Founded in 1987, Gang Starr built a sizable following in the early 90's, releasing classic albums like Step in the Arena (1991) and Daily Operation (1992). Guru's lyrical style was based on battle rhymes delivered smoothly, modestly, and with sly wit; he typically avoided using overwhelming charisma, focusing instead on his rhyming ability. Over the years he even took on younger rappers, including Jeru the Damaja, as proteges. He is credited, along with DJ Premier, for the executive production of Jeru's debut, The Sun Rises in the East (1994).
In 1993, he released his first solo album, Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1. The album featured collaborations with Donald Byrd, N'Dea Davenport, Dee C. Lee, and Roy Ayers, whilst his second LP, Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality, featured Ramsey Lewis, Branford Marsalis, and Jamiroquai. The Jazzmatazz albums have been met with mixed reviews, Guru continued with Jazzmatazz, Vol. 3: Streetsoul (2000) and Baldhead Slick & Da Click (2001).
Moreover, recent Gang Starr albums have continued to garner Guru critical acclaim. Prominent Boston underground rapper Mr. Lif frequently cites Guru as a major stylistic influence; he appears as a guest with Lif on the Perceptionists' debut album, Black Dialogue (2005).
Besides Gang Starr, his Jazzmatazz and solo albums, Guru collaborated with countless artists since the early 90s. Not only in Hip-Hop, but also with artists from various genres such as pop, electronica/dance, acid jazz, and even brass bands.
His "first proper solo album", in his own words, was Version 7.0: The Street Scriptures (2005), released with the help of producer and new backup MC/producer Solar. The album reached #1 on the college hip-hop charts, but was a failure with both fans and critics. It still managed to sell relatively well for an independent release.
Guru's latest project is the fourth installment in the Jazzmatazz series, entirely produced by Solar. It was released in early June 2007 and received good reviews and comments from fans.
In 2007 Guru was ranked at 45 for the Top 50 MCs of our time: 1987-2007
On February 28th 2010, Guru suffered a severe heart attack and was in a coma. He passed away on April 19, 2010 at the age of 49 after a long battle with cancer.
Theres another artist with the same name:
2. Guru also refers to a Ghanaian hip-hop artist known for his single "LaPaz Toyota" and the song "Akayida" - basis for a azonto dance craze
Le Bien Le Mal
Guru Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
La puissance du son
What
It's the good, the bad
Le bien, le mal
The good, the bad
Le bien, le mal
Il était vraisemblable que tous les faux semblants
De la farce humanitaire aboutiraient au néant
C'est une boule à facettes comme dans les discothèques
Ca reflète à la lumière et sans elle, ffft! Du vent
J'aime les images fortes car je suis comme toi
Le poids des mots et le choc des photos
Ay yo, it's time to get up
Time to change the world, 'cause I'm fed up
We're gonna expose the wrong that's been going on
There's people dying in the streets still
In every city, lots of kids they be ill
I live in Brooklyn, got boys all over been
Around the world and you know that I know
The good, the bad
Le bien, le mal
The good, the bad
Le bien, le mal
L'homme qui prend le microphone se nomme Solaar
Maître de la rime urbaine accompagné des comparses et de Gangstarr
A Paris en France comme dans la Rome antique
Imite le maître, malgré le mythe comme Spartacus (limitait le mec)
Qui millimètre après millimètre check l'intellect à des kilomètres
It's your turn, Guru
Crazy madness, it's all I see out my window
It doesn't matter who's the president, yo
I hate to tell ya, but slavery is still in effect
Haven't you checked, us black folks create for ya I make a bet, if you
Don't let the truth out huh
Evil will rule without a doubt and it's
The good, the bad
Le bien, le mal
The good, the bad
Le bien, le mal
Solaar
C'est le monde des affaires, OPA sur la misère
Le réel me nargue, tralalalalère
L'air de rien je doute de l'existance des Dieux
De l'existance du mieux dans un lieu plus pieux
Alors je prends de l'avance, en prenant du recul
Car prendre du recul c'est prendre de l'élan
I come in peace, but sucka's always trying to front, so
I gotta let 'em know, gotta let 'em know
This ain't no game, punk, 'cause you could wind up dead
With bullets to the head from the posse's lead
I'm like your mentor, and this is for your benefit
So hear the noise, 'cause the rude boys ain't havin' it
It's
The good, the bad
Le bien, le mal
The good, the bad
Le bien, le mal
En prophète de la fête, je suis contre ceux qui fêtent
La défaite de la fête, alors faites attention
Cette recette intercepte les adeptes trouble-fête
Et le son, domine la situation
Le bien et le mal, situation critique
Problème politique, éthique et techniques, OK man, tout s'explique
Yeah, my man MC Solaar in the house
I'm known as the Guru, you know that
I got the whole posse: Jimmy James, Mikey Moos-Moos, Louche, Blackjack
The Mack, The Ramses, Soon-E MC, Menelik, Bambi Cruz, Planet Mars
Strike, Kéry James, Boom Bass, Zdar, Démocrates D
And their whole entire crew
You know what I'm sayin'? Taking no shorts in 1993
Peace, it's the good and the bad, and I'm out
The song "Le Bien Le Mal" by Guru and MC Solaar talks about the existence of both good and evil in the world. The first few lines talk about how it was likely that all the false appearances of being humanitarian would lead to nothing, and how images can be powerful because of the weight of words and the impact of photos. It is then followed by MC Solaar's verse where he talks about how it's time to change the world because he is fed up with the wrong that's been going on. He talks about how people are dying on the streets, and there are ill kids in every city. He also touches upon the fact that black people are still facing slavery-like conditions.
