Released: January 15, 1991

Songwriter: DJ Premier Guru

Producer: Guru DJ Premier

[Hook: Cuts]
Intelligent but not yet equivalent

[Verse 1: Guru]
Tell me, do you have a clue of what to do?
Can you groove to this smooth tune? You must presume
It's important for you to follow this creation
And hey son, life is more than having fun
So run and get some help with the problems that you face
Take a taste of the bass, put your perspective in place
Get real deep, so you can keep involved
Revolve and solve, so you can make the calls
Like a supervisor, he who is wiser than the others
'Cause they need someone to advise them to discover
Things that they don't know so the papers I will check
Then they'll start to grow to this form of intellect

[Hook: Cuts]
Individual with intellect

[Verse 2: Guru]
When the road is too steep, do you have the stamina
First album took us two weeks, since then we have been plannin'
An exclusive attraction conducive to your satisfaction
Those of you lackin', we will put you back in your slot
So you can think and get a grip of
Yourself by yourself, and then you'll get a sip of
A gift that's equipped with the script that shocks
You can take a walk on God
With your mouth wide open, hoping you can find a
Way to display similar actions in a kind of mockery
'Cause you don't realize the cost to be
Creative genius please, I'm too clean to play
Glance per chance, watch Gang Starr perfect
And dance your pants like champs, to this form of intellect

[Hook: Cuts]
Man with intellect

[Verse 3: Guru]
Valuable solutions we invent here
Break and remake the cupcakes to show we've been sent here
To serve you so swallow this and bite it
And why bring ignorance when we're inviting
You to get advancement, while you're on the dance tip
And don't you know the transcript will make you shake hips
Or chill at will, and with skill you'll learn some etiquette
Better get the subject or be last at the predicate
And get a set of headphones and speakers
As lyrical lessons manifest I will keep you
Abreast of the best in this rap mess
Oversaturated market full of wackness
I'm gifted, unlimited rhymes, universal
The Guru, nursing you with a verse spilled
Don't choke, and don't turn blue in a frenzy
Premier's severe, on the steel wheels he lends me
Spontaneous cuts, but not mainly just that
It's the scratching format, exact with maddening accuracy
Craftily, on the side or in back of me
Nastily, as if his name was Dick Dastardly
Original so get it yo the Gang gets respect
The chain and the star is a symbol, of this form of intellect

[Hook: Cuts]
Intelligent but not yet equivalent

Gang Starr

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.”