Guru rose to fame in the early 90s as the lyrical half of the hip-hop duo Gang Starr with DJ Premier. After three Gang Starr releases hit the streets (1989’s No More Mr. Nice Guy, 1991’s Step in the Arena, 1992’s Daily Operation), Guru launched his solo career, issued Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1. The album was followed up two years later with Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality. The Jazzmatazz projects successfully fuse jazz with rap and feature collaborations with some of the best in the jazz and funk world. The late 90s saw two more releases by Gang Starr – 1994’s Hard to Earn and the 1998’s epic Moment of Truth. In 2000, Guru released Jazzmatazz, Vol. 3: Streetsoul. He wasted no time and went right back into the studio and, in 2001, released Baldhead Slick & Da Click. 2005 saw the release of his proper solo album, Version 7.0: The Street Scriptures. In July of 2007, the latest Jazzmatazz installment was released, Jazzmatazz, Vol. 4: The Hip-Hop Jazz Messenger: Back to the Future. It features an eclectic set of collaborative efforts including appearances by Slum Village, Common, Damian Marley, Omar, Bobby Valentino, and Blackalicious.