R.I.P. GURU

So sad to hear that Guru, the legendary MC from the great Gang Starr, died today. Making things worse, a "letter" from Guru pretty much dissed his Gang Starr partner, DJ Premier, saying "I do not wish my ex-DJ to have anything to do with my name, likeness, events, tributes etc. connected in anyway to my situation including any use of my name or circumstance for any reason and I have instructed my lawyers to enforce this." Of course, there's lots of skepticism about whether or not he even wrote this: people think that MC Solar is behind the letter, as he seemed to control communications with Guru when he was ill a few months back. MTV News has a quote from Solar addressing this, he of course says that Guru wrote the letter. Questlove of The Roots rarely has a bad thing to say about anyone, but he ripped on this letter and on Guru's post-Gang Starr material with Solar in an extended tweet.

But you know what?  What's done is done.  If you are a fan, or if you are wondering why people care, check out MTV's post Guru's Best and listen to all of them. Longtime No Expiration readers know that I'm not a big fan of current hip-hop, listen to this and you'll know why.  Great MCing, great beats and tracks, no b.s.

GURU: RECOVERING

Allhiphop.com reports that Guru released a statement saying that he has recovered from surgery following his heart attack this weekend. There's some controversy about this, because he mentions that "Solar is the only person who has the accurate info on my situation. Any info from anybody else is false!" "Solar," I think, is MC Solaar, who he has collaborated with for years. "Anybody else" probably refers to his family, who have reportedly said that Solaar is blocking thier access to Guru, and Guru's former bandmate in Gang Starr, DJ Premier, who has been tweeting about Guru (mainly just saying that everyone should pray for him). Weird situation, but I'm glad he's ok.