Guru, most famously known as the vocal half of the hip-hop group Gang Starr, died yesterday after an extended battle with cancer. He was only 43.

Gang Starr existed during a time when hip-hop was still a great and disciplined art form. The early nineties required emcees to be articulate and meaningful. It was before the time when laziness and monotony were rewarded with platinum records and millions of dollars. I must always pay tribute to the men and women who were given a platform to speak and spoke eloquently and with purpose. Guru had that gift. He had a commanding presence, a unique voice and an unmistakable delivery.

Whenever a jazz great passes, I feel like a piece of history has died. I feel like the burden of responsibility is upon me to continue doing my part to keep the music alive. When a hip-hop great passes, I feel like a part of me has gone forever. I feel myself moving further and further away from my youth. I can no longer look back at 1990 like it was just yesterday. I have to admit to myself that those days are long gone. And little by little, the things I hold dear from that time are slipping away from me as well.

Below is one of the best creations of Guru and Gang Starr. The man respected jazz and its originators and it shows here.

Clarity, this is for you. Anyone who shrugs at the name of Steve Perry but delights at the inventions of Webster and Edison is definitely okay in my book. From Nashville to just outside of London — good evening.

Love the blog, by the way.

Just finished reading the Sarah Silverman (my future ex-lover) Playboy interview. Loved the entire piece, but one particular exchange really struck me.

PLAYBOY: So you don’t care if people show up for your stand-up and think, I hope she does the one about the Chinks?

SILVERMAN: [Groans] Oh God, that’s the worst. I had a boyfriend who called it mouth-full-of-blood laughs. It’s when people are laughing at the wrong thing. One time the lead singer of a very popular band from the 1980s—I can’t give you his name—came up to me after a show, and I swear to God, he goes, “You’re my favorite comedian. You have the best nigger jokes.” I was like, “I…I…didn’t mean…” And he turns to his friends and says, “She’s got the best nigger jokes!”

PLAYBOY: Would you give us a hint who it was?

SILVERMAN: I’ll say just this: After that, I stopped believin’.

She isn’t the only one. I’m not a huge Steve Perry fan or anything, but I did think the guy had a nice voice. I also thought, and still think, that there would be no Steve Perry without Sam Cooke. I don’t know why this should surprise or bother me so much. Americans have to be the worst when it comes to race and hypocrisy. Most of us spend entire days working with people of various races and nationalities. Yet, when the day is over and we’re sitting around a bar or a dinner table and we feel that we are in a “safe” place where we can express our true feelings, we completely shit on one another. And this can be applied to ALL of us — black, white, whatever. Maybe it’s like this everywhere, but I don’t live everywhere. I live here.

As great as our nation is, I wonder how great it could really be without the incendiary distractions of race and religion.