LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION mourning the death of rapper Keith "Guru" Elam, a
lyrical icon

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to honor and pay trib-
ute to those individuals whose commitment and creative talents have
contributed to the entertainment and cultural enrichment of their commu-
nity and the entire State of New York; and
WHEREAS, Keith "Guru" Elam of Brooklyn, New York, died on Monday,
April 19, 2010, at the age of 47; he was an American emcee and member of
the hip-hop duo Gang Starr; and
WHEREAS, Born Keith Elam in the Roxbury section of Boston, Massachu-
setts, on July 17, 1962, he began his career in the mid-1980s as MC
Keithy E, but soon switched to Guru which he later turned into the acro-
nym (Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal); and
WHEREAS, Before beginning his rap career in earnest, Guru graduated
from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1983 and later took grad-
uate classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan; and
WHEREAS, Guru came to be known as one of the formative rappers of the
flourishing New York hip-hop scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s; in
1988, after an early version of Gang Starr splintered, Guru met Christo-
pher Martin "DJ Premier", a Houston, Texas, transplant to Brooklyn,
forming a partnership that would lead to six influential and critically
acclaimed albums, two of which, "Moment of Truth" and the hits
collection "Full Clip", were certified gold; and
WHEREAS, Known for social themes, together, Guru and DJ Premier made
archetypal East Coast rap, sharp-edged but not aggressive, full of
clear-eyed storytelling that was suavely executed; and
WHEREAS, In the early 1990s, as hip-hop was developing into a signif-
icant commercial force, Gang Starr remained committed by being anti-os-
tentatious; as a lyricist, Guru was often a weary moralist weighed down
by the tragedy surrounding him, though the group's music was almost
always life-affirming, never curmudgeonly; and
WHEREAS, Guru's music bridged generations in part thanks to his
career-long engagement with jazz, even after hip-hop largely ended its
flirtation with it in the early 1990s; as a solo artist, he released
four volumes of his "Jazzmatazz" series, the first of which, from 1993,
was one of the most influential in the fleeting jazz-rap movement; and
"Jazz Thing" a Gang Starr collaboration with Branford Marsalis, was used
over the closing credits of the Spike Lee film "Mo' Better Blues"; and
WHEREAS, Guru's father, Harry Elam, was the first black judge in the
Boston municipal courts, and his mother, Barbara, was the co-director of
library programs in the Boston public school system; Tricia Elam, Guru's
sister, said that even from a young age, Guru was "creative like
crazy,"; and
WHEREAS, Although dynamic and curious, eager and ambitious, Guru's
artistic impulses did not neatly line up with his middle-class upbring-
ing; and
WHEREAS, For all of Guru's gifts as a storyteller, songs like "Just to
Get a Rep" are among the starkest tales hip-hop has told; he benefited
from an unusually forceful voice, rich and burred around the edges; and
WHEREAS, A man of colossal talent and charisma, Keith "Guru" Elam will
be missed by his family, his fans and all who knew him; his dedication
to his music and his heritage leaves an indelible legacy of inspiration
for other artists and for his community; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
mourn the death of rapper Keith "Guru" Elam, a lyrical icon; and be it
further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the family of Keith "Guru" Elam.