the fourth installment in the Jazzmatazz series, released in June 2007; and Guru 8.0: Lost And Found, released May 19, 2009 (also in collaboration with Solar). A Gang Starr reunion album was planned but will never be released because of Guru's death.^[13]

Death[link]

On February 28, 2010, Elam went into cardiac arrest and, following surgery, fell into a coma.^[14][15] It was claimed that Guru had briefly awakened from his coma^[16] but died on April 19, 2010, at the age of 48, from cancer.^[17] Keith Elam (Guru) was survived by his parents, three siblings, and a son named Keith Casim.^[5] His production partner, Solar, claimed that Elam had momentarily awakened from his coma to compose a letter to the public,^[18] although DJ Premier and members of the emcee's family stated that he never regained consciousness.^[19] Elam's family claimed that Solar had prevented them from having contact with Elam during his illness just before his death.^[20] The validity of the death-bed letter was challenged by Guru's family.^[21] In an interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio, Solar claimed that he was protective of Elam, and everything he had said was true. This interview was met by extreme emotion from the hip hop community and did little to clear the controversy surrounding his actions.^[22]

DJ Premier produced a tribute mix to Elam^[23] and has released a public letter^[24] along with Elam's sister Patricia Elam.^[25] Harry J. Elam, an older brother, wrote a personal memoir in remembrance published in The Boston Globe on April 23, 2010.^[26] The Elam family had a Guru Tribute Web Site set up where visitors were able to view tributes and sign a memorial page.^[27] Guru's nephew Justin Nicholas-Elam Ruff made a 16-minute documentary in which he narrated the story of his late uncle. The video can be seen at DJPremierBlog.com, http://www.gurutributes.com, and http://thexlabel.wordpress.com/.^[28]

At the 2011 Grammy Awards, Guru's name was not mentioned in the annual retrospective of musicians who had died since the 2010 awards. On April 21, 2011, Revive Da Live Big Band held a tribute show for Elam at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City.^[29] The show paid homage to Guru's Jazzmatazz series and featured a full jazz band tribute, with all proceeds going towards the Elam family. During the concert, Babygrande Records donated $5000 to Guru's son, K.C. Elam.^[30]

Discography[link]

Gang Starr albums are listed in the group's main article.

Albums[link]

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Guest appearances[link]

