writers connection

Gang Starr

R.I.P. Keith Elam

Born July 17, 1962; Died Apr. 19, 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud2gJVMyHkU

—

source: http://www.ohhla.com/

Artist: GangStarr
Album: Moment of Truth
Song: New York Strait Talk
Typed by: OHHLA Webmaster DJ Flash

“From New York straight talk, America’s best” (3X)
“Yo I’m not new to this I’m true to this” -> Apocalipse
“Word up!”
“From New York straight talk… America’s best”

[Guru]
Yo, it doesn’t make sense, for you to compete against
this New York vibe that gets your whole body tense
Calm down, listen to a brother who knows
Cause the rappers out here come up with mad different types of flows
Switch-up, change-up, yo pull the range up
so we can build on this shit, for real that’s how we came up
Used to ride the subway trains back and forth
Now I push an E-Class, four-two-zero of course
Still material gains, make one more aware
of all the madness and the civil unrest that’s out here
I doubt there, is anyplace more complex
You can get lost in the sauce, New York’ll have you vexed
Who’s next to get served, herbs’ll get knocked off
Burning flammable rappers, is how I get my rocks off
I pop your top off as if you were the bottle
then I’ll drain all your fluid, you’re better off playing lotto
Bright lights, big city and the dark alleyways
New York we get the money all day everyday

“From New York straight talk, America’s best”
“Yo I’m not new to this I’m true to this” -> Apocalipse
“Word up!”
“From New York straight talk… America’s best”

[Guru]
True if you can make it out here, you can make it anywhere
That means a lot of rappers, they should stay away from here
cause we still care, about the total artform
Niggaz could sell more records but they still can’t flip a live forum
Plus everybody out here ain’t talkin true shit either
Mad niggaz is fakin jacks, I don’t like them neither
But the competition keeps me on point
that’s why I lamp in the studio composin fresh new joints
from the streets, Medina, Manhattan, Staten, P-Lawn
The struggle continues, everybody wants to be on
The rat race, makes this lifestyle fast paced
I’ve loved it since the days of fat shoelace
Screwface me all you want, but I’m used to it
I’ll never give up rep in New York, I’m true to it
From forty-deuce to Queens, back to East New Yi
We takin no shorts, and plus we showin no pity
Bright lights, big city and the dark alleyways
New York, we get the money all day everyday

“From New York… straight talk…”
“Yo.. I’m.. not.. new.. to.. this”
“America’s best” “Word up!”
“From New York straight talk, America’s best”
“Yo I’m not new to this I’m true to this” -> Apocalipse
“Word up!”
“From New York straight talk… America’s best”

[Guru]
You get bent up, sent up creek, without a paddle
You wanna battle? Well I live in New York
so think twice blink twice now your Roley and Lincoln’s gone
Don’t come into this rap game if you don’t belong
You won’t be on but for a minute anyway
You’re just a scavenger, you don’t live this life everyday
Rap is regional, so you can check the demographics
Everybody represent where they live, cause shit is drastic
confusion, while I’m givin rappers contusions
And people don’t realize that real hip-hop is losing
They wanna shut us down, and I say, “Shut up clown!”
Cause New York is too corrupt and too tough to lay down
and just quit, cause MC’s out here kick serious lyrics
And I come to you, with my infinite spirit
Not takin nothin from your hood or your set
But GangStarr could be a threat, in New York we rep
That’s where it comes from, that’s why you’re feelin it
So why supress it, I’d rather be revealin it
Bright lights, big city and dark alleyways
New York we get the money all day everyday

“From New York straight talk… America’s best”

—

RIP GURU BLENDS mixed by DFace DXA 2010 — http://www.bluntedastronaut.com/2010/11/22/dxa-records-presents-r-i-p-guru-blends/

—

Ronnie Jordan meets DJ Krush feat. Guru “Season For Change (Dawn Of The Season Mix)”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ7hoUAER6k

[Verse 1: Guru]
Rotten scum has found its way to power
Time to protect projects, check the hour
I’m fed worse than just angry
Ready for action, baby
Not gettin’ lazy, not goin’ crazy
Cause I’ma make something happen
Not when just a member when I’m rappin’
For real, and it’s amazing to me
How suckas be hopelessly fakin’ to be
Somebody on-point and influential
Yet they got no talent and never had no potential
Cause they lack the bear essential
Strength of the mental, the soulful vocals
Crushing all you ugly oculs
People try to rate me like I’m the pulse
But then they find that I’m the most
Too complex when I’m vexed
And right about now I’ma wreck your game
Yeah, this is the season for a change

[Hook x2: Guru]
This is the season, this is the season
This is the season, for a change

