Guru

Birth Name: Keith Edward Elam

Date of Birth: July 17, 1961

Place of Birth: Roxbury, Massachusetts, U.S.

Date of Death: April 19, 2010

Place of Death: New York City, New York, U.S.

Ethnicity: African-American

Guru was an American rapper and record producer. He was half of hip hop duo Gang Starr, with DJ Premier. He was known for his distinct monotone voice, which he used to lace uncompromising rhymes over DJ Premier’s beats. He was also known as Jazzmattaz, Keithy E.M.C., Bald Head Slick, and MC Keithy E. Guru was a backronym for Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal.

Guru was the son of Barbara, who was co-director of libraries in the Boston Public Schools system, and Harry Justin Elam, a judge and lawyer, who was the first African-American judge appointed to the Boston Municipal Court of Massachusetts; he was also the court’s Chief Justice, and an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court.

Guru attended the Advent School on Beacon Hill in Boston, Noble, and the Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts. He had a son.