KingsOfKings
❄️ 𝟐𝟐𝟕, 𝖂𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖜𝖊 𝕬𝖙 𝖂𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝕴𝖙! ❄️
"(Waxpoetics) Fistfights. Improper farewells. Alcoholism. Guns in suitcases. The agonizing emotional depth from which Moment of Truth emerged was unlike anything seen in Gang Starr’s previous decade of work. According to DJ Premier:
“We’ve never been as depressed while making an album.”
The pair had just come off a successful run of celebrated works, Daily Operation and Hard to Earn, both of which helped forge a style that would forever define the East Coast’s sonorous aesthetic. Gang Starr still spoke to New York’s rap coterie but, this time, more of the world was listening. Guru deconstructed his handle to an acronym—Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal—while Preemo’s cuts and flagship production aided (and in many cases, anchored) projects by Group Home and Jeru the Damaja, respectively. Minus a handful of cuts and lead singles, Moment of Truth was overall a subdued effort, shook, and inward, directly introspective. “Robin Hood Theory,” “What I’m Here For,” “JFK 2 LAX,” and others all have an undeniable sunken quality to them.
There’s also a feeling of tenseness woven throughout, all of which was wholly due to the state of Preemo and Guru’s working relationship. Not only did future projects hinge on a looming court case, but years of collaboration were slowly being drowned by years of addiction.
“I left the recording sessions during the making of this because Guru’s drinking had gotten out of hand,” says Preemo.
“Guru was also about to go to jail, and the trial came up, so we made sure the album cover would match in case he was actually locked up while it was released. There were moments during the making of this where we stopped speaking to each other. I told him unless he gets his alcoholism under control, we ain’t doing this anymore. He agreed.
“You gotta understand,” Premier continues, “you cannot make project after project with someone you don’t love. If we had bad energy, our music wouldn’t have come out right. We’d literally punch each other in the face, but next thing you know, we’d be at the bar with our arms around one another.”
In late 2007, I interviewed Guru and made sure to mention Moment of Truth. When asked which among Gang Starr’s projects were his favorite, he replied: “It’s a tie depending on my mood. [laughs] Step in the Arena or Moment of Truth, definitely.” “Hard to Earn is my favorite,” says Preemo. “But as far as the most important Gang Starr album? Moment of Truth ranks number one for me. It was very personal for me and Guru.” As it stands, Moment of Truth remains the only project both members mention as personally impactful to both of them. As the release turned two decades old, I reached out to Premier and had him break down the album, track by track, to explore the transpirations behind the making of a Gang Starr masterwork.
“You Know My Steez”
For one, we always knew how to pick our singles, and we’ve always presented what we wanted to the label rather than the other way around. Sometimes they tell you what they are feelin’ or what they’re not, but at least with our structure, we’ve always had some say, and they trusted us and it worked. So we picked “You Know My Steez,” “Royalty,” and “The Militia” to roll out the album.
We always had a list of ideas that Guru wrote down and was in charge of, and we’d tack it to the wall of the studio. And we’d just randomly go. We don’t say, “Let’s do the club hit today,” or “Let’s do the single today.” We just come in and do what we feel. If there wasn’t a title yet—Guru would have parentheses next to each track number with our notes with a description. With this one, the notes said this would be the single.
I already had the idea of what I wanted to do with the Grandmaster Flash “Flash It to the Beat” sample. Showbiz used it on a skit for Runaway Slave. We used to all hang out—me, Showbiz, Large Pro, Pete Rock, Diamond D; we saw each other all the time. We were cool and shared what records we used. So I wanted to do my own interpretation of it after hearing how Showbiz used it. And the lyrics on the hook are obviously from GZA’s “Shadowboxing.” It just always stood out to me. I was really happy I finally got the chance to use it.
“Robin Hood Theory”
This is actually the first song we recorded for the album. It’s the first one I already had that beat looped as it is. I used to drive around bumping this beat for months. [laughs] It’s a subtle beat, it’s more quiet, the drums are not heavy, and there isn’t a hard snare. I just love this beat. When I played it for Guru, he loved it. And this isn’t one of those beats I would present for any artist I was working on a song with. It’s not a dope beat for a hard single—it’s an amazing beat for when you’re working closely with someone and they know how to construct themselves around it. It was the definitely the right song to go on after “You Know My Steez.” I’ve been sequencing every one of our albums since day one. I’m used to sequencing. I sequenced all the Gang Starr records. I mean, I sequenced Illmatic.
“Work”
This was actually done for the movie Caught Up, so it was already a finished record. We really liked it and wanted to add it onto the album. So we pushed for it, and after the film was released, they granted us rights to put it on this project. We had to wait for a certain time frame for the movie to have been out. I felt like it set the album up perfectly soundwise, as well as the direction of the following songs.
“Royalty (ft. K-Ci & JoJo)”
Obviously, Moment of Truth was very feature-heavy, because at the time, that was beginning to be the new thing. Before, Guru and I never really had outside collaborators besides those who were already in the inner circle—our team, the guys you heard on Daily Operation or Hard to Earn. Guru said that he wanted someone that had equivalent success as us with singing skills to work on this album.
So the label finally connected us through the phone and the first thing K-Ci and JoJo said was, like, “We don’t want to do an R&B-type beat, or a popular loop, and just have us sing on it. Make a Gang Starr track and have us on it.” So I already thought that was real cool of them, and we connected right away. Most people would’ve just had them sing over some shyt and make it work. But I think with this it actually sounds like a Gang Starr track.
“Above the Clouds (ft. Inspectah Deck)”
Guru had always wanted to get Ghostface on this album. He also wanted to get Raekwon on here too, for that matter. And since Cuban Linx popped off so hard, Rae and Ghost were seen as in a different tier than some of the other Clan members. Where Deck is that underdog MC compared to Meth or something. So I said maybe we should get Deck instead of any of the others, and Guru agreed.
This was before email existed. We got on the phone, and Deck asked us, “What is this song about?” And Guru just said, and I’ll never forget, “This song is about your mental,” pointing to his head. Deck goes, “Is that it? Just write about my mental?” I was sitting there thinking, “Umm, let’s elaborate a little more on this, guys,” but Deck just said, “Yup, I got it! I’ll meet you guys.”
So he comes to the lab later. Both him and Guru are standing on opposite ends of the control board facing each other and everyone had their notepads out. I threw the main loop on and told them to keep writing while I put together an intro. There was no Pro Tools, so I really wanted the intro to set up everything perfectly for when the beat kicks in. While I’m working on the beat, I keep seeing them look up at each other like little kids in class. Guru then said he was ready and wanted to go first, and we were off and running. I kept peeking up to see them working, and they kept taking off their headphones and smiling, so I knew it was going to be good.[/QUOTE]