• 1990: "Jazz Thing" (from the soundtrack of Mo' Better Blues)
• 1991: "Qui Semé Le Vent Recolte Le Tempo (Gang Starr Remix)" (from an MC Solaar 12" single)
• 1992: "A Buncha Niggas" (from the Heavy D & The Boyz album Blue Funk, also featuring Biggie Smalls, Busta Rhymes, Rob-O, Third Eye)
• 1992: "It's Getting Hectic" (from the Brand New Heavies album Heavy Rhyme Experience, Vol. 1)
• 1992: "Sassy (from the Neneh Cherry album "Homebrew")
• 1993: "Patti Dooke" (from De La Soul album Buhloone Mindstate)
• 1993: "Season For Change" (from the Ronny Jordan album The Quiet Revolution)
• 1993: "Listen (Guru Remix)" (from a Urban Species 12" single)
• 1993: "Stop Lookin' at Me" (In collaboration with The Cutthroats from the soundtrack of Menace II Society)
• 1994: "Borough Check" (from the Digable Planets album Blowout Comb)
• 1994: "I've Lost My Ignorance" (from the Dream Warriors album Subliminal Simulation)
• 1994: "Black Monday" (from the Buckshot LeFonque single "Another Day")
• 1995: "B-Boy Mastermind" (from the DJ Krush album Krush) – This appears on the Japanese import only.
• 1995: "Serious Rap Shit" (from the Group Home album Livin' Proof)
• 1996: "Fed Up (Remix)" (from House of Pain album Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again)
• 1996: "Listen Here" (from The New Groove: The Blue Note Remix Project)
• 1997: "The Way it Iz" (from Rhyme & Reason (soundtrack))
• 1997: "For Da Love" (from Afu-Ra and EZD unofficial release "A D&D Project In Association With DJ Premier Vol. 1")
• 1998: "Salute part II" (from the M.O.P. album First Family 4 Life)
• 1998: "Trilogy Of Terror" (from the Afu-Ra 12 "Whirlwind Thru Cities")
• 1999: "NY Niggaz" (from the Sway & King Tech album This or That)
• 1999: "The Legacy" (from the Group Home album A Tear For The Ghetto)
• 1999: "Bare Witness" (from the Choclair album Ice Cold)
• 1999: "Whatever Happened to Gus" (Word to the Drums mix) (from the Medeski Martin & Wood album Combustication Remix EP)
• 2000: "Games" (from the Big L album "The Big Picture, also featuring Sadat X
• 2001: "Hot Shit" (from a D&D All Stars 12" single, also featuring Big Daddy Kane, Sadat X, and Greg Nice)
• 2001: "Worst Comes to Worst" (from the Dilated Peoples album Expansion Team)
• 2002: "Blvd." (from the Afu-Ra album Life Force Radio
• 2002: "Karma" (from the Adam F 12" single also featuring Carl Thomas)
• 2003: "Weed Scented" (from the A.G. album The Dirty Version)
• 2003: "Condor (Espionage)" (from the DJ Cam album Soulshine)
• 2003: "Knowledge of Self" (from the BT album Emotional Technology)
• 2004: "The Best" (from the Chief Kamachi album Cult Status)
• 2004: "Αυτή τη ζωή (This Life)" (from the Goin' Through album La Sagrada Familia)
• 2004: "Home" (from the Kreators album "Live Coverage", also featuring Akrobatik, Big Shug, Ed O.G, Krumbsnatcha)
• 2005: "Party Hard" (from the The Perceptionists album Black Dialogue feat. Camu Tao & Prod. Camu Tao)
• 2005: "Counter Punch" (from the Big Shug album Never Say Die)
• 2005: "Gangsta Luv" (from the Big Shug album Never Say Die)
• 2006: "Junk" (from the Ferry Corsten album L.E.F.)
• 2007: "Major Game" (from the Domingo album The Most Underrated)
• 2007: "The Otherside" (from the Slightly Stoopid album "Chronchitis")
• 2008: "Watucamehere 4" (from the Downsyde album All City)
• 2010: "You Got To Luv It" (from the Cradle Orchestra album Transcended Elements)

Filmography[link]

• Main Source music video "Watch Roger Do His Thing" (1990) (Cameo)
• Who's the Man? (1993) as Martin Lorenzo
• The Substitute 2: School's Out (1998) as Little B.
• Train Ride (2000) as Jay
• Grand Theft Auto III (2001) as 8-Ball^[31]
• 3 A.M. (2001) as Hook-Off
• Urban Massacre (2002) as Cereal Killah
• Kung Faux (2003) as Voice Over/Various
• Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2005) as 8-Ball

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Guru

• Guru memorial site hosted by Elam family
• Guru on Myspace
• Guru at MTV
• Official Guru's Jazzmatazz site
• Official Guru's Guru7grand site
• Guru at the Internet Movie Database
• Guru at WhoSampled
• Guru Songs List

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (September 2010)

Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, (born December 9, 1932) is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a pop artist.

In 1973, he created The Blackbyrds, a fusion group consisting of his best students. They scored several major hits including "Happy Music" (#3 R&B, #19 pop), "Walking In Rhythm" (#4 R&B, #6 pop) and "Rock Creek Park".

Biography[link]

Byrd attended Cass Technical High School. He performed with Lionel Hampton before finishing high school. After playing in a military band during a term in the United States Air Force, he obtained a bachelor's degree in music from Wayne State University and a master's degree from Manhattan School of Music.

While still at the Manhattan School, he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, as replacement for Clifford Brown. In 1955, he recorded with Jackie McLean and Mal Waldron. After leaving the Jazz Messengers in 1956, he performed with many leading jazz musicians of the day, including John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, and later Herbie Hancock.

Byrd's first regular group was a quintet that he co-led from 1958-61 with baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams, an ensemble whose hard driving performances are captured "live" on At the Half Note Cafe. In June 1964, Byrd jammed with jazz legend Eric Dolphy in Paris just two weeks before Dolphy's death from insulin shock.

