Rakaa Iriscience of acclaimed underground hip-hop group Dilated Peoples took the time to contribute some more personal feelings on the influence of Gang Starr on his career and on hip-hop, as well as some of his favorite tracks:
"The Gang Starr Foundation always welcomed Dilated Peoples as family, and we always saw Guru and Premier as our cool big brothers. I can't choose a favorite song because their work is truly part of the Hip Hop structure, but joints that come to mind right now include "Full Clip", "Mass Appeal", "Code of the Streets", "Step in the Arena", "DWYCK", "Ex Girl to Next Girl", and "You Know My Steez". "Conspiracy" is ill too. The first verse of "Take it Personal" actually inspired my song "Delilah"."Rakaa (Iriscience)
Dilated Peoples
Rock Steady Crew
Universal Zulu Nation
--
Rakaa...
Crown of Thorns
Before I close out this tribute with links to the aforementioned tracks for those not up on Guru or Gang Starr, the closing words of the article come from a friend, Brandon "DJ B-Roc" Foster. B-Roc can be heard every Friday at 7 pm Central Standard Time on WUSC, the official radio station of the University of South Carolina, with his hip-hop show "The B-Boy Life."
"Every genre has their groups that only belong to them. They maybe legends in a grand scheme of things, but they are exclusive to that genre. Rock has The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, and The Grateful Dead. Soul has The Dramatics, The Spinners, and Bloodstone. Hip-Hop is the culture we represent and we have groups that are just as great to us as the other genres have the artists that are great to them. We have The Cold Crush Brothers, Whodini, and EPMD. But one group that is legendary, and I'm proud to say we never had to share was Gang Starr. Guru and DJ Premier are important to the culture of hip-hop as being one of the most prolific rap groups of all-time. This MC and DJ combination is great on so many levels. By being true representatives of a culture, they fully displayed the art of emceeing and deejaying. While at times I feel that they should be universally hailed like some other groups, I am still proud that they are exclusively ours.
As many people may know, Guru died exactly one year ago. The last few years he was here, it is widely known that he and Premier had some issues. However, with this tragedy, this has been forgotten, because the Gang Starr legacy is better than any beef nonsense they had. While only being 22, Gang Starr has been a huge influence on me as far as rapping and being a DJ. Guru was the king of the monotone style but so highly skilled. DJ Premier is one of the top 3 greatest hip-hop producers of all-time, and one of the greatest DJ’s also. Premo has done countless works throughout the years that has been nothing short of legendary with the likes of The Notorious B.I.G., Nas, Snoop Dogg, M.O.P., Jay-Z, and many more. But the bulk of his legacy comes with his brother in crime Guru. Guru and Premo are not only the one of the best MC and DJ combos, but also one of the best MC and Producer combos. There have been tracks by them that have influenced me personally as a DJ and a rapper. I will go through some of them and show you the greatness and importance of Gang Starr to me.
"Mass Appeal" was such a dope track. Guru was representing that pure, raw, emotional hip-hop sound, and that track was like sitting you down teaching you what you need to do to be dope. His flow was just ridiculous. Guru makes one of the best rap tracks of all-time with this cut. He is telling these rappers to not sell their soul for exposure, but stay in your lane and make the dopest shit possible.
"Moment Of Truth" is one of those songs that give me chills everytime I hear it. I mean the way he opens up. "They say it’s lonely at the top but whatever you do. You always gotta watch muthafuckas around you. Nobody's invincible, no plan is bulletproof. We all must meet our Moment of Truth." That song has always been amazing because it is philosophy. He was expressing what all of us feel at certain points when things do not go our way in life. It is more of poetry than rapping. This is probably their most important song in my opinion.
One thing about Guru is his great intelligence. “Street Ministry” comes to mind because the one thing I love about Guru was the continuous knowledge he dropped on tracks. While “Street Ministry” is very short (in which Premo mentioned was an influence on his love of punk rock and new wave), it is effective with the message even if you crave just a few minutes more. Sign of genius to me.
