the411online.com

Gang Starr's Guru dead at 43

Nearly two months after suffering a heart attack and falling into a coma, legendary Gang Starr MC Guru has died. Guru, whose real name was Keith Elam, was 43.

"The world has lost one of the best MCs and hip-hop icons of all-time -- my loyal best friend, partner, and brother, Guru," longtime collaborator Solar said in a released statement. "Guru has been battling cancer for well over a year and has lost his battle! This is a matter that Guru wanted private until he could beat it, but tragically, this did not happen. The cancer took him. Now the world has lost a great man and a true genius."

Guru, one half of the legendary duo Gang Starr, suffered a heart attack and fell into a coma in late February. He had what was considered "successful" surgery on March 1 and reportedly was in stable condition, but information was funneled through Solar and was not always in line with what Guru's family was saying. Some statements since February -- including a long, sometimes bitter farewell letter -- have been attributed to Guru, but it is unlikely that he ever emerged from the coma.

"He's still in a coma," Premier told the Vancouver Sun on April 8. "There have been a lot of rumors going around. I deal with his family directly, and get my updates from them. ... He's breathing, he's alive, and he's fighting to maintain."

Gang Starr's last album was released in 2003, although he and DJ Premier never officially broke up. Guru continued with solo projects, including the critically acclaimed Jazzmatazz series and an album last year.

Gang Starr's Guru in coma after heart attack

Guru, one half of the legendary duo Gang Starr, suffered a heart attack and is currently in a coma awaiting surgery. After multiple news reports surfaced Sunday, Premier confirmed Guru's condition in an interview with Sirius XM radio station Hip-Hop Nation on Sunday night.

"Guru is in a coma and will go under surgery tomorrow afternoon," Premier said.

Guru, whose real name is Keith Elam, is 43 years old. Gang Starr's last album was released in 2003, although the pair have never officially broken up. Guru continued with solo projects, including the critically acclaimed Jazzmatazz series and an album last year.

Around 7 a.m. Monday morning, Premier followed up with a message on Twitter: "Guru is getting ready for surgery, pray for the best!"

A mix of shock and get-well wishes from other MCs have been pouring in on Twitter all day.

"Tell me this isn't true!" Ice-T wrote. "That's my real homie!"

B-Real added: "Our prayers are with Guru and his family. Premier and Guru were some of our oldest friends in the game. Get well brother."

Solar, another longtime collaborator and producer for Guru's 2009 solo album, Lost & Found, released a statement on the MC's behalf on Monday at noon ET:

"Guru is struggling with a serious health issue. And we appreciate all your love and well wishes. We continue to hold out hope that Guru will make a full recovery from this. And ask that his privacy on this matter be respected. Again, thank you for all your support through this trying time."

Dr. Dre sues Death Row

Dr. Dre filed a lawsuit against his former record label in federal court Thursday in Los Angeles, claiming it released a new version of The Chronic without his permission and hasn't paid him royalties since he left Death Row in 1996.

"When it came to paying artist royalties and honoring limits on Dr. Dre recordings that could be released, the 'new' Death Row Records, to quote our client, 'forgot about Dre,'" attorney Howard King said in a statement. "This lawsuit will make sure they remember."

The label, renamed WIDEawake Death Row Records after the original went bankrupt and was purchased by WIDEawake Entertainment Group, released The Chronic Re-Lit last year. A Dr. Dre greatest hits collection called Chronicles also was released in 2007 by Death Row. Neither were released with his permission or his cooperation, according to Dre, whose real name is Andre Young.

Dre also claims in the suit that his original contract did not include digital distribution rights, yet the new owners of the label have been selling digital copies of The Chronic. The album originally dropped in 1992.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for false advertising, trademark infringement, breach of contract and misappropriation of publicity.

Dr. Dre has only released one solo album since The Chronic, 2001 in 1999. He has been working on his next album, Detox, on and off for the past decade.

Rap Grammy predictions

The 411 Online has kept a record of every rap Grammy ever awarded, but we've never tried predicting who would win before. That changes now. It's not easy getting into the warped mind of the Grammy voters, who often overvalue pop artists, fall in love with creating repeat winners or just generally have no clue.

