By Constance Garvey
Rap legend Jam Master Jay will not be forgotten
By Constance Garvey
Photo Director
Run DMC’s Jam Master Jay was shot last Wednesday in his recording studio in New York in an incident that has shaken the rap world to its foundation.
Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell was allegedly playing a video game on the couch of his second-floor recording studio in Queens, NY. At 7:30 pm, two unidentified men were buzzed up to the studio, and they opened fire almost immediately. Mizell was shot in the head from point-blank range and was declared dead on the scene.
Urieco Rincon, 25, who was in the studio at the time, was treated for a gunshot wound to the leg at Mary Immaculate Hospital and is listed in stable condition. Other people in the studio have since given the police conflicting reports of the events. Some have declared that they did not even witness the shooting.
Police are perplexed by the killing and have been actively pursuing leads to identify the two assailants. They have no knowledge of possible motives for the men to attack Mizell.
“Before the media rushes to attribute this to the East Coast-West Coast violence, they should examine Run DMC’s two decades of contributions and Jam Master Jay’s personal character.” said Russell Simmons to Salon.com. Many of Run DMC’s followers assumed the same outlook in the wake of the murder, expressing shock that he would be the target of such a senseless killing.
Jam Master Jay, along with Joseph “DJ Run” Simmons, the younger brother of rap mogul Russell Simmons, and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, formed the ground-breaking rap group Run DMC. The group has been essential to the rap community since its self-titled debut album in 1984, which sold 500,000 copies and became the first rap album to attain gold status. The group is also responsible for the first multi-platinum rap album, Raising Hell, in 1986.
As Run DMC’s disc jockey, Mizell created the beats for which Run and DMC laid down lyrics. Jam Master Jay was essential to the group and was the star of several of its biggest hits, including “Jay’s Game” and “My Adidas.” Run DMC played a vital role in the revival of the rock group Aerosmith; on their third album, Raising Hell, they released a remix of the rock song “Walk This Way,” originally recorded by Aerosmith. The video, which featured members of Aerosmith, is reputed to have resuscitated the group’s then-flagging career.
The 37-year-old father of three, an active member in his community, is being mourned by fans from around the world. Flowers and memorabilia have been left on the sidewalk outside the scene of the murder, and fans have been expressing their horror and sorrow online and over the radio in the days following the attack.
Dr. Dre told Salon.com, “This is not a person who went out looking for trouble…. he’s known as a person that builds, that creates and is trying to make the right things happen.”
Run DMC, still active as a performance group today, has been shattered by the loss. The group’s latest album, Crown Royal, was released in 2001 after eight years of silence, and the group was scheduled to go on tour in the coming year.
