Gang Starr

One of the most influential MC and DJ duos, Gang Starr set new standards for streetwise, socially conscious East Coast rap with a pair of early-'90s touchstones, Step in the Arena (1991) and Daily Operation (1992), whose appeal has only grown over the decades. Beginning with these classic releases, listeners and critics heaped mounds of praise upon <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">DJ Premier</a> -- the former because of his socially conscious lyrics and no-nonsense stance, the latter because of his DJ-style beatmaking and jazzy sound. Following Step in the Arena and Daily Operation, <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a> became one of New York's most in-demand producers, crafting hits for the city's finest MCs, including <a href="spotify:artist:5me0Irg2ANcsgc93uaYrpb">the Notorious B.I.G.</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:20qISvAhX20dpIbOOzGK3q">Nas</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3nFkdlSjzX9mRTtwJOzDYB">Jay-Z</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2gINJ8xw86xawPyGvx1bla">KRS-One</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> likewise collaborated with plenty of well-known artists -- <a href="spotify:artist:6R9Mv0bgGE4Tqxna1q5Mrj">Roy Ayers</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3ZUZYvTkSr7kJQyAXVpqaL">Donald Byrd</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2JrR5OwlQ3XXuDwozp9tYT">N'Dea Davenport</a> -- on his solo debut, Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 (1993), and its series of follow-ups. Following Hard to Earn (1994), the duo's fourth Gang Starr collaboration overall, <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a> began focusing primarily on their solo projects, reuniting infrequently for Moment of Truth (1998) and The Ownerz (2003). <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a>'s death in 2010 left an unfillable void in hip-hop, but <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a> eventually issued new Gang Starr material in the form of One of the Best Yet (2019), featuring previously unreleased verses from <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> and appearances from the likes of <a href="spotify:artist:3ZotbHeyVQKxQCPDJuQ4SU">Q-Tip</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6CsOL9C9iLL0eWKINlDxzQ">Jeru the Damaja</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:6l3HvQ5sa6mXTsMTB19rO5">J. Cole</a>.

<a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> (born <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Keith Edward Elam</a> in Boston) and <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a> (born <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Christopher Edward Martin</a> in Houston) began working together in 1989. <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> founded Gang Starr a couple years earlier and had already established a working relationship with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Wild+Pitch+Records%22">Wild Pitch Records</a>. The partnership of <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a> as Gang Starr led to a formative debut album, No More Mr. Nice Guy (1989), including the featured single "Words I Manifest" and the DJ-spotlight track "DJ Premier in Deep Concentration." Between albums, in 1990, <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a> contributed "Jazz Thing" to the Mo' Better Blues soundtrack. Gang Starr subsequently moved to Chrysalis Records for their second album, Step in the Arena (1991), on which they perfected the approach of their debut -- a stark, hard-hitting jazz-rap production style, complete with <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a>'s masterful DJ cutting, over which <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a>'s battle-rap-hardened yet smoothly delivered lyrics, often thoughtful, sly, and streetsmart, take flight. Gang Starr's third album, Daily Operation (1992), furthered the duo's approach stylistically; widely considered an East Coast rap classic, it's arguably <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a>'s finest work, along with its predecessor.

