Here you have it, one of my favourite emcees of all time completely succumbing to industry pressure and displaying one of the most confusing, frustrating, and irritating listens in recent memory. His distinctive voice is one of the many reasons why I grew to love the art I now passionately write about. Remember, “Cause MC’s have used up extended warranties/ While real MC’s and DJ’s are a minority/ But right about now, I use my authority/ Cause I’m like the Wizard and you look lost like Dorothy” on “You Know My Steez”? I sure do, which is why this new track of his, “Fastlane,” an auto-tone fueled crap-fest that has Guru talking about those same suckers he wanted to body on the aforementioned “Steez,” is one of the most cringe-worthy moments in recent hip hop; and that’s saying a hell of a lot.
I mean, I wanted to write a whole article about why I hate this whole thing with a tremendous passion, but it’s bigger than this one song. Guru was never the most talented lyricist heavily because he could never match the articulate and specific nature of Premier’s production. He had an arsenal of stuff to rely on and we saw true amounts of his skill on Moment of Truth and Daily Operation specifically. He was never shy to drop some of the worst lines in hip hop, “Lemonade is a popular drink and it still is,” but he was always true and loyal to himself and the art. His Jazzmatazz series even held a great amount of integrity to hip hop and may have suffered content wise because of this dedication to the history of the art.
Guru was never one to succumb to the pressure of hip hop’s criticisms or analysis; he was always Guru no matter how bad or how good. Contradictions are seen throughout hip hop plenty of times, but mostly through the newer school of acts as opposed to the old school purists. “Fastlane” essentially details everything Guru has been against for his career. I haven’t heard any other songs off of anything upcoming from him, and who knows, it could be totally different. Ideally, I want to say that this was “genius” by Guru to do this and show how he has given in to hip hop and is now taking the fastlane to success, but truly, is THIS going to make him succeed? He sold loads and loads of records with Premier and became one of the biggest underground hip hop successes in recent memory. This makes him a laughing stock.
Clearly, I can’t comprehend my feelings about this song. At first I was speechless, then I was mad, then I was frustrated, then I was dumbfounded. I had spent most of my life in hip hop sticking up for Guru because I truly thought that he was a definitive emcee. But this, this I can’t stand up for. As mentioned, he could use this to prove a point, but the lyrics within the song never really exemplify his meaning; it’s just more of his typical battle raps. So, please, if someone can help me understand this or just gather my thoughts because evidently they are all over the place in this vent, please do so.
{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!
I’m truly saddened to hear this. Bills must be piling up or something…. I think he has more to lose than gain by putting out stuff like this.
Sean, I feel ya. What’s ironic is that 3 weeks ago he did a show in my country and ordered the audience to tell any commercial US rappers who might come here in the future to “take that whack shit home”… At the same thing, the thing people remembered most about that gig was him going “brrrratatat fiiire!!” every 2 minutes like some kiddie rapper…
The thing with Guru is that he’s been falling off (or as some people put it “getting old”) for a while and has been pulling some bizarre stunts for a minute now. That “Street Scripture” thing, which he hyped like a mutha, was basically a let-down. Also, I really don’t agree with his constant insisting on Solaar being such a wonderful producer and musician: most of the last Jazzmatazz’s beats were easy loops, like the song with Common (I’ll post the original for those who don’t believe).
Don’t get me wrong, I feel entirely like Sean, Guru used to be one of my favorite emcees, and he’d probably still be if he did things like the first one or two jazzmatazzes cos that style would suit his age. He’s a prime example of old rappers trying hard to be relevant and make a buck but makin a tit of themselves in the process (like LL Cool J). Then you’ve got cats like GZA, Kool G Rap etc who are equally old but don’t compromise their style.
On the other hand, there’s always the chance that he did this for the same reason I recently made some crunk-hyphy-MTV-whatever-type of beats: I was saying all the time that all that MTV crap is so easy and minimalistic until I asked myself that if I’d be challenged to do one like that it might turn out not to be so easy. So I made some beats I would never rap over personally, but does this mean I’m selling out? Don’t think so
oh what the hell – i might actually even rap over one of them shits just to prove my point that it’s piss-easy too
WTF? Guru is gonna lose respect from his core audience…… what was he thinking?
this must be a sign that the end of the world is near …lol
I think that Guru lost it looong time ago. Around the time when he dropped ‘ballhead slick & tha click”
He should’ve left it alone after The Ownerz.
He been fell off for a minute but this is just shameful. Was “super-producer” Solaar behind this? haha
I keep coming back here to check, and hope it was just a bad dream. That track is so horrible… aweful…
the headline says it all. im sad
He’s attempting to evolve. Accept change and realize that everyone’s not gonna respect it.
Guru on Auto Tune and he said the word SWAGGER in his last verse !!!!!
hahah …. unfuckinbelievable
Why?!!!! C’mon man….