In the 1970s, Byrd moved away from the hard-bop jazz idiom and began to record jazz fusion and rhythm and blues. He teamed up with the Mizell Brothers (producer-writers Larry and Fonce) for Black Byrd in 1972. It was highly successful and became Blue Note Records' highest-ever selling album. The title track climbed to #19 on Billboard's R&B chart and reached the Hot 100 pop chart, peaking at #88. The Mizell brothers' follow-up albums for Byrd, Street Lady, Places and Spaces and Steppin' Into Tomorrow were also big sellers, and have subsequently provided a rich source of samples for acid jazz artists such as Us3. Most of the material for the albums was written by Larry Mizell.

In 1994, Byrd appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African American community, was heralded as "Album of the Year" by Time Magazine.

He has taught music at Rutgers University, the Hampton Institute, New York University, Howard University, Queens College, Oberlin College, Cornell University and Delaware State University.

In addition to his master's from Manhattan School of Music, Byrd has two master's degrees from Columbia University. He received a law degree in 1976, and his doctorate from Columbia University Teachers College in 1982.

In September 2009, he was named an artist-in-residence at Delaware State University.^[1] Byrd lives in Teaneck, New Jersey.^[2]

Discography[link]

As leader[link]

• Byrd's Eye View (1955), Transitions
• Byrd Blows on Beacon Hill (1956), Transitions
• Off to the Races (1958), Blue Note
• Byrd in Hand (1959), Blue Note
• Fuego (1959), Blue Note
• Byrd in Flight (1960), Blue Note
• At the Half Note Cafe (1960), Blue Note
• Motor City Scene - with Pepper Adams (1960), Bethlehem
• Chant (1961), Blue Note
• The Cat Walk (1961), Blue Note
• Royal Flush (1961), Blue Note
• Free Form (1961), Blue Note
• A New Perspective (1963), Blue Note
• Up with Donald Byrd (1964), Verve
• I'm Tryin' to Get Home (1964), Blue Note
• Mustang! (1966), Blue Note
• Blackjack (1967), Blue Note
• Slow Drag (1967), Blue Note
• The Creeper (1967), Blue Note
• Fancy Free (1969) Blue Note
• Electric Byrd (1969–70), Blue Note
• Kofi (1969), Blue Note
• Ethiopian Knights (1971), Blue Note
• Black Byrd (1972), Blue Note
• Street Lady (1973), Blue Note
• Stepping into Tomorrow (1974), Blue Note
• Places and Spaces (1975), Blue Note
• Caricatures (1976), Blue Note
• Thank You... for F.U.M.L. (Funking Up My Life) (1978), Elektra
• Love Byrd (1981), Elektra
• Words, Sounds, Colors and Shapes (1983) Landmark
• Harlem Blues (1987), Landmark
• Getting Down to Business (1989), Landmark
• A City Called Heaven (1991), Landmark
• Touchstone (2000)
• The Transition Sessions (2002)

As sideman[link]

