Guru, 1966-2010

Today, Zee German told me to mark April 19 as a red letter day in history. It was apparently the day hip-hop died.

Keith Elam, better known as the rapper Guru, who provided the deep and powerful vocals for the hip-hop duo Gang Starr, succumbed to a long battle with cancer on Monday. He was 43.

Hip-hop, I think, will obviously live on. The movement, and not the marketing, is too big and influential to fade.