Rapper Guru, born Keith Elam, was a hip-hop legend and founder of the group GangStarr. He unfortunately passed away yesterday morning at the age of 43.
Guru had been battling cancer for over a year and had a heart attack that resulted in a short coma on March 2nd of this year. He seemed to be recovering well from that incident when he died suddenly yesterday. His death was announced on DJ Premier’s blog. DJ Premier was Guru’s partner in the influential rap group GangStarr.
Guru penned a letter to his fans, and gave it to music producer Solar to release upon his death. In it, Guru states that he does not want DJ Premier to use his name, likeness or the name GangStarr… ever. Seems that there was quite a falling out between the two.
Read the entire letter below:
“I, Guru, am writing this letter to my fans, friends and loved ones around the world. I have had a long battle with cancer and have succumbed to the disease. I have suffered with this illness for over a year. I have exhausted all medical options. I have a non-profit organization called Each One Counts dedicated to carrying on my charitable work on behalf of abused and disadvantaged children from around the world and also to educate and research a cure for this terrible disease that took my life. I write this with tears in my eyes, not of sorrow but of joy for what a wonderful life I have enjoyed and how many great people I have had the pleasure of meeting.
“My loyal best friend, partner and brother, Solar, has been at my side through it all and has been made my health proxy by myself on all matters relating to myself. He has been with me by my side on my many hospital stays, operations, doctors visits and stayed with me at my home and cared for me when I could not care for myself. Solar and his family is my family and I love them dearly and I expect my family, friends, and fans to respect that, regardless to anybody’s feelings on the matter. It is my wish that counts. This being said I am survived by the love of my life, my sun KC, who I trust will be looked after by Solar and his family as their own. Any awards or tributes should be accepted, organized approved by Solar on behalf myself and my son until he is of age to except (sic) on his own.
“I do not wish my ex-DJ to have anything to do with my name likeness, events tributes etc. connected in anyway to my situation including any use of my name or circumstance for any reason and I have instructed my lawyers to enforce this. I had nothing to do with him in life for over 7 years and want nothing to do with him in death. Solar has my life story and is well informed on my family situation, as well as the real reason for separating from my ex-DJ. As the sole founder of GangStarr, I am very proud of what GangStarr has meant to the music world and fans. I equally am proud of my Jazzmatazz series and as the father of Hip-Hop/Jazz. I am most proud of my leadership and pioneering efforts on Jazzmatazz 4 for reinvigorating the Hip-Hop/Jazz genre in a time when music quality has reached an all time low. Solar and I have toured in places that I have never been before with GangStarr or Jazzmatatazz and we gained a reputation for being the best on the planet at Hip-Hop/Jazz, as well as the biggest and most influential Hip-Hop/Jazz record with Jazzmatazz 4 of the decade to now. The work I have done with Solar represents a legacy far beyond its time. And we as a team were not afraid to push the envelope. To me this is what true artists do! As men of honor we stood tall in the face of small mindedness, greed, and ignorance. As we fought for music and integrity at the cost of not earning millions and for this I will always be happy and proud, and would like to thank the million fans who have seen us perform over the years from all over the world. The work I have done with Solar represents a legacy far beyond its time and is my most creative and experimental to date. I hope that our music will receive the attention it deserves as it is some of the best work I have done and represents some of the best years of my life.”
It’s been a couple of months since the untimely death of Brittany Murphy but it has now been announced that she has left everything to her mother, Sharon Murphy, in her will.
On top of leaving everything to her mother, Brittany’s husband Simon Monjack said that she left him out of the will.
TMZ claim that years before Brittany got married to Simon she wrote up a handwritten will leaving everything to Sharon. That was then stored in her manager’s safe, but after she got married she had a formal will and trust drafted up. Again she left everything to her mother along with a message saying “I am married to Simon Monjack who I have intentionally left out of this will.”
Now before everyone gets their panties in a knot, she probably left him out of her will because she has always supported her mother and because he makes his own money.
Simon also says that Sharon has put the house up for sale for $7.25 million and that when the house is sold both her and Sharon are going to move to New York.
Erik Gates, commonly known as a regular rocket expert on “Mythbusters”, has passed away at the young age of 47.
He starred in four episodes of the Discovery Channel show and passed away on December 20th as a result of a freak accident, we’ve learned.
He was said to have fallen through a skylight on Sunday and suffered blunt force to his chest, which led to his untimely death. The accident occurred on the work site of his brother’s company, Xirrus.
Brittany Murphy‘s tragic death has caused the company behind her latest movie, Deadline, to scramble because they want to avoid any trouble to do with the cover showing her lying in a bathtub dead.
First Look Studios, the company behind the movie, are trying to avoid the same type of controversy that happened in 2008 when Heath Ledger passed away. A scene in The Dark Knight showed him hiding in a body bag, this pissed off a lot of people, so the company want to try their hardest to avoid any anger from Murphy fans.
As you can see in the image above they have remade the cover, which is already showing in some video stores, because Murphy was found dead on her bathroom floor.
You can tell they rushed the new cover because it looks horrific in my opinion.
source: Brittany Murphy’s DVD Removed from Stores [Worst Previews]
We’ve lost a legend in music on Tuesday, when it was just revealed today that Al Martinohad passed away.
Martino was known for being the first in the U.K. to score a number one record, with his song, “Here In My Heart”. The song claimed the top spot when the New Musical Express started charting records in November 1952. It remained at the top of the chart for nine weeks.
Martino is also known for his role as Johnny Fontaine in “The Godfather”. The role was said to be based on that of Frank Sinatra.
He passed away in his childhood home in Springfield, Pennsylvania. He is survived by his wife Judith and their two daughters, Alison and Alana. A viewing is set for Friday afternoon with the interment being in California on a future date.
