The family of rapper Guru, who died earlier this week, have issued a statement refuting the former GangStarr man's ability to write down or communicate any final words in the run-up to his death.
As previously reported, immediately after Guru's death on Monday, his producer Solar issued a statement and a letter purporting to be the rapper's final wishes, which included the desire for Solar to bring up his son KC and run his charitable organisation, and a particularly vitriolic rant against his former GangStarr partner, DJ Premier.
However, the rapper's family say that they were not aware of any such charity being in operation, and claim that Guru had been in a coma since suffering a heart attack in February, so could not have written, or even dictated, the letter. Nor could he have issued the statement released via Solar in March assuring fans that he was recovering well.
The family's statement revealed: "Guru suffered from multiple myeloma for over a year. Accrued complications from this illness led to respiratory failure and cardiac arrest. As a result, Guru was in a coma from mid-February until his death and never regained consciousness. Early on the morning of 19 Apr, he became hypertensive due to low blood pressure. He again went into cardiac arrest and slipped away from us. Guru died far too young but he was, and we are, proud of all his many legendary musical contributions. The family is not aware of any foundations established by Guru".
Numerous members of the hip hop community, plus fans and critics were already questioning the validity of the letter supposedly written by Guru on his deathbed, and this statement will only fuel the animosity towards Solar. The producer himself said earlier this week that those who do not believe that the note was written by Guru have a "wicked agenda".
Meanwhile, DJ Premier issued his own statement yesterday, though refused to be drawn into the controversy surrounding Guru's death (although a few lines could be seen as subtle digs at Solar). Premier wrote: "I've been asked to comment on a letter speaking ill of me, which was supposedly written by Guru in his dying days. All I will say about it is that our time together was beautiful, we built a hip hop legacy together, and no one can re-write history or take away my love for him. One thing I would never do is play around with the truth about his life"
