Gang Starr Essentials

15 must-have songs from the influential rap duo.

Gang Starr, "Tonz 'O' Gunz" - Gang Starr lamented the ubiquity of guns on this banger from their 1994 album Hard to Earn. "Tons o' gunz real easy to get, tons o' gunz bringing nothing but death," Guru monotoned.  (Photo: Courtesy Virgin Records)

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Gang Starr Essentials - Three years ago today, April 19, Keith Elam, aka Guru, died after a long struggle with cancer. But rather than dig up the still unclear details of his death, we'd rather celebrate his life — in particular, the incredible, groundbreaking music he made as one half of Gang Starr. With the masterful DJ Premier at his side, Guru created hugely influential rap standards, timeless both in their lasting appeal and in their unchanging devotion to a traditional New York-centric blueprint that many hip hop artists still hedge to faithfully. Click on to see 15 essential, unforgettable Gang Starr classics that still define the duo's lasting legacy. —Alex Gale(Photo: Courtesy Virgin Records)

Manifest Destiny - The reborn Gang Starr made immediate waves with their debut single, "Manifest," off the album No More Mr. Nice Guy. The song gave an early glimpse at the pair's streetwise philosophy, Premo's slick sample-based beats, and, most of all, their undeniable chemistry.    (Photo: Courtesy Wild Pitch Records)

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"Manifest" - It all started here. Gang Starr's 1989 debut single "Manifest" precedes the hard-edged boom-bap formula they perfected in the decade to follow, but it still proved that this wasn't your typical rapper-DJ combo: Primo's cuts were impeccable, his use of a Charlie Parker sample was well ahead of its time and Guru's gravelly monotone was already finely tuned, perfectly suited for preaching philosophies clearly influenced by the Nation of Gods and Earth.(Photo: Courtesy Wild Pitch Records)

And All That Jazz - At a time when hip hop was obsessed with the funk breaks of James Brown, Gang Starr were one of the first to meld jazz and hip hop. "Manifest" hinted at the new fusion with its funky Charlie Parker sample, but the pair made it even more explicit with "Jazz Thing," from the soundtrack to Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues. The song name-dropped jazz greats, explained the music's history, and traced its evolution directly to hip hop.(Photo: Courtesy Chrysalis Records)

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"Jazz Thing" - "Manifest" gave listeners a glimpse of Gang Starr's jazz-influenced sound, but with "Jazz Thing" the duo went all out, giving listeners a walk through music history and explaining how it lives on through hip hop. Gang Starr's cross-genre fusion was a huge influence on later efforts by Digable Planets, A Tribe Called Quest and countless others. (Photo: Courtesy Chrysalis Records)

"Just to Get a Rep" - "Just to Get a Rep," the first single from the Gang's sophomore LP Step in the Arena, immediately announced they were already moving beyond the conscious raps and jazz samples that put them on the map, hinting at the harder beats and gritty street tales that defined their future work. Premo's use of an obscure sample from French electronic music pioneer Jean Jacques Perry raised the bar for crate diggers everywhere.(Photo: Courtesy Chrysalis Records)

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"Just to Get a Rep" - "Just to Get a Rep," the first single from the Gang's sophomore LP Step in the Arena, immediately announced they were already moving beyond the conscious raps and jazz samples that put them on the map, hinting at the harder beats and gritty street tales that defined their future work. Premo's use of an obscure sample from French electronic music pioneer Jean Jacques Perry raised the bar for crate diggers everywhere.(Photo: Courtesy Chrysalis Records)

"Step" It Up - 1991's Step in the Arena was a quantum leap forward for Gang Starr. Premo's drums hit harder, his cuts were even more surgically precise, and Guru was in top form, perfectly balancing rap boasts with uplifting corner-consciousness. Led by heaters such as "Just to Get a Rep" and "Who's Gonna Take the Weight," the album established the distinctive musical formula that would make the group one of the standard bearers for East Coast rap.  (Photo: Courtesy Chrysalis Records)

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"Who's Gonna Take the Weight" - Guru puts his Five Percenter philosophies on full display with this Step in the Arena banger, perfectly embodying the term "street knowledge." Meanwhile, Preem makes like the Bomb Squad with a mind-numbing siren loop, but then scratches it up with skillful precision, turning the turntable into a true instrument like never before. Nothing short of revolutionary.(Photo: Courtesy Chrysalis Records)