Here are our predictions (in bold):

Best Rap Solo Performance
"Best I Ever Had," Drake
"Beautiful," Eminem
"D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)," Jay-Z*^
"Day 'N' Nite," Kid Cudi
"Casa Bey," Mos Def

Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group
"Too Many Rappers," Beastie Boys & Nas*
"Crack A Bottle," Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent^
"Money Goes, Honey Stay," Fabolous & Jay-Z
"Make Her Say," Kid Cudi, Kanye West & Common
"Amazing," Kanye West & Young Jeezy

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
"Ego," Beyoncé & Kanye West
"Knock You Down," Keri Hilson, Kanye West & Ne-Yo
"Run This Town," Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West*^
"I'm On A Boat," The Lonely Island & T-Pain
"Dead And Gone," T.I. & Justin Timberlake

Best Rap Song
"Best I Ever Had," Drake
"Day 'N' Nite," Kid Cudi
"Dead And Gone," T.I. & Justin Timberlake
"D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)," Jay-Z*
"Run This Town," Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West^

Best Rap Album
Universal Mind Control, Common
Relapse, Eminem^
R.O.O.T.S., Flo Rida
The Ecstatic, Mos Def
The Renaissance, Q-Tip*

*-who we'd pick, given the choices
^-actual winner

More: Every Rap Grammy from 1989-present

Dr. Dre: No rush to 'Detox'

Dr. Dre is a notorious perfectionist, so it comes as no surprise that he takes years between albums. But we've entered our second decade of waiting for Detox, as Dre's last album was released in November 1999. He might have thought it was safe to hide out overseas, but Great Britain's The Guardian newspaper caught up with the hip-hop legend this weekend and asked him what the holdup was.

"I'm working hard on it. I'm stopping to work on other artists in-between, but the minute it's done and I feel it right here, that's when it will come out," Dre told The Guardian. "Hopefully the beginning of 2010."

But that timetable was ambitious, and even Dre quickly admitted that the key word in that quote was "hopefully": "You'll probably hear something in a year or so," he told Slam magazine for their March issue. That puts the latest ETA at January 2011, but undoubtedly he'll have another excuse ready by then. Perhaps too much time in the clubs?

"I have to go out to clubs now," Dre told The Guardian. "You need to understand what people are listening to."

He didn't say if that same kind of Detox research from several years ago still helps him today.

It's become a nearly annual winter ritual for Dre to tease the release of Detox, dating back at least to 2002 in The 411 Online's records. That January he said he it could be done by the end of the year, a statement he's echoed in one way or another in January 2006, December 2006, December 2008 and now January 2010. (Dre did not, however, address it in our interview with him in 1995. Back then, it was the Dr. Dre-Ice Cube reunion album that was perpetually on hold. Still waiting for Helter Skelter.)

More than just fans are fiending for another hit of Dre's golden touch.

"He's gonna drop it. He's just ... a perfectionist," Warren G told Hard Knock TV. "When he feels right, that's when he's gonna let it go. I think he's close because when he starts working with Snoop, that's when I know he's getting down to the wire."

And Snoop Dogg certainly won't be the only one making a guest appearance.

"Me and him are supposed to do a record on there," Warren G added. "He said as soon as he finds the right record, with the right melody, we'll do it. I think it'll be something that the world would love to see 'cause it's never been done. The publicity on it will be huge. It's like, 'Warren G and Dr. Dre doing a song? That's crazy.' I'm open. I'm with it."

Who knows if that collaboration will become that "perfect song" Dre mentioned he is searching for.

"I don't think I've done that record yet," Dre told The Guardian. "I'll know what it is when it comes; I know exactly what it is in my head, but I haven't done it yet. It's close. ... Once that sound is right, once that mix is right, it's a feeling that you get. It's unexplainable."