• 1955 Kenny Clarke - Bohemia After Dark
• 1955 Cannonball Adderley - Discoveries
• 1955 Oscar Pettiford - Another One
• 1955 Hank Jones - Quartet-Quintet
• 1955 Hank Jones - Bluebird - one track only
• 1955 Ernie Wilkins - Top Brass
• 1956 George Wallington - Jazz for the Carriage Trade
• 1956 Jackie McLean - Lights Out!
• 1956 Hank Mobley - The Jazz Message of Hank Mobley
• 1956 Kenny Clarke - Klook's Clique
• 1956 Art Blakey - The Jazz Messengers
• 1956 Rita Reys - The Cool Voice of Rita Reys
• 1956 Elmo Hope - Informal Jazz
• 1956 Phil Woods - Pairing Off
• 1956 Jackie McLean - 4, 5 and 6
• 1956 Gene Ammons - Jammin' with Gene
• 1956 Horace Silver - Silver's Blue
• 1956 Hank Mobley - Mobley's Message
• 1956 Hank Mobley - Jazz Message #2
• 1956 Art Farmer - 2 Trumpets
• 1956 Paul Chambers - Whims of Chambers
• 1956 Phil Woods/Donald Byrd - The Young Bloods
• 1956 Horace Silver - 6 Pieces of Silver
• 1956 Hank Mobley - Hank Mobley Sextet
• 1956 Doug Watkins - Watkins at Large
• 1956 Sonny Rollins - Sonny Rollins, Vol. 1
• 1956 Kenny Burrell - All Night Long
• 1957 Kenny Burrell - All Day Long
• 1957 Gigi Gryce/Donald Byrd - Jazz Lab
• 1957 Art Farmer/Donald Byrd/Idrees Sulieman - Three Trumpets
• 1957 Lou Donaldson - Wailing with Lou
• 1957 Jimmy Smith - A Date with Jimmy Smith Volume One
• 1957 Art Taylor - Taylor Wailer's
• 1957 Gigi Gryce - Gigi Gryce and The Jazz Lab Quintet
• 1957 George Wallington - The New York Scene
• 1957 Various Artists - American Jazzmen Play Andre Hodeir's Essais
• 1957 Kenny Burrell/Jimmy Raney - 2 Guitars
• 1957 Kenny Drew - This is New
• 1957 Hank Mobley - Hank
• 1957 Paul Chambers - Paul Chambers Quintet
• 1957 The Gigi Gryce/Donald Byrd Jazz Lab - At Newport - One side of LP which also features Cecil Taylor
• 1957 Gigi Gryce/Donald Byrd - New Formulas from the Jazz Lab
• 1957 Gigi Gryce/Donald Byrd - Modern Jazz Perspective
• 1957 Sonny Clark - Sonny's Crib
• 1957 John Jenkins - Star Eyes
• 1957 Oscar Pettiford - Winner's Circle
• 1957 George Wallington - Jazz at Hotchkiss
• 1957 Red Garland - All Mornin' Long
• 1957 Red Garland - Soul Junction
• 1957 Red Garland - High Pressure
• 1957 Lou Donaldson - Lou Takes Off
• 1958 John Coltrane - Lush Life - one track only
• 1958 John Coltrane - The Believer - two tracks
• 1958 John Coltrane - The Last Trane - two tracks
• 1958 Johnny Griffin - Johnny Griffin Sextet
• 1958 Pepper Adams - 10 to 4 at the 5 Spot
• 1958 John Coltrane - Black Pearls
• 1958 Michel Legrand - Legrand Jazz
• 1958 Dizzy Reece - Blues in Trinity
• 1958 Art Blakey - Holiday for Skins
• 1958 Jim Timmens - Gilbert and Sullivan Revisited
• 1959 Jackie McLean - Jackie's Bag
• 1959 Thelonious Monk - The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall
• 1959 Chris Connor - Ballads of the Sad Cafe
• 1959 Sonny Clark - My Conception
• 1959 Manny Albam/Teo Macero - Something New, Something Blue
• 1959 Jackie McLean - Vertigo
• 1959 Jackie McLean - New Soil
• 1959 Walter Davis Jr. - Davis Cup
• 1961 Pepper Adams - Out of This World
• 1962 Duke Pearson - Hush!
• 1963 Hank Mobley - No Room for Squares
• 1963 Hank Mobley - Straight No Filter - released 1986
• 1963 Hank Mobley - The Turnaround
• 1963 Jimmy Heath - Swamp Seed
• 1963 Herbie Hancock - My Point of View
• 1964 Dexter Gordon - One Flight Up
• 1964 Cal Tjader - Soul Sauce
• 1964 Solomon Ilori - African High Life
• 1964 Duke Pearson - Wahoo!
• 1965 Dexter Gordon - Ladybird
• 1965 Wes Montgomery - Goin' Out of My Head
• 1967 Stanley Turrentine - A Bluish Bag
• 1967 Sam Rivers - Dimensions & Extensions
• 1967 Hank Mobley - Far Away Lands
• 1977 Gene Harris - Tone Tantrum
• 1978 Sonny Rollins - Don't Stop the Carnival
• 1993 Guru - Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1
• 1995 Guru - Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality
• 1995 Ahmad Jamal - Big Byrd: The Essence Part 2

References[link]

External links[link]

• Donald Byrd at Allmusic
• Donald Byrd Discogs entry
• Donald Byrd discography at jazzdisco.org