Keith Elam (July 17, 1966 – April 19, 2010), better known by his stage name Guru, was an American rapper and member of the hip-hop duo Gang Starr. Born in the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury. The name Guru is a backronym that stands for Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal and the less often used God is Universal; he is the Ruler Universal, which are both references to the teachings of the Nation of Gods and Earths.Guru founded Gang Starr in 1987, and built a sizable following in the early 1990s, releasing classic albums such as Step in the Arena (1991) and Daily Operation (1992).
On February 28 2010 Guru suffered a cardiac arrest and, following surgery days later, fell into a coma. He woke from the coma but died on April 19, 2010 after a long battle with cancer.