RIP Al Martino (October 7, 1927 – October 13, 2009)
John Hughes wrote and directed a lot of the eighties movies responsible for the brat pack that was featured on “The Breakfast Club”, “Pretty In Pink”, and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, among others.
A young girl at the time, Allison Byrne-Fields had written to Hughes. She wrote to him and received a form letter back from the famous writer/director, welcoming her to become an official member of “The Breakfast Club.” Upset, she wrote him again, and a friendship began.
I was irate.
I wrote back to John, explaining in no uncertain terms that, excuse me, I just poured my f*cking heart out to you and YOU SENT ME A FORM LETTER.
That was just not going to fly.
He wrote back.
“This is not a form letter. The other one was. Sorry. Lots of requests. You know what I mean. I did sign it.”
He wrote back and told me that he was sorry, that he liked my letter and that it meant a great deal to him. He loved knowing that his words and images resonated with me and people my age. He told me he would say hi to everyone on my behalf.
“No, I really will. Judd will be pleased you think he’s sexy. I don’t.”
I asked him if he would be my pen pal.
He said yes.
“I’d be honored to be your pen pal. You must understand at times I won’t be able to get back to you as quickly as I might want to. If you’ll agree to be patient, I’ll be your pen pal.”
From 1985 to 1987, the two were pen pals consistently. Of her letters, Hughes said to her, “I can’t tell you how much I like your comments about my movies. Nor can I tell you how helpful they are to me for future projects. I listen. Not to Hollywood. I listen to you. I make these movies for you. Really. No lie. There’s a difference I think you understand. It’s been a month of boring business stuff. Grown up, adult, big people meetings. Dull but necessary. But a letter from Alison always makes the mail a happening thing.”
John Hughes and his impact on growing up in the eighties with his movies, will be sorely missed. He passed away yesterday, August 6, 2009 of a heart attack.
He will always be remembered as the man who understand teen angst, relationships, and high school.
Here is what others have said about the iconic Hughes:
• “I was a fan of both his work and a fan of him as a person. The world has lost not only a quintessential filmmaker whose influence will be felt for generations, but a great and decent man.” – actor MACAULAY CULKIN
• “John was an amazing mentor to me during the time we were shooting Curly Sue. He had a childlike spirit that connected us instantly and always made me feel loved. He will be missed but his work speaks for itself and will live in his honor.” – actor ALISAN PORTER
• “John Hughes’s iconic films gave a powerful voice to a generation. He will be missed but never forgotten!” – actor DEMI MOORE
• “I will always cherish the time I spent with John Hughes.I was so grateful for the opportunity to walk around in his shoes and try to see the world through through his brilliant eyes. Sharing his films with my kids over the years I can see the timelessness of his work.” actor KEVIN BACON
• “His films helped establish an international notion of ordinary American teenagers, and he was as popular abroad as at home. Once when I was visiting the largest movie theater in Calcutta, I asked if Star Wars had been their most successful American film. No, I was told, it was Baby’s Day Out, a Hughes comedy about a baby wandering through a big city, which played for more than a year.” – critic ROGER EBERT
• “He was a wonderful man, a genius, a poet. I don’t think anyone has come close to him as being the poet of the youth of America in the postwar period. He was to them what Shakespeare was to the Elizabethan Age.” – actor-economist BEN STEIN
• “”I asked John how long it took to write Planes, Trains and Automobiles, he said, ‘I wrote it over the weekend.’ The weekend. That shows you what he was able to do.” – actor-writer STEVE MARTIN
There was a certain mystery surrounding the deaths of Steve McNair and rumored girlfriend Sahel Kazemi, until now.
TMZ reports that the assistant medical examiner who conducted the autopsies on both of the bodies, said that preliminary tests show that Kazemi fired the gun that killed both of them.
Dr. Feng Li said that he was able to make the determination from the crime scene investigation, police interviews, autopsy findings, and preliminary lab results, which include gun shot residue tests.
So it’s shaping up to look like a murder-suicide. Such a shame.
Michael Jackson‘s fans maybe killing themselves but they should at least wait until Friday because they can still see the King Of Pop.
Yes you read that correctly, if you have always dreamed of seeing Michael Jackson you still can – kind of.
His body is being moved to his infamous Neverland Ranch on Thursday morning so the public can see it during a public viewing on Friday, officials are allegedly meeting right now to discuss how to move his body and how much security they need.
After that it is rumored there will be either a memorial or funeral on Sunday, the location of which is still unknown.
Would you like to see Michael Jackson‘s dead body?
Dame Elizabeth Taylor was really close to Michael Jackson and yesterday she was so devastated at hers and our loss, that she couldn’t bring herself to release a statement.
Her rep said:
“Dame Elizabeth Taylor is too devastated by the passing of her dear friend Michael Jackson to issue a statement at this time.”
Today, she has pulled herself together to be able to let us in on how much she loved Michael and what he meant to her.
She said:
“My heart…my mind are broken. I loved Michael with all my soul and I can’t imagine life without him. We had so much in common and we had such loving fun together. I was packing up my clothes to go to London for his opening when I heard the news. I still can’t believe it. I don’t want to believe it. It can’t be so. He will live in my heart forever but it’s not enough. My life feels so empty. I don’t think anyone knew how much we loved each other. The purest most giving love I’ve ever known. Oh God! I’m going to miss him. I can’t yet imagine life without him. But I guess with God’s help … I’ll learn. I keep looking at the photo he gave me of himself, which says, ‘To my true love Elizabeth, I love you forever.’ And, I will love HIM forever.â€
RIP Michael Jackson, you are missed.
How are you paying tribute to the late King of Pop?