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"Take It Personal" - On this 1992 classic, with a sparse piano sample broken up by a hook that somehow turned a phone ringing and hiccup-y scratches into music, Premo discovered the stark soundtrack that best matched Guru's ice-cold delivery. His partner on the mic had clearly moved beyond the uplifting conscious raps of their first two albums, and it was hard to complain with results like this.(Photo: Courtesy Chrysalis Records)

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"Take It Personal" - On this 1992 classic, with a sparse piano sample broken up by a hook that somehow turned a phone ringing and hiccup-y scratches into music, Premo discovered the stark soundtrack that best matched Guru's ice-cold delivery. His partner on the mic had clearly moved beyond the uplifting conscious raps of their first two albums, and it was hard to complain with results like this.(Photo: Courtesy Chrysalis Records)

"Ex Girl to the Next Girl" - Guru is at his smoothest on this Daily Operation hit, unveiling his ladies' man persona over an amazing, filtered-out horn loop. Premo, meanwhile, turns an unlikely Chi Ali sample into an unforgettable Technics 1200 solo, proving he's one of the best ever on the turntables, and certainly the most musical.(Photo: Courtesy Chrysalis Records)

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"Ex Girl to the Next Girl" - Guru is at his smoothest on this Daily Operation hit, unveiling his ladies' man persona over an amazing, filtered-out horn loop. Premo, meanwhile, turns an unlikely Chi Ali sample into an unforgettable Technics 1200 solo, proving he's one of the best ever on the turntables, and certainly the most musical.(Photo: Courtesy Chrysalis Records)

Gang Starr, Daily Operation - One of rap's most consistent groups, Gang Starr was greater than the sum of its parts. On joints like "Take It Personal," from this acclaimed 1992 album, Guru's raspy monotone sounded that much better over Primo's chopped-up jazz breaks and surgical vocal scratches.(Photo: Chrysalis Records)

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"Stay Tuned" - The criminally slept-on closer from 1992's Daily Operation took hip hop to its experimental outer reaches. Guru expertly rides a sparse Primo beat in 6/8, most likely the first hip hop song that wasn't in a traditional 4/4 time signature. (Photo: Courtesy Chrysalis Records)

"Mass Appeal" - The first single from 1994's Hard to Earn hit hip hop like a splash of ice water to the face. Over a hypnotizingly monotonous, cascading melody punctuated by an unlikely vocal sample from Da Youngstas, Guru is at his stoic best, warning hip hop of the dangers of the commercialization that was just beginning in earnest.(Photo: Courtesy Virgin Records)

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"Mass Appeal" - The first single from 1994's Hard to Earn hit hip hop like a splash of ice water to the face. Over a hypnotizingly monotonous, cascading melody punctuated by an unlikely vocal sample from Da Youngstas, Guru is at his stoic best, warning hip hop of the dangers of the commercialization that was just beginning in earnest.(Photo: Courtesy Virgin Records)

Sort of the Boss - Gang Starr kept their foot on the neck of critics and doubters with 1994's Hard to Earn. The album found the duo eschewing their jazz-based past and Five Percenter philosophies for straight-ahead tough talk, smoked-out samples and Premo's trademark in-your-face drums, which basically defined the term boom-bap. Plus, it featured "Dwyck." 'Nuff said.  (Photo: Courtesy Chrysalis Records)

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"Dwyck" - Not only does "Dwyck," the Gang's classic collabo with Nice-N-Smooth, still pack parties almost two decades after its release, but it neatly encapsulates Gang Starr's blue-collar rap philosophy: hard-hitting drums, a muted bassline, masterful cuts and dope rhymes — what else do you need to make a dope hip hop song?(Photo: Courtesy Chrysalis Records)