Beginning in 1993, <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a> began working separately. <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a>'s debut album, Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 (1993), took the so-called jazz-rap style to a new level, featuring jazz musicians such as <a href="spotify:artist:2hdpXvaQJHBCZIVUd6cLvK">Lonnie Liston Smith</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1gPY6jETlC02stpXOUmSBH">Branford Marsalis</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:32WK2OuP2PG4r7sH7bUfN9">Ronny Jordan</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3ZUZYvTkSr7kJQyAXVpqaL">Donald Byrd</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:6R9Mv0bgGE4Tqxna1q5Mrj">Roy Ayers</a>, along with guest vocalists such as <a href="spotify:artist:2JrR5OwlQ3XXuDwozp9tYT">N'Dea Davenport</a> (of <a href="spotify:artist:3DEveX6KVzhPDqq2VRuN14">the Brand New Heavies</a>) and French rapper <a href="spotify:artist:3nU8TSIICYDbUqRpJISTRE">MC Solaar</a>. Meanwhile, <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a> produced six tracks for <a href="spotify:artist:2gINJ8xw86xawPyGvx1bla">KRS-One</a>'s solo debut, Return of the Boom Bap (1993), and in 1994 he proceeded to produce three tracks for <a href="spotify:artist:20qISvAhX20dpIbOOzGK3q">Nas</a>' debut, Illmatic (including "N.Y. State of Mind"); two for <a href="spotify:artist:5me0Irg2ANcsgc93uaYrpb">the Notorious B.I.G.</a>'s debut, Ready to Die ("Unbelievable," an unreleased remix of "Machine Gun Funk"); five for the self-titled debut of <a href="spotify:artist:1gPY6jETlC02stpXOUmSBH">Branford Marsalis</a>' <a href="spotify:artist:1wbW8PchZM0iSKq1V8HsRF">Buckshot LeFonque</a> project; the entirety of <a href="spotify:artist:6CsOL9C9iLL0eWKINlDxzQ">Jeru the Damaja</a>'s debut, The Sun Rises in the East; and a handful of remixes for various artists. Amid all of this activity, <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a> found time to record their fourth album, Hard to Earn (1994), which was more hardcore-fashioned -- as was the style at the time in the wake of <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Death+Row%22">Death Row</a>'s uprising -- than past Gang Starr albums. The album spawned the duo's biggest hit, "Mass Appeal," their first to reach the Billboard Hot 100 (peaking at number 67), and their eighth single to enter Billboard's rap chart.

Following Hard to Earn, <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a> resumed their solo activity. <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> released Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality (1995) and a various-artists compilation, Guru Presents Ill Kid Records (1995), while <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a> produced the bulk of Livin' Proof (1995), the debut of Gang Starr affiliates <a href="spotify:artist:48elQHSJ3DmffHQpf89jxX">Group Home</a> (a duo featured on Hard to Earn). Also in 1995, <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a> produced three tracks on KRS-One, the rapper's second solo album; and two tracks on Hold It Down, the third album by <a href="spotify:artist:0auu2itHTxEdAMRHvx7CyG">Das EFX</a>; as well as assorted remixes and one-off productions. While <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> remained more or less inactive during 1996-1997, <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a> stayed busy, producing the entirety of <a href="spotify:artist:6CsOL9C9iLL0eWKINlDxzQ">Jeru the Damaja</a>'s Wrath of the Math (1996); five tracks on <a href="spotify:artist:6ZcRUVs3I5U8EOnm9ZdCsO">Bahamadia</a>'s Kollage (1996); six on <a href="spotify:artist:1BH45DVSTeGBvcYXNCd67g">M.O.P.</a>'s Firing Squad (1996); three on <a href="spotify:artist:3nFkdlSjzX9mRTtwJOzDYB">Jay-Z</a>'s debut, Reasonable Doubt (1996); one on <a href="spotify:artist:20qISvAhX20dpIbOOzGK3q">Nas</a>' It Was Written (1996); two on <a href="spotify:artist:3nFkdlSjzX9mRTtwJOzDYB">Jay-Z</a>'s second album, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (1997); two on <a href="spotify:artist:5me0Irg2ANcsgc93uaYrpb">the Notorious B.I.G.</a>'s Life After Death (1997); four on <a href="spotify:artist:5Wn0klrAwDcTdJkvwwmzLL">O.C.</a>'s Jewelz (1997); two on <a href="spotify:artist:3PyWEKLWI0vHPmoNrIX0QE">Rakim</a>'s The 18th Letter (1997); and two on <a href="spotify:artist:5CxwOBCoGSvWxfDgNoa1Nv">the Lady of Rage</a>'s Necessary Roughness (1997).

