Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Rap Legend Guru Dies


MTV UK is reporting that Guru, one half of the legendary rap duo Gangstarr, died yesterday. The channel's web site says that the rapper suffered with cancer secretly for several years.

After Guru slipped into a coma on March 2, knowledge of his condition became public. Information about his health was hard to obtain as family and friends fought over access to the 43-year-old rap vet. It was a unfortunate public battle, waged with over twitter, youtube, press releases and radio interviews. It is also one that will also likely continue, given that his producer has him writing a letter from the grave, but that's not where my focus is right now.

Gangstarr was one of the most consistent rap groups of all time. They maintained a formula for their music over the course of six albums, but never fell victim to the law of diminishing returns that plague other acts. While some artists see their careers as a sprint, Guru & Premier were long-distance runners, building endurance with each journey. The left behind a track record that is untouchable.

Gangstarr appeared on the failed video show that inspired this blog twice. You can read about there first appearance here and here. Watch the second here.

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