Guru (Keith Elam, 1961–2010) was the Boston-born voice of Gang Starr and one of hip hop's great baritones. His Jazzmatazz series (1993–2007) put rappers in the room with live jazz players — Donald Byrd, Roy Ayers, Branford Marsalis — and Volume 1 remains the foundational jazz-rap document. Shop Guru vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Keith Edward Elam, performing as Guru (an acronym for Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal), was born in Boston, Massachusetts on July 17, 1961. He attended Morehouse College in Atlanta and worked in social services before pursuing music full-time. He launched Gang Starr in Boston in 1985, with DJ Premier joining in 1988. His parallel Jazzmatazz project (1993-2007) brought together hip hop with live jazz musicians including Donald Byrd, Branford Marsalis, MC Solaar, Roy Ayers, Herbie Hancock, and many others - widely cited as a foundational jazz-rap series. He died from cardiac arrest following a battle with multiple myeloma on April 19, 2010 at age 48.
Guru's solo Jazzmatazz catalog combined hip hop, jazz rap, jazz fusion, and conscious hip hop with extensive live jazz musician collaborations. His Gang Starr work combined East Coast hip hop, jazz rap, and conscious hip hop with DJ Premier's signature sample-driven production. His distinctive baritone vocal delivery and lyrical approach are widely cited as foundational templates for conscious hip hop.
Chrysalis pressings of Jazzmatazz Volume 1 and Volume 2 are widely collected. Multiple anniversary editions have been issued. See Gang Starr collection for primary catalog context.
Listeners new to Guru typically start with Jazzmatazz Volume 1 (1993), alongside the Gang Starr catalog for primary context.