In 1998, after four years between albums, Gang Starr returned with Moment of Truth, their first album to chart at number one (on the R&B/Hip-Hop album chart, that is; it peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 overall, their best showing). Moment of Truth was a significant departure from past Gang Starr efforts, very much contemporary in style; for example, the album features numerous guests (<a href="spotify:artist:4OBbOrkD4geIjOLrICN3wO">Inspectah Deck</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:19KwjzvIL92r29IINtlPNP">Scarface</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7x7pxJtOTFkTSStKmrRyRp">G. Dep</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:05RZIdfz59ZW2FvFuwnmNK">K-Ci & JoJo</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1BH45DVSTeGBvcYXNCd67g">M.O.P.</a>) and bore little trace of the duo's jazz-rap beginnings. The lead single, "You Know My Steez," became the second Gang Starr hit to break into the Hot 100 (peaking at number 76). A double-disc retrospective, Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr (1999), subsequently marked the duo's ten-year anniversary. In the years that followed, <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a> continued to focus on their own work. <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> continued his Jazzmatazz series, beginning with a third volume, Streetsoul (2000); he also released solo rap albums, beginning with Baldhead Slick & da Click (2001). The next <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> release, Version 7.0: The Street Scriptures (2005), arrived on his new label, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%227+Grand+Records%22">7 Grand Records</a>; the album featured beats by Solar, who would prove to be an important contributor on additional <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%227+Grand%22">7 Grand</a> releases. The fourth volume of Jazzmatazz (2007) included the typical array of guest vocalists and instrumentalists and was issued along with the "raw" companion disc Guru's Jazzmatazz - The Timebomb: Back to the Future Mixtape. Guru 8.0: Lost and Found (2009), the rapper's next <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%227+Grand%22">7 Grand</a> full-length, followed shortly thereafter. <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a> continued his production activity, working with superstars such as <a href="spotify:artist:3nFkdlSjzX9mRTtwJOzDYB">Jay-Z</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:20qISvAhX20dpIbOOzGK3q">Nas</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2GHclqNVjqGuiE5mA7BEoc">Common</a>, as well as underground rappers such as <a href="spotify:artist:6DVipHzYsPlIoA0DW8Gmns">Royce da 5'9"</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7oF48iRjggIDjtfRcmmMvl">Termanology</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0aIgITBokPrhdyPobldbag">NYG'z</a>; he even dabbled in mainstream pop, most notably working extensively with <a href="spotify:artist:1l7ZsJRRS8wlW3WfJfPfNS">Christina Aguilera</a> on her double-disc album Back to Basics (2006), including the Top Ten hit "Ain't No Other Man."

As for Gang Starr, <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a> did reunite during the early 2000s for The Ownerz (2003), a celebrated return to form, but the reunion proved short-lived, leaving back-catalog collections such as Mass Appeal: The Best of Gang Starr (2006) to fill the void. <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> died at age 43 on April 19, 2010 after battling cancer, suffering a heart attack, and for a time falling into a coma. Throughout the 2010s, <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a> steered projects such as Get Used to Us (2010), the <a href="spotify:artist:7pqZVedlsryCmpMGf9L9zV">Bumpy Knuckles</a> collaboration Kolexxxion, and two albums with <a href="spotify:artist:6DVipHzYsPlIoA0DW8Gmns">Royce da 5'9"</a> as <a href="spotify:artist:4ypEjUTTCcPB0dgjQBQyf5">PRhyme</a> (issued in 2014 and 2018). He continued to work with veterans and up-and-comers alike, from <a href="spotify:artist:30G8Jlp6mw5RTEEzMndIZL">Big Shug</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6DPYiyq5kWVQS4RGwxzPC7">Dr. Dre</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:4XqfpACObRB5AsBcUYjL8X">MC Eiht</a>, to <a href="spotify:artist:6NL31G53xThQXkFs7lDpL5">Rapsody</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0ABk515kENDyATUdpCKVfW">Westside Gunn</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4SgrbJRf3tD0HNZGFcVzt2">Conway</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5Matrg5du62bXwer29cU5T">Benny the Butcher</a>. Near the end of the decade, <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">Premier</a> released One of the Best Yet, the first Gang Starr album in 16 years. The producer adeptly utilized previously unreleased verses from <a href="spotify:artist:6xyaria4AcxjRuJZLkWvMW">Guru</a> and contributions from a deep roster of contemporaries and pupils, including <a href="spotify:artist:3ZotbHeyVQKxQCPDJuQ4SU">Q-Tip</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6CsOL9C9iLL0eWKINlDxzQ">Jeru the Damaja</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:48elQHSJ3DmffHQpf89jxX">Group Home</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0lEssBAxQl2In4RpaB1C2Y">Talib Kweli</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:6l3HvQ5sa6mXTsMTB19rO5">J. Cole</a>. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi