LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION Mourning the Death of Rapper Keith "Guru" Elam, a Lyrical Icon

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 community 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..

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