So last week we had Gang Starr's first big steps onto the music scene with plenty of Jazz samples at hand, main man Guru decided he would like some of the real thing and backing by live Jazz musicians, this resulted in 4 highly regarded Jazzmatazz albums. Check some out
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Keith Edward Elam (July 17, 1961 - April 19, 2010), better known by his stage name Guru, was an American emcee and member of the hip-hop duo Gang Starr, along with DJ Premier. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts.[4] The name Guru is a backronym that stands for Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal. Elam was born into black middle class in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. His father, Harry, was a judge and his mother, Barbara, was the co-director of libraries in the Boston public school system. Elam graduated with a degree in business administration from Morehouse College in Atlanta and took graduate classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. He later dropped out to pursue a hip hop career.
Elam began his rap career under the pseudonym MC Keithy E but later changed name to Guru. He founded Gang Starr in 1987. The group initially released three records, produced by DJ Mark the 45 King, on the Wild Pitch Records record label, but these records received little attention. After a change in line-up, the group consisted of rapper Elam and beat maker DJ Premier. Gang Starr released its first LP No More Mr. Nice Guy on Wild Pitch Records; the group achieved a sizable following and released six critically acclaimed and influential albums from 1989 to 2003
In 1993, Guru released the first in a series of four solo albums while still a member of Gang Starr. Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 featured collaborations with Donald Byrd, N'Dea Davenport, MC Solaar, and Roy Ayers and received positive reviews. His second solo LP, Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality, featured Chaka Khan, Ramsey Lewis, Branford Marsalis, and Jamiroquai. Despite his solo career, Guru remained true to Gang Starr as well, continuing to contribute to further albums such as 1994's Hard to Earn and 1998's Moment of Truth. In 2000, five years after his second solo outing appeared, Streetsoul (the third in the Jazzmatazz series) was issued, again featuring a stellar cast of supporting characters: Herbie Hancock, Isaac Hayes, the Roots, Erykah Badu, and Macy Gray. Wasting little time, Guru returned directly to the recording studio, issuing a follow-up one year later, Baldhead Slick & da Click.
Elam's first solo album not a part the Jazzmatazz series, Baldhead Slick & da Click, was released in 2001 to poor reviews. The album reached #22 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop album charts. The seventh chapter in the book of Guru, Version 7.0: The Street Scriptures, was released in 2005 on Elam's own record label, 7 Grand Records. The album was produced entirely by labelmate Solar. It reached #54 on the Billboard R&B albums charts and received mixed reviews. Elam's final releases were the fourth installment in the Jazzmatazz series, released in June 2007; and Guru 8.0: Lost And Found, released May 19, 2009 (also in collaboration with Solar). A Gang Starr reunion album was planned but will never be released because of Guru's death
On February 28, 2010, Elam went into cardiac arrest and, following surgery, fell into a coma. It was claimed that Guru had briefly awakened from his coma but died on April 19, 2010, at the age of 48, from cancer. Keith Elam (Guru) was survived by his parents, three siblings, and a son named Keith Casim.
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Jazz samples have had a large role in hip-hop, but the idea of rapping over actual live jazz wasn't truly fully realized until Gang Starr MC Guru created and released the first in his Jazzmatazz series in 1993, with guest musicians who included saxophonist Branford Marsalis (who had previously collaborated with DJ Premier and Guru for the track "Jazz Thing" on the Mo' Better Blues soundtrack), trumpeter Donald Byrd, vibraphonist Roy Ayers, guitarist Ronny Jordan, and keyboardist Lonnie Liston Smith, as well as vocalist N'Dea Davenport (Brand New Heavies) and French rapper MC Solaar. While Guru's rhymes can occasionally be a little weak, he delves into a variety of subject matter, from the problems of inner-city life to his own verbal prowess to self-improvement without ever sounding too repetitive, and his well-practiced flow fits well with the overall smooth, sultry, and intelligent feel of the album. From Jordan's solo on "No Time to Play" to Ayers' vibes expertise on "Take a Look (At Yourself)" to MC Solaar's quick and syllabic rhymes on "Le Bien, le Mal," Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 is a rap album for jazz fans and a jazz album for rap fans, skillful and smart, clean when it needs to be and gritty when that's more effective, helping to legitimize hip-hop to those who doubted it, and making for an altogether important release.