[Verse 2: Guru]
And if this is offensive than take it personal
You start to squint from my lines and so I’m hurtin’ you
But I ain’t on no mission to be wishin’ you no bad luck
I put you down, so you know what’s up
You need to change your perspective
Peep the rhyme, that’s corrective, selective
To speak facts that’s my objective
I mess with a little bit of this flow and that if
And then the little bit start to sound fat, and
S-M-double-O-T-H
Believe me, the feeling yo it’s worth to wait
But I still can’t stand those, who try to front
Because they soft as butter rolls
A kid gets a gun, he feels he needs one
Either he shoots one or else he gets done
And what’s the purpose of this tragic outcome
It’s always easier to shift the blame
But ehm this is the season for a change

[Hook x3]

[Verse 3: Guru]
You cosmetic freak your style is weak and cornballed
And even worse when you speak
I put a lid on it and sit on it a bit
Don’t even do it to yourself
Just be glad you got your health
Cut the bull, stop the nonsense
You’re tryin’ to get props under false pretense
But I came just to wreck ya game
This is the season for a change

[Hook x4]

Rammellzee, aka The Ramm:Ell:Zee, aka RAMMΣLLZΣΣ, aka Hytestyr, aka EG (Evolution Griller The Master Killer), aka Sharissk Boo, aka Razz, è scomparso da qualche giorno a Queens, New York City.

Senza ombra di dubbio Rammellzee è stato uno dei più grandi writers di tutti i tempi (il primo ad aver esposto le sue opere hip hop alla biennale dell’arte di Venezia nel 1979) pioniere della cultura hip hop e dell’hardcore rap. Riposa in pace.

Tellus-3_10_Isaac_Jackson-Excerpts_from_Messages.mp3 — featuring The Rammellzee

source: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/rammellzee-graffiti-artist-dies-at-49/ 

June 30, 2010, 4:12 pm
Rammellzee, Graffiti Artist, Dies at 49
By RANDY KENNEDY

Rammellzee,
an early graffiti writer, hip-hop pioneer and performance artist whose
style influenced the Beastie Boys and Cypress Hill, died Sunday in Far
Rockaway, Queens, where he was raised. He lived in Battery Park City in
Manhattan.

He was 49 and died after a long illness, said his wife, Carmela Zagari Rammellzee.

He
became known in graffiti circles in the late 1970s and early 1980s for
hitting the A train and other subway lines around Queens with his
spiky-lettered work. He appeared in one of the most important graffiti
and hip-hop films, Charlie Ahearn’s “Wild Style.” In 1983 his
on-again-off-again friend, the painter Jean-Michel Basquiat, helped
produce and illustrated the record cover for “Beat Bop,” a 12-inch
single by Rammellzee and K-Rob that became one of Rammellzee’s
best-known performances and a hip-hop touchstone. It became the
unofficial theme song for Henry Chalfant and Tony Silver’s graffiti
documentary “Style Wars.”

He was an eccentric, outsize figure
almost never photographed without wearing one of the elaborate
science-fiction inspired masks and costumes that he made along with the
sculpture and paintings that became the mainstays of his career in
later years. He fashioned himself as an urban philosopher, whose
overarching theory, which he called Gothic Futurism, posited that
graffiti writers were trying to liberate the mystical power of letters
from the structures of modern alphabetical standardization, and had
inherited this mission in part from medieval monks.

“He didn’t
separate his fantastic work from his life,” Mr. Ahearn said. “So when
he spoke to you, he often spoke in character and that could sometimes
be upsetting.” He legally changed his name to Rammellzee when he was
younger, Mr. Ahearn said. As for the name he was born with, Mr. Ahearn
said that he knew it, but would keep it to himself, in keeping with his
friend’s wishes.

A full obituary will appear in The New York Times.

——- 

Rammellzee intervistato da Frigidaire (1984) — http://writers-connection.noblogs.org/post/2007/04/24/ramm-ell-zee-intervista-1984

——- 

Rammellzee explains "the equation"

——- 

links:

Ramm:Ell:Zee official website — http://www.gothicfuturism.com/

Ionic Treatise Gothic Futurism Assassin Knowledges Of The Rimanipulated Square Point’s — http://www.gothicfuturism.com/rammellzee/01.html

Rammellzee NY Times obituary — http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/arts/02rammellzee.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=rammellzee&st=cse 

wikipedia info — http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rammellzee

Ramm:Ell:Zee video collection — http://writers-connection.noblogs.org/post/2010/01/28/the-ramm-llz-video-collection

one of my favorite Guru’s rap ever, taken from the “Bad Brothers. Ronnie Jordan Meets DJ Krush” album

