Keith Edward Elam better known by his stage name Guru, was an American emcee and member of the hip-hop duo Gang Starr, along with DJ Premier. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The name Guru is a acronym that stands for Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal and the less-often used God is Universal; he is the Ruler Universal, which are both references to the teachings of the Nation of Gods and Earths. He was also known for lending his voice for 8-Ball in Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. Keith Elam was born in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. His father, Harry, was a judge and his mother, Barbara, was the co-director of libraries in the Boston public school system. He attended Cohasset High School in Cohasset, Massachusetts for high school. Elam graduated with a degree in business administration from Morehouse College in Atlanta and took graduate classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. He later dropped out to pursue a hip hop career. Elam worked briefly in social services.
First and foremost, RIP Guru. A year and a half ago a lot of things were different in my life. I was the APD at WERS 88.9 FM in Boston and got the opportunity to do a tribute to Guru on radio and that is my most memorable moment on radio with Krumbsnatcha (Guru's Protege) and Big Shug (Gangstarr Foundation) (listen below). I never got to meet Guru but through his music I feel like I got a sense for the enlightened and motival person he was. As an MC and teacher Guru was always one of my favorites. With tracks like "Royalty", "Disicpline", etc. he always had dome time of message behind his lyrics. Later in his career Guru did his Jazzmatazz albums which opened up the sound of Hip Hop in a whole different lane by collaborating with musical legends like Chaka Khan, Roy Ayers and more. DJ Premier provided some of the craziest beats ever in Hip Hop for Guru to drop jewels on anyone who would listen like its never been done before with a MC and DJ combination. It is highly overlooked that Guru is from Roxbury, MA but NYC was the only place for Guru to show and prove amongst the best MCs in the world. So I will remember Guru for the endless amount of knowledge that I still listen to and use in my life everyday and being the biggest Lane Maker out of MA$$ Hip Hop ever even though he was one before he began rapping. #MYOL
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