And of course, once Detox finally does hit stores, Dre thinks there's only one way to listen to it: Through his Beats by Dr. Dre line of headphones. "I just want to get my music out and make sure that it's heard in the right way," Dre said, who added that speakers might be next because so many people are listening to music "the wrong way" -- on cell phones, MP3 players, etc. "Once it gets to your computer, everything's compressed. It's like smashing sound. So we're trying to fix that."

Let's hope the repairs are done on time, or we may never see Detox.

L.L. done competing musically: 'I'm not delusional'

L.L. Cool J stopped by MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Thursday to -- what else? -- promote a project with MasterCard, but he ended up doing more than that. In addition to getting in a couple extra plugs, he managed to redefine his place in the hip-hop hierarchy and take time out to celebrate Michael Jackson's impact on him.

"He got me a Grammy," L.L. said, explaining that Jackson's contribution to his career went beyond "influence." Indeed, "Hey Lover" rode a "Lady in My Life" sample to Best Rap Solo Performance honors in 1997, but to be fair, L.L. already had earned a Best Rap Solo Performance Grammy for his trophy case in 1992 all on his own, thanks to "Mama Said Knock You Out."

L.L. added that he thought "Thriller" was the peak of the old school music industry. Showing what a savvy, seasoned pro at working the media he has become, L.L. somehow managed to work in references to a digital distribution network and his new starring role in "NCIS: L.A." on CBS.

But the bombshell L.L. dropped might have been this: "I'm no longer trying to compete musically. I'm not delusional."

While it might sound disappointing at first coming from a fierce competitor who took on all challengers in his hip-hop career, true fans have to hope that this means in the future he'll do the music he wants to do and not the music he (or his record company) thinks is the most commercially viable, as has been the case on recent albums Todd Smith and Exit 13. We're ready for another classic, Uncle L, even if we're still waiting for the answer to that Kool Moe Dee question.

Common unearths classic De La Soul video

Common posted this video used to promote De La Soul's first album, 3 Feet High and Rising, on his blog.

The video, which was posted on YouTube in 2006, includes the trio explaining the meaning behind their names, classic interviews with DMC, KRS-One and DJ Red Alert, as well as placards reminiscent of the "Me Myself & I" video. Toward the end, Big Daddy Kane says, "I think they're gonna be around for a while." Indeed.

Common simply posted "This is DOOOOOPE!" along with the video. Who are we to disagree? Make the connection:

And a bonus:

De La Soul - Me Myself and I
Uploaded by hushhush112 - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Too Short, E-40 and MC Hammer consult for film

Too Short, E-40 and MC Hammer have been hired as consultants for a 2010 film called "Weight," which tells the story of one of the Bay Area's youngest drug kingpins.

Executive producer Todd “Hollywood G.” Graham told AllHipHop that the veteran MCs were brought on board to increas the "authenticity of the project." All three were rising in popularity in the Bay Area and beyond at the same time as Darryl "Lil' D" Reed was taking charge of the Oakland drug scene. Reed took over in the late '80s and was allegedly making millions by 18, but ended up sentenced to 35 years in prison on federal drug charges, 20 of which he has now served.

Read more at AllHipHop.

Lil' Kim voted off 'Dancing with the Stars'

Lil' Kim, who emerged as a favorite in many circles to win the latest edition of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars," was voted off Tuesday night in what's being called a shocker by critics who follow the show.

The 411 Online must confess that although we have benefited from many Lil' Kim clicks (she is by far the most popular and most searched for artist on this site), we did not return the favor by watching the show, much less call in and vote for her. Sorry, Kim. You still made the most of your "one more chance" in the spotlight. Chances are you'll get more publicity for an early exit than a win.

Report: Kelis files for divorce from Nas

Vibe is reporting that Nas and Kelis are divorcing after nearly six years of marriage. The couple, who married in July 2003, is expecting a child within a couple of months.

"I can confirm that she has filed for divorce," a spokesperson for Kelis told Vibe. "We request the media to respect her privacy during this very difficult time."

Attorney Laura Wasser filed a divorce petition Saturday on behalf of Kelis, who is seven months pregnant.

More information, as well as a look at the divorce papers, is available at Vibe's website.