Gimmel "Young
Guru" Keaton, A&R for Roc-A-Fella Records, is regarded as one of the
best engineers in the business, but he never thought that he’d be the subject
of a friction in Hip-Hop.
However, rapper Guru of
the legendary Gangstarr has taken exception to Keaton’s moniker.
"There is no disrespect
to [Guru]. I big up that dude and it’s really not a problem," Keaton told
AllHipHop.com. "I’ve spoke to a lot of people about it and they are like
‘Leave it alone, but I just want duke to know that there ain’t no animosity.
I don’t know where it’s coming from. I been a fan since Gangstarr came out and
that’s what makes me what to reach out to duke and correct it. If it can’t be
corrected, then so be it."
Gangstarr’s Guru is a rap
veteran whose career stretches into the 1980’s and he stated that alone is just
cause for the younger guru to change his handle.
The first single off his
upcoming album, Guru: Version 7.0, has harsh words for Keaton.
"When [his name] first
caught our ears, we were like, ‘Huh?’ We tried to reach out and no one got back
to us. Then we started seeing more and more articles on him. First of all, my
name ain’t up for sale. You are not going to write me out of history,"
Guru told MTV.com. "You wouldn’t hear anybody say ‘Young Grandmaster Flash’
or ‘Young Kool Herc.’ There’s rules in hip-hop — that’s what’s being addressed
in the song. It’s as real as real can get."
Young Guru, who works behind
the scenes with Freeway, Jay-Z, Memphis Bleek and Juelz Santana, countered saying
that he’s simply a fan and isn’t interested in any sort of rap beef.
“For the record, DJ Premier
is my favorite producer of all-time and Gangstarr is one of my favorite groups.
I don’t have no problem with dude and I don’t know where it came from. I just
want people to know I’ve been DJing since ’87 under that name," the Wilmington,
Delaware native said. "I’m not a rapper. I’m not a threat to [Guru]. I’m
just
an engineer. I really wish nobody knew my name."
Despite upcoming disses,
Young Guru said that he’s going to stand firm by his assertion that he’s going
to maintain his moniker.
"At the end
of the day, I’m not going to change my name."
