Guru’s voice was unique but not overwhelming. In fact he not only made mention of his ‘monotone style’ on the song Mass Appeal, but also made an entire song called “Mostly tha Voice.” I believe that his low key voice accompanied by the popularity of his partner DJ Premier has gotten Guru overlooked. I’m not saying lyrically he is top ten, but he is way doper than what he gets credit for.
I think back to his line on the song ‘Take it Personal’ where he says: “So Premier drops beats/ for me to drop verses too/ and if I sound doper/ then take it personal.” I feel throughout his career that was the sentiment within Hip Hop circles; that if any other emcee had DJ Premier as their personal producer they would be doper also. Yeah Preemo shit is what it is; but Guru made sure that once you got pass the beat, you were still nodding your head.
I think Guru summed it up best on the album ‘Moment of Truth’ when he said: “We always go in with a certain formula. But the rhyme style is elevated, the betas are elevated; you still got Guru and Premier… And there is always a Message.”