"And he helped a lot, because he put the word out. Guru explained to the veteran trumpeter his new solo-project idea. He dreamed up Jazzmatazz, and called jazz giant Donald Byrd. In '93, it was revolution time again for Guru. His raw, laid-back delivery drove many hip-hoppers crazy. Guru moved to New York in 1985, and helped create Gang Starr two years later. From Kingston, Jamaica's Kool Herc to Slick Rick out of London - once the outsiders hit New York City, they often taste a freedom to flip the script in a way that helps rap grow. We got to New York!"Īrtists born outside of hip-hop's New York mecca have been some of the culture's biggest innovators. And every chance I got, we used to come to New York - whether it was in a stolen car or whatever. "I bought all the records, had all the tapes. "I followed everything that was going on in New York," he says. Ever since the mid-'70s, when rap was born in the Bronx, Guru has loved hip-hop music. That's where Guru grew up, in Roxbury, Mass. Well, more like 215 miles away, just four hours northeast of New York City. 4.Īnyone who knew Guru's story would have seen the first Jazzmatazz coming a mile away. He named the project Jazzmatazz, and 15 years later, he's back with Jazzmatazz, Vol. Get those dudes to come into the studio and jam over some hip-hop beats and blend that," he says. "I was like, I want to take it to the next level and get the jazz cats we sampled. In that spirit, 15 years ago, hip-hop icon Guru (of the rap duo Gang Starr) started collaborating with jazz icons such as Ramsey Lewis, Roy Ayers, and Lonnie Liston Smith. 4 was produced by Solar (right).įrom the beginning, hip-hop artists have mixed together different musical genres.
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