Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal

I’m late on this one, but it’s too important to gloss over, as April 19th marked the 1-year anniversary of the death of Guru. One of the most identifiable voices in hip-hop history, and one half of the Hall of Fame group Gang Starr, Guru along with DJ Premier, brought great hip-hop to us for over 15 years. While Premo continues to build on his legacy, we are left to remember and enjoy the career’s worth of fantastic music Guru left us.

Not only did Guru give us six albums worth of Gang Starr material, he also released four installments of his terrific Jazzmatazz series, a fusion of hip-hop and jazz music, as well as several other solo endeavors. Gang Starr helped introduce us to Jeru The Damaja, Big Shug and Group Home, and had dozens of outstanding collaborations with acts like M.O.P., Nice & Smooth, Freddie Foxxx, Jadakiss, Fat Joe and Inspectah Deck.

1994’s Hard To Earn marked my first real listening interest in Gang Starr, as No More Mr. Nice Guy (1989), Step In The Arena (1991) and Daily Operation (1992) offered me a glimpse, but I didn’t pay as much attention when those albums were released. Call it youthful ignorance.

Guru and Premier kept elevating their game, as 1998’s Moment of Truth remains my favorite Gang Starr album. And all though their final group album hit shelves eight years ago, there’s no denying Gang Starr’s influence on hip-hop to this day.

R.I.P. Guru, one of hip-hop's finest.

And now, your 20-song Guru playlist:

20. Keep Your Worries (feat. Angie Stone)
19. Trust Me (feat. N’Dea Davenport)
18. No More Mr. Nice Guy
17. Take It Personal
16. Step In The Arena
15. Who Got Gunz (feat. Fat Joe & M.O.P.)
14. Suckas Need Bodyguards
13. Moment of Truth
12. 1/2 & 1/2 (feat. M.O.P.)
11. Just To Get A Rep
10. Skills
9. Royalty (feat. K-Ci & Jo-Jo)
8. Ex-Girl To the Next Girl
7. The Militia (feat. Big Shug & Freddie Foxxx)
6. Mass Appeal
5. Rite Where U Stand (feat. Jadakiss)
4. Full Clip
3. DWYCK (feat. Nice & Smooth)
2. You Know My Steez
1. Code of the Streets

As as special bonus, I’m throwing one more track in there. This is the Song of the Day, “Work,” from ‘98’s Moment of Truth. Thought it was appropriate since it’s my day off!