Gang Starr Returns with New "Glowing Mic" Single

Made up of legendary producer DJ Premier and late, great rapper Guru, ’90s hip-hop icons Gang Starr returned to the spotlight in a major way with 2019’s One Of the Best Yet. Featuring posthumous Guru vocals — that DJ Premier went to great lengths to re-acquire — atop all-new Premier beats, the album was a poignantly delightful blast from the past for Guru’s legions of supporters. Now, towards the tail end of 2020, Gang Starr has dropped a new single entitled “Glowing Mic” and also bequeathed hip-hop heads with a full instrumental version of One Of the Best Yet.

“Glowing Mic” sees Guru float effortlessly over one of Premier’s smooth instrumentals in an unreleased verse. When talking about “Glowing Mic,” DJ Premier let fans know it’s in fact a second version of an unreleased track titled “Mr. Gang Starr.” “There are two versions of a song called ‘Mr. Gang Starr,’ [and] one version was released right after Guru passed away.” said Premier. “The version I had stored away has totally different unreleased lyrics. As I was constructing the track, I found a scratch from Torae “I Destroy The Mic For My Glow” and it was an instant decision [to name the track Glowing Mic].”

On the other end all fourteen of One Of the Best Yet‘s tracks return in instrumental form, from singles “Bad Name” and “Family and Loyalty” to fan favorites like “Lights Out” and “From A Distance.” “I feel totally satisfied knowing I made so many people happy [with One Of the Best Yet]; including Guru’s family, his fans and peers who love him and Gang Starr,” said Premier.

Stream “Glowing Mic” above and the instrumental iteration of One Of the Best Yet below. For more music news, check out Gorillaz drummer Russell Hobbs speaking to EARTHGANG in a HYPEBEAST-exclusive interview.