Published October 2000 

GURU

BY ERROL NAZARETH

NEW YORK - Guru, the mellow-voiced half of hip-hop vets Gangstarr, has a new baby. Matter of fact, he has two: Keith Casim Elam, who was born at the end of July, and his Jazzmatazz: Street Soul project that arrives in stores October 3. He's clearly hyped about both and talks about them animatedly during an interview in Virgin Records' New York headquarters.

Boasting names such as Macy Gray, Angie Stone, Erykah Badu, The Roots, Isaac Hayes, Les Nubians, Amel Larrieux, and Herbie Hancock, the disc which features a handful of tasty tracks is bound to blow up the minute it drops.

Anticipating the criticism it might receive when it's released, Guru goes on the defensive early in the interview. "A critic might look at it and say, "Where's the jazz? ", he says. "I decided not to call it Jazzmatazz Volume 3, I was like, "I'm just gonna call it street soul 'cause that's what it is."

WORD: You just became a father.
Guru: Yup! His name is Keith Casim Elam, nine pounds and five ounces. I cut the umbilical chord. It's the most real experience you can ever have 'cause you're bringing a life into this world.

WORD: So, did you cry?
Guru: Yeah! Everybody I know (who witnessed their kid being born) cried. I didn't like, sob. It's ill because, like, this world is screwed up and you're bringing this innocent life into it and you're like, "Wow!" It gives you a new sense of purpose. I'm gonna do a lot of things differently to make it for him.

WORD: Discuss the genesis of the record.
Guru: I always start with a wish list. Then I start networking to try and find these people. Because I 've been in the business for a long time, I run into a lot of them. Like Macy Gray, Gangstarr remixed her single, I Committed Murder, which featured Mos Def. The thing is, I 'm a fan of everyone who was on my list.

WORD: I've interviewed most of the people on your record 'cause I'm a big fan of their music and I like how real and spiritual they seem.
Guru: One of the things that's deep about the record is that all the women are mothers. It's amazing that they tour, do so many things and take care of their kids. And some of them are single. They're doing their art to survive and to take care of their kids. For them to be down with my project and show me love & I don't think they'd do it if they didn't feel it. I was honoured.

WORD: After drawing up your wish list, how did you proceed? Did you make beats for each guest?
Guru: You said it. Everything I do is an extension of Gangstarr. The way we do it in Gangstarr is we have all the beats first, then I get titles and then I write. What I had to do for this project was figure out which producer to put with which artist. But, I did it right because I'm a fan of the producer and I'm a fan of the artist. I figured if I put Scratch with Angie (Stone), the track would be dope. He studied me and Angie 'cause that's how seriously he takes his craft.

WORD: You seem to have adopted a different approach from how most R&B and hip-hop records are being made.
Guru: Right. An artist will collaborate with people, but there won't be no love. They just go into the studio, do the vocals and leave, and they're not even with the other artist. You can sense that when you hear their record. It's like, they just went in and did it and there's no chemistry there.

WORD: How organic was your approach?
Guru: Man, let me tell you what happened. I got the beat from Scratch, then I got on the phone with Angie and told her I was gonna send her the beat and hoped she'd like it. Two days later, I check my cellphone messages and she's singing with the beat in the background! Three days later, we scheduled studio time and while she was in the vocal booth I was writing my lyrics. And when I was doing my rhymes, she wrote her part for the bridge. We collaborated, it was very spontaneous.

WORD: To be honest with you, the record doesn't strike me as being radically different from any of the records out there that feature a bit of hip-hop and a bit of R&B. But, what's interesting is how you assembled it.
Guru: With everyone I worked with, I went to where they were. I went to Dallas to work with Erykah Badu, I went to L.A. to work with Herbie Hancock, I hooked up with The Neptunes in Virginia, I went to Detroit to work with JayDee (of Slum Village) for the Bilal track. I tried to reach out to everybody and tried to make them feel comfortable, and they made me comfortable in return.

WORD: What's your definition of street soul?
Guru: "Jazzmatazz," he says, laughing loudly. "It's music from the heart and soul that evolves through hip-hop. Jazzmatazz has become a new style of music. It represents an attitude, even. It's jazzy, it's fly, it's some cool shit, laid back."