Gang Starr - Step in the Arena

The album on which Dj Premier and Guru perfected the template that would launch them into underground stardom and a modicum of mainstream success. Guru's deadpan monotone delivery was shockingly different from other early-'90s MCs, many of who were either substituting charisma for substance or engaging in hardcore "realism" without really commenting on black inner-city life or offering ways to alter the situation for the better. But it is Guru who sounded like the real clarion call of and to the street on Step In The Arena ("Why bring ignorance/where we're inviting you to get advancement," he intones on "Form of Intellect"). Read More