GURU is caught between a rock and a hard place musically. I think from now until the moment he hangs up the mic, he'll forever be linked to DJ Premier, even though they haven't released music as Gangstarr in quite some time.
I applaud GURU's effort to move forward musically - and as an artist he has always tried to push the boundaries of his talent (see: Jazzmatazz) and with his newer stuff with Solaar, believe it or not, he's trying to show "the game" and younger artists that he's still relevant and can do this just as well as anyone, which is why he took the mis-step of "adding a lil' T Pain" to his vocals.
I know Gangstarr as a group had a lot of label woes, and things got kinda stale which is why he went w/ a new partnership and indie label direction w/ Solaar. My thoughts are that die hard GURU/Gangstarr fans will never accept Solaar as a substitute no matter what they put together as a collective.