April 20, 2010
R.I.P. Guru
- by 319
Guru of Gang Starr has died of cancer after a lengthy bout with the disease. The artist, born Keith Elam, died on Monday April 19. He was 43 years old. AllHipHop.com has posted a letter for the fans, that Guru prepared while he was in the hospital:
I, Guru, am writing this letter to my fans, friends and loved ones around the world. I have had a long battle with cancer and have succumbed to the disease. I have suffered with this illness for over a year. I have exhausted all medical options.
I have a non-profit organization called Each One Counts dedicated to carrying on my charitable work on behalf of abused and disadvantaged children from around the world and also to educate and research a cure for this terrible disease that took my life. I write this with tears in my eyes, not of sorrow but of joy for what a wonderful life I have enjoyed and how many great people I have had the pleasure of meeting.
My loyal best friend, partner and brother, Solar, has been at my side through it all and has been made my health proxy by myself on all matters relating to myself. He has been with me by my side on my many hospital stays, operations, doctors visits and stayed with me at my home and cared for me when I could not care for myself. Solar and his family is my family and I love them dearly and I expect my family, friends, and fans to respect that, regardless to anybody’s feelings on the matter. It is my wish that counts. This being said I am survived by the love of my life, my sun KC, who I trust will be looked after by Solar and his family as their own. Any awards or tributes should be accepted, organized approved by Solar on behalf myself and my son until he is of age to except on his own.
I do not wish my ex-DJ to have anything to do with my name likeness, events tributes etc. connected in anyway to my situation including any use of my name or circumstance for any reason and I have instructed my lawyers to enforce this. I had nothing to do with him in life for over 7 years and want nothing to do with him in death. Solar has my life story and is well informed on my family situation, as well as the real reason for separating from my ex-DJ. 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. Solar and I have toured in places that I have never been before with GangStarr or Jazzmatatazz and we gained a reputation for being the best on the planet at Hip-Hop/Jazz, as well as the biggest and most influential Hip-Hop/Jazz record with Jazzmatazz 4 of the decade to now. The work I have done with Solar represents a legacy far beyond its time. And we as a team were not afraid to push the envelope. To me this is what true artists do! As men of honor we stood tall in the face of small mindedness, greed, and ignorance. As we fought for music and integrity at the cost of not earning millions and for this I will always be happy and proud, and would like to thank the million fans who have seen us perform over the years from all over the world. The work I have done with Solar represents a legacy far beyond its time and is my most creative and experimental to date. I hope that our music will receive the attention it deserves as it is some of the best work I have done and represents some of the best years of my life.
19 Responses
I wonder how he wrote that when he’s been in a coma for the past couple months 😛
Damn r.i.p. I agree though, Solar totally wrote all that.
He came out of his coma, he was not in the coma more than a week as far as I remember.Fuck I never liked Solar, but Premo must have shit the bed or something to get dissed on Guru`s death bed. I feel ripped off. I need the whole story. And I can`t believe Solar wrote that, that shit would be like some kind of diabolical evil that I can`t belive a French rapper could atain.
RIP to one of my all time fav’s.
word up.
Statement made by Solar “The world has lost one of the best MCs and Hip-Hop icons of all-time — my loyal best friend, partner, and brother, Guru,” Solar said in a statement.”
Gurus letter to his fans “My loyal best friend, partner and brother, Solar, has been at my side through it all and has been made my health proxy by myself on all matters relating to myself“
I don`t know man, they are very very close, allmost identical. This can`t be! Is SOLAR that evil… SOme other dude on another blog pointed this out.
“I had nothing to do with him in life for over 7 years and want nothing to do with him in death.”
Yikes.
It’s “Super Producer Solar”, not MC Solaar from France, lol.
haha man I’ve been trying to understand for like 2 years how Solaar could have so much power over Guru haha
Lol I feel as though an enormous weight has been lifted from my heart.
rip.
man that note was trippy. primo’s twitter was all respect and i dont think guru’s death bed letter to his fans would be a love note to solar.
fucked up situation even more fucked…
“I had nothing to do with him in life for over 7 years and want nothing to do with him in death.”
no matter what happens in life, no one should have to carry that weight with them beyond.
Rest in peace. Gifted. Unlimited. Rhymes. Universal. One of the greatest of all time.
The amount of people we will see die in our lifetimes is unreal.
r.i.p.
I have a sinking feeling that we’ll never know the whole story. Ever.
Daily operation is on the best albums I had ever heard, 2 deep was pretty much the one song that got me into hip hop I listened to that cd so much i wore it out.. RIP and thanks for all the great music over the years.
a statement from the family:
The Elam family wishes to thank the fans of our son/brother/father uncle/nephew/cousin Keith aka GURU for the outpouring of love, concern and support.
Our hearts are broken by the loss of someone we loved so much. GURU was devoted to his young son, who will most keenly feel his absence.
GURU suffered from multiple myeloma for over a year. Accrued complications from this illness led to respiratory failure and cardiac arrest. As a result, GURU was in a coma from mid February until his death and never regained consciousness. Early on the morning of April 19th, he became hypertensive due to low blood pressure. He again went into cardiac arrest and slipped away from us.
GURU died far too young but he was, and we are, proud of all his many legendary musical contributions.
The family is not aware of any foundations established by GURU. We know and understand that countless fans want to express their condolences and love and, to that end, we are planning a memorial event in the near future that will be all-inclusive. Please look for further details from the family as they become available.
If he was in a comma since February, when did he write this love letter to Solar then?
You’d be amazed at how much you can get done while in a coma.
RIP gifted unlimited
Me too Chris that album had a huge impact on my life