Song of the Week

Andrew Kim
Period 5
Music Appreciation


Artist: Gang Starr
Song: Moment of Truth

          Gang Starr is an East Coast hip hop duo founded in 1987, consisting of MC Guru and DJ Premier. The duo were influenced by the New York hip hop scene, producing songs that reflected that particular style. Not only would the duo produce songs that reflected their style, but they also created songs that were innovative, combining hip hop with jazz beats in order to create their own specific style.
         Keith Edward Elam, Guru, was born on July 17, 1961. His MC name Guru is a backronym for Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal and also God is Universal; he is the Ruler Universal. Both of the backronyms are references to the teachings of the Nations of Gods and Earths. Guru died on April 19, 2010 at the age of 48 from cancer.
         Christopher Edward Martin, DJ Premier, was born on March 21, 1966. He is also known as Preem, Premo, or Primo for short. The Source named DJ Premier one of the five greatest producers in hip-hop history. The editors of About.com ranked him #1 on their top 50 Hip-Hop Producer list. To this day DJ Premier is still an active producer. He contributed a song on the Game's "Red Album". In a recent interview, he also expressed his desire to work with J. Cole and Drake.
         I like the song above because the beat is smooth and original. The lyrics also show the intellectual side of MC Guru. A trait that is all too forgotten and ignored in today's hip-hop scene.