Here Is DJ Premier's Official Statement On The Death Of His Gang Starr Cohort, Guru

This seems worth reprinting in full. Since the news of Guru's passing broke Tuesday, everyone's had their say, with many focusing on the still-unexplained extreme weirdness of the rapper's purported farewell letter, provided by his more recent collaborator, Solar, and very much open to debate. (Often violent debate: For more on that, consult Nah Right or Bumpy Knuckles.) Premier avoids that, mostly, offering only a quick aside: "ONE THING I WOULD NEVER DO IS PLAY AROUND WITH THE TRUTH ABOUT HIS LIFE." (Yeah, it's in all caps.) The rest is reverent and broken-hearted. Here it is in full:

OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM DJ PREMIER ON THE PASSING OF KEITH ELAM AKA GURU IT WAS A SAD DAY FOR ME TO GET CONFIRMATION ON THE DEATH OF A MAN WHO I WILL CONTINUE TO CALL MY BROTHER, KEITH ELAM, BETTER KNOWN AS GURU OF THE LEGENDARY GANG STARR.

FROM 1988-2004, WE EXPERIENCED SO MUCH SUCCESS TOGETHER THAT WE WERE ABLE TO EXPAND OUR BUSINESSES INDEPENDENTLY AND GIVE EACH OTHER WHAT GURU CALLED "CREATIVE SPACE," BEFORE PLANNING TO REUNITE FOR OUR 7TH LP WHEN THE TIME WAS RIGHT. TRAGICALLY, WE WILL NEVER REACH THAT DAY.

I'VE BEEN ASKED TO COMMENT ON A LETTER SPEAKING ILL OF ME WHICH WAS SUPPOSEDLY WRITTEN BY GURU IN HIS DYING DAYS. ALL I WILL SAY ABOUT IT IS THAT OUR TIME TOGETHER WAS BEAUTIFUL, WE BUILT A HIP HOP LEGACY TOGETHER, AND NO ONE CAN RE-WRITE HISTORY OR TAKE AWAY MY LOVE FOR HIM. ONE THING I WOULD NEVER DO IS PLAY AROUND WITH THE TRUTH ABOUT HIS LIFE.

I WILL CELEBRATE GURU'S LIFE... I WILL HONOR HIS MEMORY... I WILL GRIEVE WITH THE ELAM FAMILY OVER HIS UNTIMELY DEATH... I WILL REMEMBER THE GANG STARR FOUNDATION AND ALL OF THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF GANG STARR WHO CAME BEFORE ME - WE ALL KNOW EACH OTHER.... MOSTLY, I WILL CHERISH EVERYTHING WE CREATED TOGETHER AS GANG STARR, FOREVER. I'M GONNA MISS HEARING HIS SIGNATURE MONOTONE VOICE WHEN HE WALKS IN THE ROOM, BUT THE SONGS WILL ALWAYS BRING IT BACK TO ME....HIS RHYME FLOWS WERE INSANE, AND I WILL NEVER REMOVE HIM FROM MY HEART AND SOUL.......REST IN PEACE TO THE MAN WHO FELT "SATISFACTION FROM THE STREET CROWD REACTION" ... I LOVE YOU GOO.......DJ PREMIER