The name's synonymous with joints that bang with rhymes that flow like the river in the music of Methuzulah's Atlanta posse who bravely take on a classic by Gangstarr. The Kumite is one outstanding example which shows the South has plenty of skills and appreciation for the traditional boom-bap from up North as Methuzulah and crew rock to the alarming horns of DJ Premier.

The Kumite crew is: Methuzulah & DJ Synthesis feat. 4-IZE, Clan Destineed, Dillon, Senor Kaos, Melaphyre , Rockmost, Tommy Lee Soul, The Nice Guise, Jarren Benton, Aarophat, Arablak and G.R.E.A.T SCOTT.

Visit methuzulah.bandcamp.com for a download of this song.

The illustrious Gangstarr Foundation (minus Melachi The Nutcracker and Big Shug) interview with Fab 5 Freddy from a control room of D&D studios in 1994, right on the brink of Jeru's classic debut LP release, "The Sun Rises In The East". I was super amped to catch this episode in the midst of Gangstarr's rise as an emerging creative force and defining element of hip hop, with side production work from Premier accompanied by the excellent album "Hard To Earn".

The dark figure seated in the background behind the Yamaha DX7 keyboard is none other than The Guru. In this episode of Yo! MTV Raps, and at this stage of his career he seemed more like an overseer of the rest of the crew, an artist who paved the way for all this greatness through dedication, past classic albums and hard work.

I know this episode is online already as streaming video, but I'm leaving a download for you of the crisp, high res video ripped directly from my VHS cassette copy you can watch on your iPod or iPhone. Enjoy!









Parts 1 and 3 coming soon!

I appreciate the strength of Harry J Elam to publicly speak about his brother so deeply during a time of mourning, and recall the great moments they spent together as family. From this message I was able to discover more inspirational things about The Guru that I was unaware of outside of his music. I am thankful for Harry sharing with us, and would like to share that inspiration with you.


Rapper Guru remembered as a pioneer
“Positivity, that’s how I’m livin..’” So goes the lyric from my brother’s early hip-hop song, “Positivity.” My brother Keith Elam, the hip-hop artist known as GURU—Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal—died this week at the too-young age of 48 because of complications from cancer. ‘Positivity’ was what he sought to bring to the music and to his life, and for me that will be a large part of his legacy.

In February of this year, my brother went into a coma, and I traveled across the country from my home in California to see him. At his bedside, I stood and stared at his overly frail frame, his head that he had kept clean-shaven for the last 20 years uncommonly covered with hair, his body connected to a sea of tubes and wires. I listened to the whirl of machines around us and took his hand. As I did, my mind flashed back to now-distant times, so many memories. And I saw us as teenagers at the beach on Cape Cod playing in the water together. And I saw us as boys, driving to school. My brother was five years younger than me, so we attended the same school only for one year -- my senior year, his seventh-grade year -- at Noble and Greenough School, and I would often drive us both to school. Invariably, I made us late, yet my brother, never as stressed as me, was always impressively calm. At school he endured the jests and teasing from the other boys about being my “little brother.” I was president of the school and had charted a certain path at Nobles. But my brother found his own creative route at school, as he would throughout his life. His journey was never easy, never direct, but inventive. Through it all he remained fiercely determined with a clear and strong sense of self.

Over the years I had proudly watched my brother perform in a wide variety of contexts. While at Nobles, we had a black theatre troupe known as “the Family.” In 1973, we put on a play entitled ''A Medal for Willie,'' by William Branch, and because he was only in the seventh grade, Keith played only a small role, but even then you could see his flair for performance, his comfort on the stage. At home, our older sister Patricia would teach him the latest dances, and he would execute them with verve as I watched from the sidelines, impressed with his moves, and not without a few twinges of jealousy since I’ve always had two left feet. As a teenager he raced as a speed skater. I do not remember how he became involved in the sport; I only remember traveling with my family to watch his meets in the suburbs of Boston. I do not remember if he won or lost, I do know that he always competed with great ferocity and commitment.

