Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal....G.U.R.U.

The overlord, cream of the crop, creme de la creme
Spent years buildin with cats in the streets, so they my men
Again, GangStarr has done it
Remember too much jewels back in the days? You'd have to run it

Ever lost a loved one that you've never met? A friend you grew up with that doesn't even know your name? Your favorite teacher who never graded your final exam. That voice that spoke to you when the world just couldn't relate? Well, that's Gang Starr. That's GURU. To the 30+ generation of the Hip Hop family tree, Gang Starr took our "jungle music" to sophisticated levels of intelligence, style and substance. Born during the era of Hammer, Kriss Kross and Father Mc (ugh), Guru & Premier created musical art in the truest sense of the word. While Premo tapped the heart of streets to produce innovative beats, snares, riffs and melodies, Guru's rhymes laced the listener with gritty, thought provoking science:

The S.A.T. is not geared for the lower class
so why waste time even trying to pass
The educational system presumes you to fail
the next place is the corner then after that jail
You've got to understand that this has all been conspired
to put a strain on our brains so that the strong grow tired
It even exists when you go to your church
cuz up on the wall a white Jesus lurks
They use your subconscious to control your will
they've done it for a while and developed the skill
to make you want to kill your own brother man
black against black you see it's part of their plan
They want to send us to war and they want to ban rap
what they really want to do is get rid of us blacks
Genocide is for real and I hope that you're hearing me
you must be aware to combat the conspiracy

I bought "Daily Operation" when I was 15 years old. I killed this tape...to the point where the track listings are completely rubbed off from each side and I had to put "A" and "B" stickers on. GURU was my first "favorite" MC. Years before Biggie Smalls, JayZ and Nas took the craft to another level. I appreciated the honesty, integrity, humour and thoughtfulness he put into his writing. Ah...writing. Such a lost art. The discipline...The Intelligence. Understanding when less is more. Here's less of me (lol) and more of GURU:

Rap is an art you can't own no loops
It's how you hook em up and the rhyme style troop
So don't even think you could say someone bit
off your weak beat come on you need to quit
I flip lines and kick rhymes that never sound like yours
There oughtta be laws against you yapping your jaws
Originality overflows from in me
and the truth is, that you wish you could live the
life I live and kick the lyrics I kick
But bear in mind that you can't think as quick
So Premier drops a beat, for me to say verses to
And if I sound doper then take it personal