FuckSolar.com recently obtained the full Boston Phoenix interview given by Brownman, the featured trumpet soloist with Guru’s Jazzmatazz from 2006-2010.
The website, notorious for dedicating itself to outing Solar’s allegedly sinister handling of Guru’s affairs while the late rapper was in a coma and after his death, posted the shocking interview, lending credence to allegations that Solar’s actions have been less than altruistic.
“From day one, I always thought he was controlling… domineering… egotistical,” said Brownman of Solar. “He spoke of himself as a ‘god’ and insisted all those around him refer to him as ‘lord.’ Guru always called him this. And how he handled the band – he would bark orders like a general and often liked to express himself in military terminology – which I found completely out of place in art – which is what I considered Guru’s music.”
Brownman continued, explaining that Solar’s instructions “rarely made any musical sense,” and that he eventually “ignored all of Solar’s vague, ethereal, nonsensical instructions.”
AD LOADING...
Brownman described Solar’s complete lack of any musical education, despite his proclamations of being a “Superproducer.” “…I would come to see [Guru’s trust in Solar] as his artistic death over time… and Solar as a paranoid, delusional sociopath, as Guru continued to slowly hemorrhage his decision making processes to a megalomaniac.”
The revealing interview continued as Brownman chronicled Guru’s gradual relinquishment of financial and musical control to Solar, until the trumpeter and DJ Doo Wop quit in January 2010, even shockingly admitting that Solar physically abused Guru. “Solar had created so toxic a work environment for us… he screwed with our money… threatened us… belittled us… demeaned us… marginalized us… all the while treating Guru like a child. Berating, belittling and chastising him… and later physically abusing him. I’d never seen a man disrespect another man like that. I’m disturbed now when I read accounts of Solar claiming Guru as a best friend and brother. Solar, THAT’S how you treat your best friend and brother?”
Brownman’s deeply disturbing account included recollections of Solar punching Guru in the face after a show, threatening Brownman with violence, and Solar’s insistence to Guru that DJ Premier tried to ruin him. He also detailed Solar’s technique for “turning” Guru: isolate him from his family, friends and fans. “Isolation was key to Solar’s power over Guru,” explained Brownman, who also denied rumors that Guru and Solar were lovers.
Read the interview in its entirety at FuckSolar.com.