When he announced to me that he was dropping out of graduate school at the Fashion Institute of Technology to pursue a career in rap, I thought he was making a grave mistake and warned him against it. But as always he was determined, and in the end he would succeed beyond perhaps what even he had imagined. Early on in his rap journey, he visited me in Washington., D.C., over a Thanksgiving weekend. I was teaching at the University of Maryland then, and we went to what was perhaps the most dreadful party we had ever attended. As we hastened out the door, I apologized for bringing him to this party. My brother replied “let’s write a rap song about it,” and we did. The lyrics made us laugh as we collaborated on the rhyme scheme and rode off into the D.C. night. It is one of my fondest memories, this spontaneous brotherly moment of collaboration and play.

(EMI/AP)
Keith Elam worked with a variety of artists on his acclaimed “Jazzmatazz’’ series of four albums, from 1993 to 2007.
Sign the guest book
OBIT Rapper Guru remembered as a pioneer
Keith’s big break came with Spike Lee’s film ''Mo’ Better Blues,'' with his song “A Jazz Thing” underscoring the credits. I watched that film over and over again just to hear my brother at its end. Soon he was on to creating his first Jazzmatazz album with others to follow, and he became credited for creating a fusion between jazz and hip hop. To be sure, that fusion owes something to our grandfather Edward Clark and Keith’s godfather, George Johnson, who introduced Keith to jazz by playing their favorite albums for him. He credits them both on his first Jazzmatazz. That first Jazzmatazz album featured musical heroes of my youth, Roy Ayers, and Donald Byrd, and here was my brother featuring them on his album. And with this success, came tours. I have seen him perform all over the world, and each time he would give a shout out from the stage to his brother and my wife, Michele. And I was so proud. It sometimes struck me with awe that all these people were there to see my brother. I watched him deal out magic; he was in his element feeling the crowd, and them responding to his groove. This was my baby brother, the kid with whom I once shared a room. The kid whose asthma would cause him to hack and cough and wheeze at night keeping me up. But when I would complain, my parents would send me out of the room. The message was clear: Love your siblings, whatever their frailties. Shorter than me and slighter of build, my brother suffered from asthma and allergies his whole life, but he was always a survivor

Back in 1993, when he played at Stanford University, I was in perhaps my third year as a professor there. As I walked into the auditorium that night, the assembled audience of students looked at me with a new awareness, “that’s the Guru’s brother,” not that’s Professor Elam, but the Guru’s brother.

And I was, and am, the Guru’s brother. I admired and loved him deeply, my little brother. And I was and am so proud of him, and how he made his dreams reality . And with the outpouring of love that has crowded my e-mail with his passing, I know that he touched so many with his music. My brother cared deeply about family. He raps of my parents in more than one song. They are featured on his video “Ex girl to next girl.” It was one thing seeing my brother on MTV; it was another seeing my parents. His son K.C. was the joy of his life.

The doctors told me back in February that there was not much chance of my brother recovering from the coma. But my brother has always been a fighter, always been one to overcome surprising adversities, so this seemed just one more. We prayed that he would again prevail. But it was not to be. Still his drive, his spirit, his energy, his positivity will live on, and so will his music. “that’s how I’m livin…”

Harry J. Elam Jr. is the chairman of the drama department at Stanford University and the author of several books, including "The Past as Present in the Drama of August Wilson.''

from The Boston Globe

As a fan of hip hop, I've been trying to recover from the recent unfortunate news in Guru's passing, it seems like each loss of a great voice like his in hip hop changes my own perspective on life. My way of dealing with the loss is to enjoy the music he's left us and live by the influential messages of his songs.

Courtesy of itsallthewaylive.net, here is an audio recording of Gangstarr's 2003 European tour performance for their final album, "The Ownerz". In the set, Guru and Premier perform some of their greatest songs throughout their catalog, including the best of "The Ownerz", showing a great deal of showmanship and crowd control. I never had the opportunity to see Guru & Premo perform live other than my own video recordings from TV, so this is a real treat. Enjoy!


Be sure to check out my previous Gangstarr/Guru related posts using the search option or menu column of the site for audio and video treats.