Season For Change (Dawn Of The Season Mix)

lyrics

[Verse 1 – Guru]
Rotten scum has found its way to power
Time to protect projects, check the hour
I’m fed worse than just angry
Ready for action, baby
Not gettin’ lazy, not goin’ crazy
Cause I’ma make something happen
Not when just a member when I’m rappin’
For real, and it’s amazing to me
How suckas be hopelessly fakin’ to be
Somebody on-point and influential
Yet they got no talent and never had no potential
Cause they lack the bear essential
Strength of the mental, the soulful vocals
Crushing all you ugly oculs
People try to rate me like I’m the pulse
But then they find that I’m the most
Too complex when I’m vexed
And right about now I’ma wreck your game
Yeah, this is the season for a change
[Hook – Guru](2X)
This is the season, this is the season
This is the season, for a change
[Verse 2 – Guru]
And if this is offensive than take it personal
You start to squint from my lines and so I’m hurtin’ you
But I ain’t on no mission to be wishin’ you no bad luck
I put you down, so you know what’s up
You need to change your perspective
Peep the rhyme, that’s corrective, selective
To speak facts that’s my objective
I mess with a little bit of this flow and that if
And then the little bit start to sound fat, and
S-M-double-O-T-H
Believe me, the feeling yo it’s worth to wait
But I still can’t stand those, who try to front
Because they soft as butter rolls
A kid gets a gun, he feels he needs one
Either he shoots one or else he gets done
And what’s the purpose of this tragic outcome
It’s always easier to shift the blame
But ehm this is the season for a change
[Hook](3X)
[Verse 3 – Guru]

Guru R.I.P. (July 17, 1966 – April 19, 2010)

I, Guru, am writing this letter to my fans, friends and loved ones
around the world. I have had a long battle with cancer and have
succumbed to the disease. I have suffered with this illness for over a
year. I have exhausted all medical options.

I have a non-profit
organization called Each One Counts dedicated to carrying on my
charitable work on behalf of abused and disadvantaged children from
around the world and also to educate and research a cure for this
terrible disease that took my life. I write this with tears in my eyes,
not of sorrow but of joy for what a wonderful life I have enjoyed and
how many great people I have had the pleasure of meeting.

My
loyal best friend, partner and brother, Solar, has been at my side
through it all and has been made my health proxy by myself on all
matters relating to myself. He has been with me by my side on my many
hospital stays, operations, doctors visits and stayed with me at my
home and cared for me when I could not care for myself. Solar and his
family is my family and I love them dearly and I expect my family,
friends, and fans to respect that, regardless to anybody’s feelings on
the matter. It is my wish that counts. This being said I am survived by
the love of my life, my sun KC, who I trust will be looked after by
Solar and his family as their own. Any awards or tributes should be
accepted, organized approved by Solar on behalf myself and my son until
he is of age to except on his own.

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. I had nothing to do with him in life for over 7 years and want
nothing to do with him in death. Solar has my life story and is well
informed on my family situation, as well as the real reason for
separating from my ex-DJ. As the sole founder of GangStarr, I am very
proud of what GangStarr has meant to the music world and fans. I
equally am proud of my Jazzmatazz series and as the father of
Hip-Hop/Jazz. I am most proud of my leadership and pioneering efforts
on Jazzmatazz 4 for reinvigorating the Hip-Hop/Jazz genre in a time
when music quality has reached an all time low. Solar and I have toured
in places that I have never been before with GangStarr or Jazzmatatazz
and we gained a reputation for being the best on the planet at
Hip-Hop/Jazz, as well as the biggest and most influential Hip-Hop/Jazz
record with Jazzmatazz 4 of the decade to now. The work I have done
with Solar represents a legacy far beyond its time. And we as a team
were not afraid to push the envelope. To me this is what true artists
do! As men of honor we stood tall in the face of small mindedness,
greed, and ignorance. As we fought for music and integrity at the cost
of not earning millions and for this I will always be happy and proud,
and would like to thank the million fans who have seen us perform over
the years from all over the world. The work I have done with Solar
represents a legacy far beyond its time and is my most creative and
experimental to date. I hope that our music will receive the attention
it deserves as it is some of the best work I have done and represents
some of the best years of my life.

Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal R.I.P.

Gang Starr "You know my steez" 

Guru r.i.p.

Guru and Gang Starr video compilation

Malcolm McLaren
(Londra, 22
gennaio 1946
– New
York, 8 aprile 2010)

É scomparso ieri a New York mr. Malcolm MacLaren, un genio della musica, del marketing e della moda.
Noto per essere stato il manager di bands leggendarie quali New York Dolls e Sex Pistols, creatore del punk inglese, agitatore e truffatore, è stato anche uno dei pionieri dell’hiphop old skool insieme al World Famous Supreme Team con l’lp "Duck Rock" e i singoli "Hobo scratch", "Buffalo gals", "Would you like more scratching?" e "D’ya like scratchin’?" considerati tutt’oggi vere e proprie pietre miliari dello scratch.

Ciao Malcolm

art: Keith Haring

RIP

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_McLaren

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1qydwnT_fc