"Soliloquy of Chaos" shows just how great Guru was. Guru could rap about how cool and dope he was, but I think where he was great was being a storyteller and talking about madness and chaos in a situation. His flow matched the beat perfectly well. He captured the chaos of what was going on around him, and made us at the listener so engaged to what was going on in this environment. One of the best rap songs I ever heard.
I could go all day on the gold that Gang Starr has. But I would like to thank Matt for publishing it on his website. If you are not on Gang Starr, you need to with a quickness. They present hip-hop in one of its purest and best forms. Much love to you all."
Brandon Foster aka DJ B-Roc Foster aka B-Fresh
Hip-Hop Since 1989
Fourth Year Broadcast Journalism/English Student
Hip-Hop Director at WUSC
What more can I say that these folks haven't said? I leave you with a playlist of Guru's finest tracks, chosen by hip-hop's finest themselves.
"Tonz o' Gunz," from 1994's Hard To Earn. Chosen by Wrekonize.
"Moment of Truth," from 1998's Moment of Truth. Chosen by Wrekonize, Greg Enemy, and DJ B-Roc.
"Skills," from 2003's The Ownerz. Chosen by Wrekonize.
"Soliloquy of Chaos," from 1992's Daily Operation. Chosen by Wrekonize and DJ B-Roc.
"Above the Clouds," featuring Inspectah Deck, from Moment of Truth. Chosen by Wrekonize and Stik Figa.
"Full Clip," from 1999's Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr. Chosen by Wrekonize, Big Scoob, Bizz Gotti, and Nesto the Owner.
"B.Y.S.," from Daily Operation. Chosen by Sean Price.
"In Memory of...," from Moment of Truth. Chosen by Mac Lethal.
"Manifest," from 1989's No More Mr. Nice Guy. Chosen by Big Scoob.
"Jazz Thing," from the 1990 Mo Better Blues soundtrack; performed by Gang Starr with the Branford Marsalis Quartet. Rereleased on Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr. Chosen by Big Scoob.
"Blowin' Up the Spot," from Hard To Earn. Chosen by Brother Ali.
"Mass Appeal," from Hard To Earn. Chosen by Cognito, Big Tigger, G-Macc, Dirtball, Fuzz Scoota, Rakaa Iriscience, and DJ B-Roc.
"All 4 tha Ca$h," from Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr. Chosen by Black Milk and cosigned by Great Mathias.
"Who's Gonna Take the Weight?," from 1991's Step In the Arena. Chosen by Planet Asia.
"Ex Girl To the Next Girl," from Daily Operation. Chosen by One.Be.Lo and Rakaa Iriscience.
"DWYCK," featuring Nice & Smooth, from Hard To Earn. Chosen by One.Be.Lo, Big Tigger, Consequence, Pacewon, and Rakaa Iriscience.
"Take It Personal," from Daily Operation. Chosen by Ill Bill, Steven Cooper, Necro, and Rakaa Iriscience.
"You Know My Steez," from Moment of Truth. Chosen by R.O.C., Swifty McVay, and Rakaa Iriscience.
"Loungin'," from Guru's solo debut Jazzmatazz, 1993. Chosen by Dirtball.
"Code of the Streets," from Hard To Earn. Chosen by Fuzz Scoota and Rakaa Iriscience.
"Step In the Arena," from Step In the Arena. Chosen by Krizz Kaliko and Rakaa Iriscience.
"Conspiracy," from Daily Operation. Chosen by Rakaa Iriscience.
"Battle," from 2002's 8 Mile soundtrack. Chosen by Great Mathias.
"The Militia," featuring Big Shug and Bumpy Knuckles, from Moment of Truth. Chosen by Great Mathias.
"Street Ministry," from Step In the Arena. Chosen by DJ B-Roc.
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