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The Tonight Show (1992) - DJ Premier got a rare opportunity to teach before a Gang Starr performance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The show’s host joined Premo on stage for an impromptu demonstration (and explanation) of hip hop DJing. “This is like talking drums, so to speak,” Premier explained to Leno. “What I’m doing is taking a record that’s already made… I can make it into rhythmic pattern along with another record.”   (Photo: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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"Now You're Mine" - Originally featured on the White Men Can't Jump soundtrack — hence Guru's nonstop basketball metaphors — this song was in many ways Gang Starr's last jazz-rap excursion. Groups like Digable Planets had made the subgenre the Gang pioneered seem soft and left field, better suited for college dorms and coffee shops. But here Gang Starr showed that it could fit in just as well on the corner, or even the court.(Photo: Courtesy Wild Pitch Records)

"You Know My Steez" - Gang Starr announced their first album in four years with "You Know My Steez," proving that, although Premo had worked with Nas, Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z in the interim, even those greats didn't have the indescribable chemistry that the superproducer did with Guru. Premo's opening adlib ("It's the real...hip hop") became an official rallying cry for purists in an era obsessed with bling, shiny suits and million-dollar videos.(Photo: Courtesy Virgin Records)

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"You Know My Steez" - Gang Starr announced their first album in four years with "You Know My Steez," proving that, although Premo had worked with Nas, Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z in the interim, even those greats didn't have the indescribable chemistry that the superproducer did with Guru. Premo's opening adlib ("It's the real...hip hop") became an official rallying cry for purists in an era obsessed with bling, shiny suits and million-dollar videos.(Photo: Courtesy Virgin Records)

"Above the Clouds" - On this Moment of Truth standout, Premo's groundbreaking sample-chopping technique reaches its apex as he skillfuly slices a jazzy John Dankworth record into a kung-fu-flick banger. Guru takes on the role of wizened street sage, the counterpoint to a powerhouse verse from Wu Tang's Inspektah Deck.(Photo: Courtesy Chrysalis Records)

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"Above the Clouds" - On this Moment of Truth standout, Premo's groundbreaking sample-chopping technique reaches its apex as he skillfuly slices a jazzy John Dankworth record into a kung-fu-flick banger. Guru takes on the role of wizened street sage, the counterpoint to a powerhouse verse from Wu Tang's Inspektah Deck.(Photo: Courtesy Chrysalis Records)

You Can't Handle The "Truth" - After a four-year hiatus, during which Guru released another Jazzmatazz and Premo became one of the most-sought-after freelance producers in hip hop, Gang Starr returned with 1998's Moment of Truth. With Guru still on point and Premo showing off his new, hugely influential sample-chopping technique, the album seemed like a defiant hard-core rap middle-finger to the late-'90s shiny-suit era dominated by Diddy, Ma$e and Will Smith.  (Photo: Courtesy Virgin Records)

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"Moment of Truth" - The musical and emotional center of gravity to the duo's 1998 album of the same name, this stirring, orchestral track proved that Gang Starr's music could be introspective, inspiring and even downright beautiful. (Photo: Courtesy Virgin Records)

"Full Clip" - As the title track of their legacy-cementing (and gold-selling) 1999 greatest hits compilation, "Full Clip" came off like a mission statement, the exclamation point on an amazing career. Premier chopped up guitar skanks and a scratchy applause sample into a masterpiece, while Guru was at his cocky, moxied best. Do you wanna mess with this? No way.(Photo: Courtesy Virgin Records)

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"Full Clip" - As the title track of their legacy-cementing (and gold-selling) 1999 greatest hits compilation, "Full Clip" came off like a mission statement, the exclamation point on an amazing career. Premier chopped up guitar skanks and a scratchy applause sample into a masterpiece, while Guru was at his cocky, moxied best. Do you wanna mess with this? No way.(Photo: Courtesy Virgin Records)

"Right Where You Stand" - This highlight from 2003's The Ownerz — Gang Starr's first album in over five years, and the last before their split in 2005 — showed that while hip hop had changed around them, Premo and Guru not only hadn't, but didn't need to. Their tried-and-trued formula was as unique, rock-solid and timeless as ever. And nine years later, in 2012, that still hasn't changed.(Photo: Courtesy Virgin Records)

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"Right Where You Stand" - This highlight from 2003's The Ownerz — Gang Starr's first album in over five years, and the last before their split in 2005 — showed that while hip hop had changed around them, Premo and Guru not only hadn't, but didn't need to. Their tried-and-trued formula was as unique, rock-solid and timeless as ever. And nine years later, in 2012, that still hasn't changed.(Photo: Courtesy Virgin Records)