Gangstarr’s Guru dies

Keith Elam aka Guru suffered a cardiac arrest on March 2nd and very little was known of his condition due to some very controversial behaviour by his producer and close friend Solar.

The rapper passed away yesterday morning (April 19th) a statement read "after a long battle with cancer."

I was lucky enough to finally meet Guru last year and speak at length with him about his career, his thoughts on the world and his place in history. Guru was a genuinely inspired and inspiring man. Having taken more than his fair share of knocks in a career which saw him and his long-term partner DJ Premier crowned underground kings in three separate decades, his words and performances will continue to inspire and define the culture of hip-hop which he was so passionate about representing.

Our thoughts are with his family and in particular his nephew Justin Nicholas Elam-Ruff, with whom he was very close and of whom he was known to be very proud.

Keith Elam aka Guru: July 17th 1966 - April 19th 2010