Guru ? Jazzmatazz Volume 1 (266mb)
01 Introduction 1:20
02 Loungin' 4:38
03 When You're Near 4:02
04 Transit Ride 3:58
05 No Time To Play 4:54
06 Down The Backstreets 4:47
07 Respectful Dedications 0:54
08 Take A Look (At Yourself) 3:59
09 Trust Me 4:27
10 Slicker Than Most 2:36
11 Le Bien, Le Mal 3:21
12 Sights In The City 5:10
Guru ? Jazzmatazz Volume 1 (98mb)
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The follow-up to the heavily acclaimed Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1. This album might not have quite as much jazz-rap power as the first volume did, but it's still quite good. Some of the big guns of jazz found their way into the album, including Branford Marsalis (who, of course, had already experimented with urban beats a bit with his Buckshot Lefonque project), Freddie Hubbard, Ramsey Lewis, and Kenny Garrett. Underground rapper Kool Keith (at this point still a member of the Ultramagnetics) also makes an appearance. Dancehall reggae princess Patra is included on a track, as are Chaka Khan and Me'Shell N'Degeocello; Jamiroquai helps out in another. In some ways, the personnel on this album may be slightly superior to the first outing, but the music also seems a tiny bit blander. Still, what makes the Jazzmatazz albums special is the live synthesis of jazz and rap. With Guru's vocals over the top of live jazz performers (as opposed the usual samples), interplay is facilitated between the two, and thus a whole new dimension is added to the fusion.
Guru ? Jazzmatazz Volume II The New Reality (418mb)
01 Intro (Light It Up) / Jazzalude I / New Reality Style 1:44
02 Lifesaver 4:13
03 Living In This World 4:29
04 Looking Through Darkness 4:48
05 Skit A (Interview) / Watch What You Say 5:00
06 Jazzalude II / Defining Purpose 1:02
07 For You 4:10
08 Insert A (Menthal Relaxation) Medicine 4:19
09 Lost Souls 4:12
10 Insert B (The Real Deal) / Nobody Knows 3:58
11 Jazzalude III / Hip Hop As A Way Of Life 1:17
12 Respect The Architect 4:51
13 Feel The Music 3:57
14 Young Ladies 4:12
15 The Traveler 4:01
16 Jazzalude IV / Maintaining Focus 1:18
17 Count Your Blessings 4:02
18 Choice Of Weapons 4:24
19 Something In The Past 3:19
20 Skit B (Alot On My Mind) / Revelation 4:35
Guru ? Jazzmatazz Volume II The New Reality (170mb)
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This third volume in Guru's Jazzmatazz series came not only after a five-year break, but at a time when the notion of jazz-rap was almost as antiquated as the '70s jazz-funk sound it helped resurrect back in the late '80s. Guru undoubtedly realized this, so instead of focusing strictly on jazz this time out, he made Streetsoul more of a roots album. With all the great contemporary R&B talent on display, though, any jazz-rap fans still left could hardly be annoyed with Guru's shift in focus from jazz to soul. A trinity of late-'90s soul divas -- Macy Gray, Erykah Badu, and Kelis -- each have features, and the swing-to-urban production behind Badu's contribution frames her vocal excellently. DJ Premier also shows up, contributing his usual excellent trackmaster skills to "Hustlin' Daze," with vocals by Donell Jones. Fellow rapcentrics the Roots make an appearance on the fight-for-your-right anthem "Lift Your Fist," and Guru inserts two pioneer tracks, Herbie Hancock's "Timeless" and Isaac Hayes' "Night Vision" near the end.
Guru ? Jazzmatazz Vol. 3 Streetsoul (395mb)
01 Intro 1:06
02 Keep Your Worries 4:57
03 Hustlin' Daze 4:46
04 All I Said 4:07
05 Certified 4:39
06 Plenty 4:38
07 Lift Your Fist 3:53
08 Guidance 4:02
09 Interlude (Brooklyn Skit) 0:51
10 Supa Love 3:54
11 No More 4:03
12 Where's My Ladies? 4:07
13 Night Vision 3:33
14 Who's There? 4:05
15 Mashin' Up Da World 5:20
16 Timeless 4:15
Guru ? Jazzmatazz Vol. 3 Streetsoul (154mb)
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Source: http://rho-xs.blogspot.com/2012/03/rhodeo-1211-grooves.html
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