Few acts have collected respect on the level of Gang Starr throughout the history of hip hop music, even Public Enemy can't claim the album-after-album hit rate of the Brooklyn duo. But adopting the mantle of hip hop saviours, uncompromising defenders of the ancient art of two turntables and a microphone, has brought with it its own concerns.
'The Ownerz' finds them more bitter than ever about the state of their artform, the pariahs in their industry and the music that's getting radio play. It's probably the pair's least commercially accessible release since 'Hard To Earn' despite the half-hearted R&B incorporated into radio concession, 'Nice Girl, Wrong Place'.
Both Guru and DJ Premier have cemented their reputations and paid for this artistic indulgence outside of Gang Starr - Guru with his popular Jazzmataz projects and Premier as, without competition, New York's most consistent producer of hip hop bangers for everyone under the sun. It's worth recalling that Premo set beats to the best tracks on Jay-Z's debut, the first two Jeru The Damaja albums, Biggie classics like 'Ten Crack Commandments', Nas classics like 'New York State Of Mind' and 'Nas Is Like'. He launched MOP and was the mastermind behind Group Home's underrated 'Livin Proof', then went on to sculpt hits for Snoop, Limp Bizkit, Common, Mos Def, J-Live and pretty much everyone else.
Premier's work rate has only ever been matched by his unfailing consistency. But, where his sound shifted from jazz loops to spare bassline grooves, then to more experimental ideas - as he came under the inevitable influence of the RZA - to finally settle with a perfect amalgam of it all, he's been in the same place now for too long. Those brashly scratched, bouncing three-minute sampled odes to hip hop past and present (exemplified by tracks like Royce 5'9"s 'Boom' and Gang Starr's 'Full Clip') haven't changed much since '98. Neither have they lost their power to move a crowd but nothing here whiffs quite so much of 'classic' as the above.
Guru is - as Guru has always been - a unique voice, steady as a rock, a living testament to the fact that a fine emcee is simply an artful speaker. Like the man said, "it's mostly the voice." Relaxed and going through the motions, occasionally uncertain if he should be posturing or preaching, Guru remains a valuable voice in hip hop. And tracks like 'Rite Where U Stand', 'Skills', 'Zonin' and 'Riot Akt' all show that Gang Starr remain a powerful force.
It's their persistence that is both Gang Starr's blessing and curse. In part, it's because of acts like this that, well over 20 years after its inception, hip hop remains a living culture and not a passing youth scene. But hitting that formula and riding it has drained some of the passion out of this sound. Still, respect remains very much due.