This is sad! Very, very sad! He would be so much more respected if he releases new music with his usual style but this? No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SUPER-producer Solaar? He couldn’t fill Preem’s shoes, if he was wearing 5 pairs of socks. I wonder if I can get the Hip Hop Police, to investigate this very strange incident. Guru + Autotune = Hip Hop is truly dying!
Maaan, ever since him and Preem split and he started working with this Solaar douche, he has just gone downhill very fast. I only got through the first verse of this track and then I felt puke coming out my mouth. Yuck.
But on a real note, thank god for all the other dope hip-hop that has come out this year, I feel truly blessed…
Isn’t he late with this April Fool’s joke ? I thought April Fool’s day was last month…I vote for this song being the #1 phucked up track of 2009, lol
I thought this was a joke, but then I got a hold of an advance copy of the new album. The whole album is a joke! Man oh man, am I disappointed Why couldn’t he just stick with the Jazzmatazz series?!? What’s next? T-Pain on a Preemo beat?
this is jaw-dropping….like outta all the emcees i would NEVER in a million years think Guru would be on that…smh
“Old man Epic FAIL!” hahahahahahahahhahahaha
ya i hear u Kevin…. did you hear when he said “my swagger come across” in the last verse?
that was the icing on the already bad tasting cake for me…. lol
Word Swagger = Played Out
Auto Tune = Played out
One Mic, I thought the quotations would give away that I was being sarcastic. You know whats funny too, Guru’s Twitter says “Hip-Hop Legend Guru” too. It’s like the wacker he got, the more arrogant he got.
That’s cool Vatkeezy! I know what you meant. Did you see the recent interview with Guru and Soolar? Shameless Shit, man! Shameless Shit!
Man, I have spent All my life sticking up for real hip hop, constantly fighting in its corner. And i always felt no matter what happended, wether we were hit with Flo rida, Soulja boy, DFB or who ever, you always had real, banging beats, lyrically astounding hip hop. In my personal opinion, Guru and Dj premier were at the forefront. Now?? Another peice of Hip hop seems dead. As much as i love guru and his work….i feel without Preemo… guru was always Ham, with No burger….
Unfortuanltely Now evreytime i hear a gangstarr track, I’ll hear this in my head! Thanks Guru!……time to Break out the Instrumental LP’s i think!
Kev, LMAO… if T-Pain is ever on a Preemo track it’ll sound better than this shit, lol
If he was gonna use auto tune….then at least use it to produce something worth while. lol. I’ll have to co sign….T-Pain over a Preemo beat would be better than this. Remember what Phonte said in “Homage to Premier” and Premier’s ability to make below average emcee’s and singers above average.
“lemonade is a popular…..” was always the that got people hype when he spit it in the song….at least when I was growing up…..I am advancing in age daily.
I don’t feel bad for Guru at all. I think he is just stupid. If he’s without Primo he should do Jazzmatazz Records. This type of music never get old. I saw Guru at a show in my city as well. He was waayy to drunk. He should get his shit together before it gets really ridicolous…
Kev. . .first and foremost. .Guru isnt a great M.C. he just makes great songs but with premo
playing John Stockton who aint? This is a act of desperation… I think him and Premo (whos one of my favorite producers) are both on the verge of ending their own careerz …
premo aint exactly on top of his game right now…. hate to say it but. . he falling off too!!
I agree
i never thought guru was that dope (he had a handful of tracks that i thought he actually flowed nice on) his lyrics were usually good but the flow was so-so
95% of the reason i was a huge gangstarr fan was cause of Primo
I mean imagine when Gangstarr came out if it wasnt Guru spittin…
imagine Gangstarr was Preemo/Nas or Preemo/KRS or Primo/Jeru or Primo/Royce
would have been sick
i dont wanna seem like a hater but i always found gurus voice n flow were whatever
I died a little bit when I heard this. I’m with you Kev, my hip-hop adolescence grew up on Guru and Primo. It just hurts to listen to this
I didnt even want to see this…. Ive been reading all the comments and I personally dont want to see this man destroy his whole career with that douche bag Solar. …. Preemo needs to get him back from that dude …. its just ridiculous……
I guess this isn’t going to bring back New York Hip Hop!!!! A little levity…come on!!! Gangstarr’s legacy will be forever intact regardless of what comes out henceforth!!!! This is kinda tough to listen to.
…after reading all the comments…i’m too scared to listen.
lets pour a little liquor for a long serving, fallen soldier… sigh!
My ears are playing tricks on me !!!! I didn’t hear that just now for real did I ??? This is not REAL …..The same cat that rapped about how everyone sampling James Brown was played? Don’t change with the times,CHANGE THE TIMES !!!!! Come back to us brother ,come back.
lol lately i found my old life after death cd and have been playing it non stop. I keep thinking its got many commercial qualities to it, but its also really damm good. Big has some catchy choruses and shit but its still fire throughout.
