A small post dedicated to Keith Elam (Guru), died by 19/04/2010. West coast rap singer, he founded GangStarr in 1989 with DJ Premier.
The 1st Jazzmatazz project, presented in 1993 as "an experimental fusion of hip hop and jazz", is a musical gem (including prestigious featurings as Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd, Lonnie Liston Smith), and open the way to deeper collaboration between rappers and jazzmen. Always good to remind that hip hop comes from jazz...
Chrisalys F1-21998
Guru - Jazzmatazz vol.1 - Introduction
Guru previoulsy rapped "Jazz Thing" (used in Spike Lee's Mo Better Blues), where the message about importance of jazz was more than clearly expressed:
EP CBS 656377 6
Gangstarr - Jazz ThingJazz Thing Lyrics:
