Gang Starr

Released: March 31, 1998

Songwriter: DJ Premier Guru

Producer: DJ Premier Guru

[Intro: DJ Premier]
Mommy Mary, Mary Coleman that is
I love you, rest in peace
You still here though
Word up
This goes out to you
Mary Parker, Loretta Randall
Grandfather Bill
Runy Manuel, Robert N'Blangio
Uncle C, Alicia Elon
Giovanni

[Verse 1: Guru]
To my man G.O.V., I remember how you used to be
You were the illest man alive now I'm reading your eulogy
Eyes so serious, you told me hold my head
Pursue this rap shit and go forward never backwards
While you gripped TECs tight, and ran niggas out of town
I ripped up mics, showin wack niggas how to sound
Still your essence, was callin
By two gunshots, at close range, your frame had fallen
Now like a angel you've risen
And you will stay in my heart, and yo I wish you were still livin
Word... this is in memory of

[Break: DJ Premier]
Zachary Bro, Cousin Paula
Harry O-Fives "Rest in peace"
Yeah, Sam-O, 183rd
Joshua Faust "Rest in peace"
Brian Brown y'all, yeah

[Verse 2: Guru]
To my man Brian B, I remember how you used to be
You were the flyest in the club with three bitches doin rub-a-dub
You was the pimp of all panderers
GQ, Johnny Presley, fuckin up the elegances
So many hookers on your schedule
Slammin Cadillac doors and mackin whores on the regular
You used to boost, the slickest of suits
Climbin through the back windows on the bus, you was ill Dukes
Until that chick you vicked, for the Cutlass
Started snillz-niffin ki-daine, and went to cut cha
That freak shanked you six times in your sleep
I wish you was here, cause your philosophy was mad deep
Yeah... this is in memory of

[Break: DJ Premier]
Keith 'Cowboy', Scott La Rock
Prince Messiah "Rest in peace"
Buffy, the Human Beatbox y'know
2Pac Shakur "Rest in peace"
Pink House, Sub Roc
O.G. Boo Bang, salute! "Rest in peace"
Seagram's, Killa Black from Mobb Deep
Biggie Smalls, yeah rest in peace
Lance Owens y'all

[Verse 3: Guru]
To all my brothers doin time, whether or not you did the crime
You know the system is devised to keep you deaf, dumb and blind
Like Scarface said, them cats are smart
In order for things to change we must all play a part
It's easy for us to blame society
But now it's way too late, and we must take responsibility
To all my brothers in the streets
I know you feel you gotta hustle cause your peeps gotta eat
Makin moves right and exact
Don't wanna see you layin flat, don't wanna see ya catch a bullet black
If we don't build we'll be destroyed
That's the challenge we face in this race of poor and unemployed
Freud, a philosopher, but I'm a realist
So philosophize this, without love we won't exist
To those who passed out there, in the deserts and the jungles
With pain on their shoulders, and heavy bundles
I pray each one will ascend to new heights and new enlightenment
And this is why I'm writin it
Yeah... this is in memory of

[Outro: DJ Premier]
Linnet Grinnich, Cookie Murray
Yeah "Rest in peace"
Ross, Laverne La-La Eyelif
John Hood "Rest in peace"
Kevin Fredricks, Donny Charles
Leslie Clark, and Will Clark "Rest in peace"
Tommy Saunders, Princess Di
Don Clark, Betty Shabazz "Rest in peace"
This is in memory of...
"Rest in peace"

Gang Starr is the formidable hip-hop duo of MC Guru and producer DJ Premier.

The group was originally founded by two childhood friends, Big Shug and Guru, in Atlanta; coming up with the logo design and name of the group. Big Shug and Guru got separated when Shug got imprisoned and Guru moved to New York where he met Dj Premier.

While DJ Premier is from Texas and the monotone Guru is from Boston, they came together in Brooklyn, New York, and helped define the sound of East Coast hip-hop in the 1990s with their jazzy production on singles such as “Words I Manifest” and “Jazz Thing,” as well as their harder boom bap singles like “Just to Get a Rep” and “Take it Personal.”

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