In some of the posthumous statements about Guru from DJ Premier, we heard him talk about “the original members of Gang Starr”. As legend has it, Gang Starr began in Boston back in 1985 by Keithy E. The Guru and DJ 1, 2 B-Down (aka Mike Dee). Before Preem came along, they had producers such as Donald D and Mark The 45 King contributing to beats for their first handful of pre-No More Mr. Nice Guy 12″ singles.

In 1989, the other members quit, with Gang Starr defined only as DJ Premier and The Guru. DJ 1, 2 B-Down was still in Boston as the Gang Starr gained notoriety and released their debut. He started his own label called B-Down Records, and released a 12″ single from GSP (Gang Starr Posse), featuring two tracks “Swinga” and “Read The Label”. Both songs were produced by Grand Master Flash and B-Down. The group did this without the consent of Gang Starr – so yeah, this was Gang Starr’s GP Wu.

In a 2006 Vinyl Addicts interview, DJ Premier spoke on the situation. “Yeah we stopped that! I wasn’t apart of that, Guru was not apart of that and we didn’t like that,” he told the website. “At the time you know what it was is that they thought they could do that because they were originally down. But you know, they found out later on down the line that…it ain’t happening, that ain’t happening!”

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LISTEN: Gang Starr Posse – “Read The Label”

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LISTEN: Gang Starr Posse – “Swinga”

Gang Starr Posse – “Swinga” / “Read The Label” (.zip)