Behold the Revolutionist

Behold the Revolutionist [Guru vs GingerZilla] by theGingerZilla

“Be aware of the Tricknology”

In July this year the hugely talented and pioneering Guru (Keith Elam) passed away. He was “one-half of [an] iconic hip hop duo GangStarr [with DJ Premier] before instigating a groundbreaking fusion of rap with live jazz via his Jazzmatazz album projects.” [1] You may recognise him for providing the voice of 8-Ball in Grand Theft Auto.

I wanted to do a fitting tribute with hip-hop as I believe it should be – voices of struggle and freedom rising above the oppression. Voices that come from the heart and soul where we are all one blood, united through our diversity in the great struggle to free. This is the aural hip-hop version of mind blowing sex as opposed to modern hip hop’s equivalent of a lyrical wank in the bathroom. Listen on the radio to the lyrics of a modern hip-hop track and then ‘Behold the Revolutionist’ and you’ll see a bit world of difference:

“Too many tears of sorrow

Too many years of struggle

Too many drops of blood

Too many problems to juggle

Too few jobs available

Too few schools equipped

Too few role models

Behold the Revolutionist”

If you feel inclined then I would highly recommend 93’s Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 which recalls wonderful memories of lounging in a park and nodding my head. It’s a truly mind bending fusion of Hip-Hop and Jazz.

“Back around ’93 - when I first came up with the Jazzmatazz concept - I was noticing how a lot of cats were digging in the crates and sampling jazz breaks to make hip hop records...But, while I thought that was cool, I wanted to take it to the next level and actually create a new genre, by getting the actual dudes we were sampling into the studio to jam over hip hop beats with some of the top vocalists of the time. You know, the whole thing was experimental, but I knew it was an idea that would spawn some historic music.” [2]

Influences:  GURU (well obviously), Hip-Hop, Electro, Garage, Dubstep, Drum ‘n’ Bass, Freedom and Head Nodding.

Anyway, this track isn’t quite finished so excuse any glaring errors – share your love by helping me make it better. To have a listen or download check the player out above or on my sidebar:

[1 & 2] GURU & SOLAR: Team Talk (B&S remembers - Interview May 2009)