(AllHipHop News) DJ Premier is to return with a new Gang Starr album, nine years after the death of rapper Guru.
The new record, One of the Best Yet, the hip-hop duo’s first since 2003, will feature Guru’s previously recorded vocals, as well as J. Cole, Q-Tip, Royce Da 5’9″, and Talib Kweli.
Premier recorded the new album with an urn holding his old musical partner’s ashes on his production console.
He revealed how emotional he was to be working on music with his late pal.
“This album means everything to me. It’s a continuation of what I never wanted to end” explained DJ Premier, real name Christopher Edward Martin. “It’s a very foreign place for me and very emotional. I get happy, sad, excited; my feelings are kind of all over the place. But predominantly, just very happy to be making music with Guru again.”
Recalling how he never gave up on making a new Gang Starr record, he added: “I never lost faith, or wavered. I still felt it inside of me, it just happened to be nine years later (after Guru’s passing). We all want the things we want right now, but I am a patient guy. I hung in there and I just kept believing.”
J. Cole’s contribution, a single called “Family and Loyalty,” has already been released, with the rest of the album out on November 1.