Released: June 6, 1989

Songwriter: DJ Premier Guru

Producer: Guru DJ Premier

[Verse 1]
The music started in the hearts and drums from another land
Played for everyone by sons of the motherland
Sendin' out a message of peace to everybody and
Came across the oceans in chains and shame
Easing the pain, and it was without name
Until some men in New Orleans on Rampart Street
Put out the sounds, and then they gave it a beat
I'm talkin' 'bout Jelly Roll, King, and Satch
I'm talkin' 'bout the music that had no match
Yes the music, and it was born down there
We're gonna use it, so make the horn sound clear
It's jazz music, jazz music

[Verse 2]
Yo, the music that pops, and the other cats made
It stayed 'cause people love when they played
To the North, it took a riverboat shuffle
To the big cities with lots of hustle and bustle
To Chicago, and to the Apple too
This was a scene that our forefathers knew
Go get your crew, I know they'll get into
The jazz music, jazz music

[Verse 3]
The music called jazz had the razzmatazz
It had the flavor, and a lot of pizazz
The big band beat was very neat and unique
The swing was king, it made you tap your feet
There was Benny and Duke and of course the Count Basie
The melody was smooth and yes, very tasty
There was Hap, The Prez, and Lady Day and
Dizzy Bird and Miles, they were all playin'
They brought it to the people of the foreign lands
Back across the oceans and the desert sands
Where it echoes in the distant sounds of drums
And it rises with the sun on days begun
This is the music that we give tribute to
They gave it to us, that's why we give it to you
The jazz music, the jazz music

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.”