The details surrounding the last months of Keith “Guru” Elam of Gang Starr’s life have been dogged by rumors, in-fighting, and questionable statements.
The family of the Gang Starr MC released a statement today that gives credence to those who question the legitimacy of Guru’s alleged final letter to his fans and are alarmed by all of the conflicting information that’s been publicly released.
“The Elam family wishes to thank the fans of our son/brother/father uncle/nephew/cousin Keith, a.k.a. Guru, for the outpouring of love, concern and support,” the statement reads. “Our hearts are broken by the loss of someone we loved so much. Guru was devoted to his young son, who will most keenly feel his absence.”
According to the family, the MC and Morehouse College graduate had suffered from the aggressive cancer multiple myeloma for over a year and mounting complications from that illness led him to suffer respiratory failure and cardiac arrest last month.
“As a result, Guru was in a coma from mid-February until his death and never regained consciousness,” the statement continues. “Early on the morning of April 19th, he became hypertensive due to low blood pressure. He again went into cardiac arrest and slipped away from us.
“Guru died far too young but he was, and we are, proud of all his many legendary musical contributions.”
The family said it is not aware of any foundation established by Guru to which fans can send donations, but they are working out a memorial at which admirers can pay their respects.
“We know and understand that countless fans want to express their condolences and love and, to that end, we are planning a memorial event in the near future that will be all-inclusive,” the statement read. “Please look for further details from the family as they become available.”
This statement raises quite a few questions regarding the letter released yesterday by Guru and his musical partner over the last few years, Solar. These statements claimed that Guru did indeed come out of his coma, and that the words contained in the statement released yesterday were made “from his own mouth.”
So did Guru come out of his coma or not? And if he didn’t come out of the coma, how could he dictate the words contained in that letter?
The most interesting statement came from Freddie Foxx aka Bumpy Knuckles of the Gang Starr Foundation who compared Solar to Yolanda Saldivar, the head of Tejano singer Selena’s fan club who shot the singer at a motel in 1995. Saldivar killed Selena after the singer discovered that Saldivar had been stealing money from the fan club and was going to be fired.
So who’s telling the truth?
What’s being covered up?
So many unanswered questions remain, and the only thing that we all know to be true is that hip-hop has lost one of the greatest talents that it has ever known.
R.I.P. Keith “Guru” Elam
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