GURU Tribute Round-Up (Obit Writers Just Out To Get A Rep?)

As expected, GURU obits, tributes, and remembrances are turning up at a much faster pace than were, say, reviews of his last few albums. But it's not just the knee-jerk nonsense that's annoying here. It's the fact that shitheads who either never did care or haven't cared about GURU in years are writing irresponsible pieces (for the record - I am not in that category).

I'm not saying that everything is trash; Jon Caramanica of the New York Times did an especially thorough job (unfortunately, his editors compromised it with the lamest headline of the year: Guru, Rapper Known for Social Themes, Dies at 47). I also appreciated this DJ Premier fan site's contribution, NORE's freestyle, and the latter's reassurance that dude used to get trashed with GURU.

Mostly, though, it's a bunch of the same bullshit, with cut-and-paste jobs from Wikipedia, and ignorant posturing by non-heads who couldn't identify a Premo beat with Shazam. I'm working on a serious feature about everybody's favorite megalomaniac Solar, but for now I have to agree with what one commenter (Theo) had to say about Slate's lackadasical farewell (it's how I feel about most of them in general):

A ridiculous and self-serving elegy riddled with factual errors and adhering to every glossified convention of fake history. Take more time. This is much more serious than a chance insert your commentary.

On that note, until I learn more and conduct at least a few dozen interviews, I'm sticking with this cautious report that will be published in tomorrow's Boston Phoenix. Like I wrote: For now, the only thing certain is that the rasp-throated Boston rhymer should be remembered for classic efforts that he put forth alongside DJ Premier and other rap royalty.