2 solid cuts from the U.K.'s own Configa of The Slept On Fam, "Hot Off Da Press" featuring Fdot1 and "15 Minutes" featuring Scorzayzee with chorus vocals by Atlanta Smith (cover artwork done by me!). Producer/MC Configa provides head nodding tracks with dedicated lyrical talent in the tradition of the great feel of classic 90's hip hop, a refreshing listen from a group of artists passionate about their craft. Each song goes beyond the average hip hop track by providing depth and focusing upon valuable qualities of life such as self confidence, inspiration and perseverance.

Both "Hot Off Da Press" and "15 Minutes have an aggressive hip hop edge, but in different ways. The former feels like a showcase of skill confidence in MCing in general, while the latter focuses on belief and wishful thinking in using your skills and whatever amount of time you're afforded in life to achieve your goals. The good thing about both is that they are inspiring from the sense of dedication felt through the music, an important feeling of hip hop I've been missing in recent years.

Listen, download and enjoy "Hot Off Da Press" and "15 Minutes" at configa.com

Dre & Snoop perform their classic single shortly before the release of The Chronic. Arsenio sure showed love for hip hop on his show up until the very end, and it's great moments like this I'm thankful to have been part of as a fan of the culture.

"Lady" by Mel Cabang is a mixture of mellow jazz/soul fusion with elements of rhodes arrangements, deep funk baselines and soulful singing, reminiscent of a 70's Lonnie Liston Smith album from Flying Dutchman. Each song is designed for relaxation and escapism by focusing on the joyful subjects of life. I've been taking notice to more Hawaiian soul music since getting hooked on a beautiful cover of "Sun Goddess" I heard on a Muro mixtape.

1978 Double Banger Records Hono, HI 96825

Listen to a sample of "Your Love" by Mel Cabang (mp3)

Mel Cabang's "Lady" is available for purchase here at groovecollector.com

Fat Beats is the place to be if you're in the Manhattan NYC area on Saturday April 17, 2010, Record Store Day. Plenty of great live performers and discounts on music! Here's the official schedule:

1pm DeeJayElement

2pm Soul Khan (of The Brown Bag AllStars)

3pm 88-Keys (Decon)

4pm Von Pea (of Tanya Morgan)

5pm A.G. (of D.I.T.C.)

6pm Black Milk with a LIVE band (Daru & AB)

7pm Duckdown Showcase (Marco Polo, Ruste Juxx, Torae, Skyzoo, & More).

Fat Beats NY
406 6th Ave, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10011
212-673-3883

The Brown Bag AllStars Are:
The Audible Doctor (Emcee/Producer)
J57 (Emcee/Producer)
KONCEPT (Emcee)
Soul Khan (Emcee)
E Holla (DJ)
Deejay Element (DJ)
DJ Goo (DJ)

I've been fortunate to hear a number of live band interpolations of hip hop's greatest beats, this is a recent homage to the work of Pete Rock & DJ Premierthrough the live guitar, bass, drums and keys of 4 musicians Zo!, Malik, Zach & Daru. Listen to this and you'll probably appreciate the work of Premo & Pete Rock even more, because their distinct, unmistakable style comes across even when replayed by someone else. This jam session brings new definition to the sound and experience of hip hop.

a nice short one after the blues singing intro by Lou Lawton,
listen here (plays in RealPlayer)

I've been waiting on the return of Reflection Eternal, one of few examples left in today's media of the traditional producer/MC pairing who you can rely on to bring classic material. If the music of "Revolutions Per Minute" has the same bold, artistic impact of this cover artwork, then I feel like I'm in for a treat!

Purchase "Revolutions Per Minute" May 11, 2010

www.myspace.com/reflectioneternal

MWCC, Mozambique West Coast Coalition is an exciting look into the re-invention of West Coast hip hop sound from a talented collective of 3 Mozambican producers: Aljazz, Dareenzo and Origimoz. By combining their own production styles, unique musical sensibilities with a strong appreciation and understanding of traditional, West Coast hip hop sound, MWCC presents a memorable instrumental project and a fine musical homage to one of the most important geographical regions of hip hop.

This instrumental project provides a variety of sounds crafted with strong imagination and forward-thinking production techniques, from smooth, slow rolling soul to hard hitting, intense gangsta funk. Each producer digs deep into their own influences of West Coast production while adding their unique twist to the trademark sound.