Afterward, Guru takes the mic and talks about how even after all these years, slavery is still in effect, and evil will rule without a doubt if people do not expose the truth. He is trying to warn people that the world is in a state of madness, and everyone needs to recognize it. MC Solaar then comes in and talks about how he doubts the existence of gods and the existence of a better place. He takes a step back and tries to search for something better.
Overall, "Le Bien Le Mal" is a song that highlights the reality of the world, and how good and evil exist together. It talks about the weight of words, the power of images, and how necessary it is to awaken people to the truth.
Line by Line Meaning
1993, Paris-Brooklyn
The song was made in 1993, connecting the two cities of Paris and Brooklyn
La puissance du son
The power of sound
It's the good, the bad
The song is exploring the concepts of good and evil
Le bien, le mal
French for good and evil
Il était vraisemblable que tous les faux semblants
It was likely that all the false appearances
De la farce humanitaire aboutiraient au néant
Of humanitarian efforts, would lead to nothing
C'est une boule à facettes comme dans les discothèques
It's a disco ball with facets
Ca reflète à la lumière et sans elle, ffft! Du vent
It reflects light, but without it, it's gone
J'aime les images fortes car je suis comme toi
I like powerful images because I'm like you
Le poids des mots et le choc des photos
The weight of words and the impact of pictures
Ay yo, it's time to get up
It's time to take action
Time to change the world, 'cause I'm fed up
It's time to change the world because I'm frustrated
We're gonna expose the wrong that's been going on
They will reveal the injustice and wrongdoing that has occurred
There's people dying in the streets still
People are still dying in the streets
In every city, lots of kids they be ill
Many children are sick in cities everywhere
I live in Brooklyn, got boys all over been
The artist is from Brooklyn and knows people all over
Around the world and you know that I know
They have a wide network of people and knowledge
L'homme qui prend le microphone se nomme Solaar
The man who takes the microphone is named Solaar
Maître de la rime urbaine accompagné des comparses et de Gangstarr
Master of urban rhyme accompanied by colleagues and Gangstarr
A Paris en France comme dans la Rome antique
In Paris, France, as in ancient Rome
Imite le maître, malgré le mythe comme Spartacus (limitait le mec)
Imitate the master, despite the myth like Spartacus (limiting the guy)
Qui millimètre après millimètre check l'intellect à des kilomètres
Who millimeter by millimeter checks the intellect from kilometers away
It's your turn, Guru
It's the turn of Guru to take the mic
Crazy madness, it's all I see out my window
The artist sees madness and chaos outside their window
It doesn't matter who's the president, yo
The president doesn't matter
I hate to tell ya, but slavery is still in effect
Slavery is still happening
Haven't you checked, us black folks create for ya
A rhetorical question challenging the listener to think about the contributions black people have made
I make a bet, if you
I challenge you
Don't let the truth out huh
Tell the truth
Evil will rule without a doubt and it's
Evil will prevail if the truth isn't told
En prophète de la fête, je suis contre ceux qui fêtent
As a party prophet, I'm against those who celebrate
La défaite de la fête, alors faites attention
The defeat of the party, so beware
Cette recette intercepte les adeptes trouble-fête
This recipe intercepts partygoers who cause trouble
Et le son, domine la situation
And sound dominates the situation
Le bien et le mal, situation critique
Good and evil, a critical situation
Problème politique, éthique et techniques, OK man, tout s'explique
Political, ethical, and technical problems, everything makes sense
Yeah, my man MC Solaar in the house
MC Solaar is present
I'm known as the Guru, you know that
The singer is known as the Guru
I got the whole posse: Jimmy James, Mikey Moos-Moos, Louche, Blackjack
The singer has a group of people with him
The Mack, The Ramses, Soon-E MC, Menelik, Bambi Cruz, Planet Mars
More people in the artist's group
Strike, Kéry James, Boom Bass, Zdar, Démocrates D
Even more people in the artist's group
And their whole entire crew
And the whole crew with them
Taking no shorts in 1993
Not accepting any disrespect in 1993
Peace, it's the good and the bad, and I'm out
Peace, exploring good and evil, and the artist is finished
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, THE ROYALTY NETWORK INC., Royalty Network, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Keith Elam, Christophe Roger Viguier, Claude Honore M'barali, MC SOLAAR, JIMMY JAY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gonderage
My linguistic anthropologist professor showed this in our class as an example of code switching and questioning the elements used in both the English and the French verses that make them both a part of the same speech community, despite being different languages. My professor knows the classics.
@leffphield
This song was chosen? Wow!
@leffphield
🙏🏿
@Hippotrague
WISE professer!
@stefdub7331
Ton professeur est super cool,ce morceau est terrible......salut de France l ami...
@XandiMusic
Strong example of the possibilities of unity through linguistics and shared culture, in this case hip-hop, and rap music, of course.
@Neillan
We really need more cross cultural collabs like this nowadays. The video is incredible!
@ok-sh9ew
My cut...I heard this at 19...soundtrack to my youth..so glad I grew up in this time period of hip hop
@stewarteasy72
Guru is "the King Of Monotone". R.I.P.
@lmckinney9369
Bad as jam!