POD/Mean Fiddler presents

GURU's
'ILL KID TOUR'(Gangstarr)(Jazzmatazz)

PLUS SUPPORT (tba)
The Red Box, Friday 30th November

Tickets available in advance for £16.50 from http://www.ticketmaster.ie/ or Ph. 1890 925 100 or usual outlets Tickets subject to service charges.

Guru takes time out from his busy schedule to invade The Red Box for his debut Irish appearance at the end of November. Over the course of five classic LP’s with Gangstarr and three volumes of his fabulous, groundbreaking ‘Jazzmatazz’ projects, Gifted Universal Rhymes Unlimited has established himself as a towering figure in the hip hop scene. A rapper of extraordinary versatility and pure undeniable skills, he is surfing the wave of the success of ‘StreetSoul’, the latest volume of his pioneering ‘Jazzmatazz’ project, while busy at work on a new Gangstarr LP with cohort DJ Premier. Don’t dare miss out on this chance to catch one of hip hop’s truly legendary figures in action.

Guru Biog
Guru released a couple of 12s on the independent hip hop label Wild Pitch under the name Gangstarr before hooking up with a fledgling DJ called Premier for the ‘Words I Manifest’ single in 1989. Something clicked, and the sound that came out was very special. While their ‘No More Mr Nice Guy’ LP from the same year sometimes sounded like a very good demo rather than a fully fledged LP, with the stunning street story of ‘Just To Get A Rep’ in 1990 and 91’s classic ‘Step Into The Arena’ they gained themselves a small but obsessive fanbase that was to stay with them through three more LP’s and 99’s ‘Full Clip’ best of, which finally brought them the wider audience they deserved. The duo had always encouraged solo projects, and Guru spread his wings with the first volume of ‘Jazzmatazz Vol 1’ in 1995, which took Gangstarr’s pioneering use of jazz in hip hop that began with 1990’s ‘Jazz Thing’ to the next level. Working with originals like Donald Byrd and Roy Ayers, he created an authentic live jazz feel for himself and guest MC’s like Mc Solaar to rhyme over. ‘Vol 2’ from 1997 featured contributions from Jamiroquai, Chaka Khan and Ini Kamoze and was a more commercial yet no less satisfying offering. With last year’s third instalment, ‘Streetsoul’ he took the project to ambitious new heights, with a stellar set of guests – Isaac Hayes, The Roots, Craig David, Erykah Badu…. The list goes on. What’s important is that the music that was produced by the artists involved was little more than sublime, even spawning a hit single with the free flowing funk of ‘Keep Your Worries’, a collaboration with nu soul queen Angie Stone. Currently at work with Premier on a brand new Gangstarr LP which is scheduled for release next summer, nearly 15 years after he put words to wax, it seems there’s no letting up in this incredible artists’ creative flow.

http://www.houseofguru.com/

http://www.gangstarronline.f2s.com/