Description
Label Review.
2019 album. Rap / Hip Hop. Also available on Vinyl.
Our Overview.
The New York, Brooklyn, hip-hop duo of DJ Premier and MC Guru aka Gang Star, were one of the most influential MC and DJ tandem of the 1990s, and set new standards for East Coast rap, mixing their poetic hip-hop with adventurous jazzy beats with laid back rhymes. Over the course of their distinguished career, they became a cultural institution and a brand you could ultimately trust. With a handful of indelible classic albums on their resume, DJ Premier and Guru’s catalogue has not only persevered but mastered the test of time. Simply, Gang Starr did not follow trends, they created them.
And now the dynamic duo are back with their first album in 16 years ‘One Of The Best Yet’ released into a very different hip hop landscape to their last album 2003’s ‘The Ownerz’. Though rapper Guru died in 2010 DJ Premier avoids the usual pitfalls of posthumous releases, deploying neat verses and brilliant production tricks.
Though they never “officially” disbanded after the release of their last project (The Ownerz 2003), Premier and Guru still remained infinitely connected to each other even as they embarked on solo paths.Premier won three Grammy’s along the way and assisted in turning fast rising artists such as Nas, Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G. and many others into rap royalty; and his imprint included work with artists such as Drake, Christina Aguilera, Kanye West, Dr. Dre, Snoop, Mac Miller, The Game, Ludacris, Maroon 5, Common, Mos Def, Rakim, KRS-One, Janet Jackson, D’Angelo, DJ Khaled, Joey Bada$$, Royce 5’9, Twenty One Pilots , and Miley Cyrus ; all of which spoke to his diversity and ability to traverse genres
.In turn, Guru would go on to release his own quartet of highly influential Jazzmatazz projects.
In the interim, fans always clamored for another Gang Starr album. Though there were whispers and murmurs over the years, nothing ever panned out and the possibilities of that project being willed into existence seemingly grew more remote as the years passed by. After Guru tragically passed away in 2010 the hope seemed to vanish altogether. The one person who refused to give hope was DJ Premier.
In September 2019, Premier announced the return of Gang Starr with the group’s first song since 2003, “Family and Loyalty” featuring J. Cole. DJ Premier began crafting ‘One of the Best Yet’ in 2017, and he said in a statement he always believed the project would come to fruition, even after Guru’s death in 2010. “I never lost faith, or wavered,” he said. “I still felt it inside of me, it just happened to be nine years later [after Guru’s passing]. We all want the things we want right now, but I am a patient guy. I hung in there and I just kept believing.”
'One Of The Best Yet' is many things. Yes, it’s the first new Gang Starr album in sixteen years and it is a historic event to be celebrated and rejoiced, but it symbolises much more than that.
'One Of The Best Yet' further cements Gang Starr’s legacy. This literal gift of an album not only harkens you back to Gang Starr’s seminal work of the past, but it re-establishes their impact in a modern-day perspective.
Tracks Listing: ‘The Sure Shot’ (Intro) / ‘Lights Out” feat. M.O.P. / ‘Bad Name’ / ‘Hit Man’ feat. Q-Tip / What’s Real’ feat. Group Home & Royce Da 5’9” / ‘Keith Casim Elam’ (Interlude) / ‘From A Distance’ feat. Jeru The Damaja / ‘Family and Loyalty” feat. J. Cole / ‘Get Together’ feat. Ne-Yo & Nitty Scott / ‘NYGz/ GS 183rd’ (Interlude) / ‘So Many Rappers’ / ‘Business Or Art’ feat. Talib Kweli / ‘Bring It Back Here’ / ‘One Of The Best Yet’ (Big Shug Interlude) / Take Flight’ (Militia Pt. 4) feat. Big Shug & Freddie Foxxx / ‘Bless The Mic’