This has all the bad aspects of a commercial song and nothing else good about it. And Even if this wasnt Guru, it would still suck ass.
I feel that he’s using auto-tune to make a point. Sounds like he’s dissing the music out today that’s on the radio & Stating the fact that 2days artists are taking the fastlane & not taking there time to build a career. Wanting to come out #1. 2pac didn’t Kanye didn’t but they became that through hard work & perseverance.
one of the most lyrically gifted cats in the world,a man who inspired millions and whose rhymes are quoted daily does something like this?? nightmare….
This is my first time checking the comments on this post and I have a few things to respond to
1) I think T-Pain and Premier would sound tremendous as hell, you know why? Because Premier would adapt to such a skill that T Pain has evidently mastered. I’m a huge T Pain fan (”Why T Pain is so Great” article coming soon).
2) To BangHard, who said that Premier is on the downfall of his career, I must disagree. He may not be in the prime he was in the mid 90’s, but he’s also not making beats as frequently. I fail to see how jams like “That White,” all of his work on the Term album, and much of his new Blaq Poet stuff isn’t typical Premier. I think he’s still got loads of fire.
I also disagree with you saying that Guru isn’t a good emcee, but there are plenty of people who’ve never liked him
Guru has always been an average lyricist that got over on his voice and Primo’s beats. He completely deteriorated his relationship with Primo, so don’t hold your breath thinking they will get back together. Matter of fact, his lyrics on “Now You’re Mine” were directed at Primo. Primo said so himself in an interview we did w/ him.
GODDAMMN?? No more Jazzmatazz?!?? hahaha
Soon its gonna be like GURU FEATURING LIL’ WAYNE, DJ KHALED & BIRDMAN hahahaha Whaaaaaat the fuck?!?! somebody wake him up god damn it!!!
Yeah Keezy, I heard that in another interview he did with someone else, it wasn’t you guys though. But yeah, I expect that though, it gets heated in the booth. Erick and Parish went at it lyrically all the time together
ok
everyone here loves real hip hop right? yeah. Whatever it might be(real hip hop), it has transcended into the realm of just ‘music’. Hip Hop has been around for a long time now people. Lyrics, beats, swagger, personality and the street play a small part of the big picture. Auto tune doesn’t necessarily mean he’s selling out. I love music, I LOVE hip hop. But times are changing! I loved 808’s and Heartbreak becasue it came from a real place that i felt instantly as a human being, the fresh 808 sound and production was appealing as well to say the least. You cant be true to hip hop just for the sake of it. Hip Hop is life and life is complicated. Guru made his mark already, respect him for that, but a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do. Try your best to make sense of where his coming from. Listen to his lyrics close and listen to them again and again if your a true fan. Try to feel what he’s trying to express and if you dont feel anything, relax and say to yourself ‘my man Guru is trying something new but i aint feelin it, it aint ‘mass appeal’ or even ‘gangstarr’ its just ‘above the clouds’ lol
@ Sean Deez- I hear alot a premo joints that I like .. but on the same token when i see something posted saying produced by preme.. most of the time im disappointed. He chopps samples with precision. .but he’s not on top of his game right now.. but one thing that is a fact .. he does bring the best out of mc’s. Im not sure about Guru even thou. .. the song “Moment of Truth” is one of my favorite songs . . Guru isnt in my top 25 mcs.. but gangstarr falls in my top 25 groups
I think if you are talking about Duo’s, Gangstarr has got to fall in your top 3 because of their discog, their chemistry, and their track record.
But what recently, “Produced by Premier,” joint isn’t impressing you?
“MVP” perhaps?
Are you Serious?? I Offically Lost respect for this Nigga
i couldnt even listen past the first minute…hearing guru’s voice on autotune honestly just freaked me out. “sometimes u gotta take the fast lane????”…guru??? u gotta be fucking kidding me.
I thought sumthin was wrong wit my speakers, but it was the attack of the AUTOTUNE! *Ques the drums*
I’m wondering what is goin on in hip-hop. This shyt is trash no doubt.
boy you’ve all got your panties in a bunch because Guru used autotune.he can use it if he wants to and he can innovate with it too.what, everyone else gets to use it but Guru?it doesn’t mean hip hop is dead,it just means Guru’s open to try new things,you are all making out like it’s some horrific thing…but it isn’t….and haters will use it as an excuse, like they always do, to write off an entire album.you all are missing out on some great music,it’s a great album front to back.and please no more “fairweather” fans who claim to be true fans(”i always loved hip hop,but now i don’t')….and someone said Guru was drunk?!!!Guru hasn’t drank for many years,doesn’t smoke marijuana,is a vegetarian.now that is a jive lie that you saw him drunk unless it was in the 90’s or something…get some therapy for yourselves people and then join us in 2009….
Thanks for the contributions Guru…
but why did you sell out?
movingsidewalk = “Super Producer Solaar”