When I say this project brings out feelings of the West, I mean it. I once lived in Southern California and was fortunate to be around to absorb the music of the West Coast through some of it's most classic periods. MWCC is a great testament to the abilities of Aljazz, Dareenzo & Origimoz as producers who are to be able to touch upon the style of this region so accurately, even though they are all the way from the continent of Africa.

Enjoy this compilation, it is a well conceived project from a group of producers who appreciate the greater contributions of hip hop sound.

Nothing beats the humor of a man yelling at the top of his lungs aimlessly on late night hip hop radio. For my die-hard fans of the legendary Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito show/CMFamalam Show you may already know what's about to happen, for those who never heard this part of the show, just listen lol.

For a contemporary R&B song paired with hip hop, I really like this. From the moment I heard the deep baseline and drum pattern kick in to lead into an introductory verse by Jadakiss followed by the vocals of Emanny, I got the feeling of memorable R&B songwriting style I fell in love with during the late-90's, early 2000's.

Overall "Time Is Up" is a song to remember, from lyrics, throwback production feel to the chorus, it sounds like one of those feel-good R&B songs I'll be bumping through the summer!

Download Here

Visit Emanny on Facebook here

This is a beauty of a Soul song I came across which not only is great to listen to but describes the laid back vibe I've been feeling lately as weather turns from cool to warm. From their 1976 album "Down To Earth" on Philips Records.

Jonathan Williams - Bass

Mozar Pierre- Louis - Organ

Walter Morris - Guitars

Tommy Keith - Rhythm Guitar

Bernadette Randle - Piano,Clavinet

Clarence Olivie - Drums

The hard-hitting production of J Dilla and soulful instrumental arrangements of The Roots combine to form a hypnotic Hip Hop sound, an experimental look into the future of beats. "Dilla Joints" combines the greatest parts of both J Dilla and The Roots: crisp, outstanding, neck-snapping drums with a unique reach in sample usage combined with the musical feel of a live jam session brought by a seasoned band.






01. Donuts Outro

02. Hot Shit (I’m Back!)

03. World Full Of Sadness

04. Upper Egypt

05. Stereolab

06. The Stars

07. Antiquity (feat. The Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Dillchestra)

08. She Said

09. Hall & Oates

10. Eve

11. Look Into Her Eyes

12. Make Em NV

13. Oh! O!

14. Wicked Ways


Yancey Media Group keeps Dilla's name alive in 2014 and beyond with a 4-part edition of collectable Jay Dee "Beat Batches".

Guilty Simpson + Madlib = OJ Simpson: May 18, 2010: "Advance digital sale available now, exclusively at stonesthrow.com"

This is a collaboration of East & West that I hope turns out to be influential to the direction of hip hop sound in forthcoming years. Madlib seems to be carrying the torch in providing heat on the boards for Detriot MCs since J Dilla passed.

Here is a review from Stones Throw:

OJ Simpson. That’s the name of the album. No bloody gloves. No Ford Broncos. These are some 12 hard-hitting hip-hop tracks featuring Guilty’s inimitable baritone, and an equal number of Madlib’s signature album-as-soundtrack/radio/sideshow arrangements, where the beat & sequence is as important as the rap. This, with a couple no-nonsense guest appearances, some cuts by J.Rocc, and a whole bunch of attitude, makes up one of our favorite projects in a while.

The charisma that Detroit’s heavy hitting MC Guilty Simpson and the Los Angeles based Beat Konducta Madlib share testifies to a musical kinship that is rare in today’s rapper-as-an-accessory marketplace. Going back to Guilty’s first appearance on wax (Jaylib’s “Strapped”–2003), Guilty over a Madlib beat to us is like hearing Guru over Premier circa Daily Operation, or CL over Pete around the time of “Straighten It Out.” Some times, a rapper and a producer just work well together.

Listen to: Guilty Simpson & Madlb "Cali Hills" (right-click & save).

The Rebel INS represents on the mic and boards for a rare alternate version of his song from the "Tales From The Hood" soundtrack. Protect Ya Neck as Inspectah Deck goes for the jugular with 36 Chambers of anger. This is a threatening force of an MC like none other as Deck demonstrates a great combination of aggression and skill.